Classic and simple summer dessert.
Ingredients for the vanilla ice cream:
250 ml whole milk
500 ml double cream
6 large egg yolks
150 g sugar
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preparing the vanilla ice cream:
Heat the sugar, salt, milk and 250 ml of the cream in a medium saucepan. When hot scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the saucepan with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the saucepan.
Remove from the heat, cover with a lid and let the vanilla infuse at room temperature for 30 minutes.
To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a small bowl (enough for 2 l) in a larger bowl partially filled with ice cubes and water. Set a fine mesh strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the rest of the cream into the bowl.
In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk mixture then gradually pour some of the mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spatula (draw a line with your finger across the spatula, if the custard doesn’t float back together it’s ready). You can use an instant read thermometer, it should read between 77 and 79 C when the custard is ready.
Strain the custard into the cream, add the vanilla extract and the vanilla bean then stir until cooled down.
Transfer to a jug and chill until thoroughly chilled (preferably overnight).
Remove the vanilla bean and freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Ingredients for the strawberry coulis:
250 g strawberries
50 g sugar
Juice from about half a small lemon
Preparing the strawberry coulis:
Rinse and hull the strawberries. Whizz them in a food processor with the sugar and lemon juice until the sugar is dissolved and the coulis smooth. Taste and add more lemon juice or sugar if needed.
Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl, then transfer to a squeeze bottle for later juice.
