Double vanilla ice cream

Hi!

I just want to be transparent before we dive into todays post. There will be some links to a vanilla webshop. They are not affiliate links - I am not sponsored by Mette Ravn, I buy my own vanilla from her, but she is a friend and I do wholeheartedly support her and her vanilla farm in Tanzania.

I have loved the idea of layering vanillas since Pierre Herme’s “Infiniment Vanilla”.

So I set out to combine my ultimate vanilla ice cream thinking of it like a perfume with top notes, middle notes and base notes with Tahiti vanilla’s perfumed fruity-floral and liquorice like top notes given depth, complexity and balance from either yellow stone fruity-floral and spicy Tanzanian, rich spicy-woody Mexican or deep woody-chocolatey Ugandan beans.

Through the last 4 or so years there has been many variations of this, and while my personal favourite is an almost outrageously decadent Tahiti-Tanzania-Mexico/Uganda (both for the rich woody “base notes”) combination of all three beans, this Tahiti-Tanzania is a very, very close second.

The ice cream - while yes, obviously tasting of vanilla - has a warm, fruity-floral note of stone fruits and flowers, jasmine or chamomile comes to mind, and an earthy note of anise and cacao. And yes, I do realise this is sounding more and more like a wine review on vivino - but honestly, why should the wine bros (and girls) have all the fun? At least there’s no spittoons when tasting ice cream!

I have never really understood calling vanilla “plain”. Have you ever sniffed a vanilla bean? Like really sniffed - close to inhaling it? There is nothing plain about vanilla. It is a borderline erotic flavour. Yes. I went there.

Because this is an extravagant AF ice cream. I know. And obviously you can use this recipe to make a delicious ice cream with “just” a bean from Tahiti, Tanzania, Mexico, Uganda, Madagascar etc. Or vanilla paste! Or tonka bean, if you aren’t in the US and have access to these little wonder beans.

Double (or triple!) vanilla ice cream

makes 1l base for 1,3-1,5l ice cream

400g whole milk
300g heavy cream
1/2 Tahiti vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/2 Tanzania vanilla bean, split and scraped
40g glucose syrup (can be substituted with sugar)
50g skimmed milk powder (can be left out, but improves texture by adding protein and absorbing excess water)
120g sugar
100g egg yolks OR 4g ice cream stabiliser
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add the milk, cream, glucose, skimmed milk powder, vanilla pods and seeds to a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until steaming hot, stirring with a whisk to prevent the milk from burning on the bottom of the pan. 

(If using stabiliser, whisk stabiliser with 20g of the sugar and add the remaining 100g to the saucepan with the milk and cream, add the stabiliser to the lukewarm milk mixture and cook, whisking continuously, until it reaches 85C.)

Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and salt in a separate bowl until combined. Pour the hot milk mixture over the egg yolks, whisking continuously to prevent the yolks from curdling.

Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, whisking continuously, until it reaches 82C. 

Immediately remove from heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl. Return vanilla pods to the mixture.

Transfer the custard to the fridge to cool or place in a larger bowl filled with ice water. 

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or pour into an airtight container and refrigerate at least 24-48 hours to really allow the beans to infuse their flavour into the custard. 

Remove the vanilla pods before churning, then blend the mixture with an immersion blender to liquify and emulsify. Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. 

Pre-freeze the container for the ice cream at least 20 minutes to prevent the ice cream from melting when you transfer it from the machine to the freezer. Freeze at least 2-3 hours before serving, or serve directly from the machine in pre-frozen metal coupes.