The summer weather  hit and I’ve been totally distracted by it. I planted the vegetable garden, having been hiking, biking and camping, had friends in town, and totally put blogging on the back burner.

This vanilla ice cream recipe has been making a regular appearance since the warmer weather set in. After a few tries, I’m finally happy with the flavor. I started with this New York Times recipe and tweaked it to my taste. I found the original recipe way too sweet and a little light on the vanilla. I use vanilla paste because it gives you the same flecks of vanilla without the hassle of a vanilla bean. I also add brandy to my recipe so the ice cream does not get as hard in the freezer.

This recipe is the perfect accompaniment to a peach pie, blueberry crumb bar or grilled pineapple.

Vanilla Ice Cream

Prep Time: 1 hour + 4 hour cooling time
Yields: About 1 quart

Ingredients

3 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk (I use whole milk)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla paste OR 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2/3 cup granulated sugar, more to taste

½ teaspoon salt, more to taste

1 teaspoon brandy (optional)

Instructions

In a saucepan, combine cream, milk and vanilla paste or vanilla extract). On the stove, bring mixture to a simmer. Immediately turn off heat.

Add sugar and salt and mix until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Taste and add more sugar and salt as needed to balance the flavors. The mixture should taste slightly too sweet when warm; the sweetness will be muted when the ice cream is frozen.

Pour mixture into a container and refrigerate until very cold, at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.

Before churning, add the brandy to the mixture, this will prevent the ice cream from getting too hard in the freezer. Churn mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Serve immediately or transfer to an airtight container and let freeze until hard.

Notes

Adapted from the New York Times.