Classic Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

In the summer months, ice cream is our go-to sweet treat. We live in a warm climate so any chance to cool off is one we’ll take. It started with a scoop of store-bought ice cream after dinner until I remember the Kitchen Aid ice cream maker in the back of my freezer and we thought it would be fun to make our own ice cream at home. It’s been a couple of years now and we are obsessed with making ice cream at home. The girls and I have so much fun coming up with flavors and churning the ice cream for that evening’s dessert.

One thing I love about making ice cream as opposed to other treats is that it’s just so simple. It requires very little prep, takes few ingredients, my kitchen aid churns it, and a few hours later we have the best tasting homemade ice cream. We started out just making classic vanilla ice cream but now we make a ton of flavors at home. This classic homemade vanilla ice cream is a great recipe to get started in ice cream making. It serves up as a great treat on its own but it’s also a great base for many other flavored ice creams as well.

Classic Kitchen Aid Ice Cream Recipe

This is a Kitchen Aid ice cream recipe meaning, the churning is done in a Kitchen Aid Mixer with the Ice Cream Maker attachment. To make the most delicious class homemade vanilla ice cream you’ll also need just a handful of ingredients: cream, milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract (you could also add vanilla bean if you have one). Since it’s only a handful of ingredients and no setup, it’s very easy to be ready to make ice cream at a moment’s notice (which we often do) and it taste delicious too.

Tips for homemade vanilla ice cream:

In order to be able to make ice cream anytime, I always keep my KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment in the freezer. The directions suggest freezing the bowl of the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker attachment for 2 hours prior to churning ice cream. I keep mine in the freezer all the time so that we’re always ready to make ice cream. I’ve found that this also helps the ice cream get nice and hard instead of a more soft serve ice cream consistency.

Add in fresh vanilla beans (or not). I love the very vanilla flavor that you get from vanilla beans. I left the vanilla bean off of this recipe because I don’t always have it on hand but when I do have it, I will always include vanilla bean. To do so, I open the bean with a knife, scrape the caviar into the whipping cream while it’s warming, and then, toss in the whole bean. Just before churning in the KitchenAid ice cream maker, I remove and discard the vanilla bean. This gives it a great vanilla flavor but we all love the ice cream just as much without it.

Additionally, if you do have some fresh vanilla beans, you can make vanilla sugar and use that vanilla sugar in your ice cream base which is another way to get that extra vanilla flavor.

It’s really important to store your ice cream properly. I usually keep my ice cream in an air-tight, 2 qt glass container but I’ve also stored it in loaf pans covered tightly with plastic cling wrap. I also think these pint containers are adorable and would be great for ice cream storage.

Classic Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream, divided
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup sugar
2 tsp. real vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Directions:
To make homemade ice cream, in a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup of whipping cream with the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Over medium heat, cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved careful not to bring the mixture to a boil. Remove the mixture from the heat then, pour it into a medium-sized bowl. Whisk the remaining cream and the milk to the cream mixture.

Cover and chill the ice cream mixture in the refrigerator until the mixture is well chilled, usually 1 hour or so. After the mixture is chilled, it’s time to church into ice cream. Churn in an ice cream maker or ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. I use the KitchenAid Ice Cream Attachment to churn the mixture into ice cream. To do so, take the frozen bowl and attach it to your KitchenAid mixer. While it’s mixing on slow, slowly pour in the ice cream mixture. Continue mixing until it’s a soft ice cream consistency. At this point, you can add any add-ins like chocolate chips or a ribbon of caramel. Freeze in an airtight container until the ice cream is the desired consistency.

Check out this other ice cream recipe here.

Classic Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Chelsea Coulston

The most satisfying summer treat - Classic Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Servings 1 .5 quarts

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups heavy cream divided
• 1 cup whole milk
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

 

• In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup of the cream with the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Over medium-high heat, cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved.  Remove the mixture from the heat, pour it into a medium-sized bowl. Add the remaining cream and the milk to the cream mixture.
• Cover and refrigerate until the mixture is well chilled, usually 1 hour or so. Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. And freeze until the ice cream is the desired consistency.