Ingredients:

  • 2 cups Heavy Cream (35% fat)
  • 1 cup Whole Milk
  • ¾ cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon good quality Vanilla Extract
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste (or seeds from 1 bean)
  • ¼ teaspoon Fine Sea Salt

Instructions:

  1. Ensure the KitchenAid freezer bowl has been in the freezer for a full 24 hours. It must be rock solid for proper churning.
  2. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the heavy cream, whole milk, granulated sugar, and salt. Place over medium heat.
  3. Heat the mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk, until the sugar is completely dissolved and steam begins to rise. Do not boil. This typically takes 5–8 minutes.
  4. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Stir in the vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste.
  5. Pour the entire mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl or container to catch any undissolved solids and ensure a smooth base.
  6. Cover the mixture tightly and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours (ideally, overnight) until the base is thoroughly chilled (below 40°F/4°C). This critical step prevents ice crystals.
  7. Attach the frozen KitchenAid bowl and the dasher (paddle) to the stand mixer. Turn the mixer on to Speed 1 (Stir) before adding the base.
  8. Slowly pour the cold ice cream base into the running bowl. Do not stop the machine once churning begins.
  9. Churn for 20–25 minutes. The mixture will increase in volume and thicken to the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
  10. Stop the mixer once the ice cream pulls away from the sides of the bowl slightly. The churning must finish before the freezer bowl completely thaws.
  11. Quickly scrape the soft-serve mixture into your large, airtight freezer container. Press a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent freezer burn.
  12. Place the container in the back of the freezer for a minimum of 2 hours to harden to a scoopable consistency.