Skip to main content
Dessert

Vanilla Custard Ice Cream

A frozen dessert made from eggs, milk, sugar, gelatin, cream, and vanilla.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Vanilla Custard Ice Cream

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard

  1. Beat the eggs until well mixed.

  2. Combine the eggs with the milk and sugar in a double boiler.

  3. Cook until the mixture sets and thickens.

Finish and freeze

  1. Remove from heat and add the gelatin dissolved in cold water.

  2. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla extract.

  3. Freeze in an ice cream maker until stiff.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Gelatin + creamtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,628 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  3. Sugar + gelatintop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,778 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Set and thicken the custard base as they cook, giving body to the ice cream.
Milk
Forms the liquid base of the custard, carrying the sugar and eggs.
Sugar
Sweetens the base and lowers its freezing point for a softer texture.
Gelatin
Adds structure that helps the frozen ice cream hold its shape and resist ice crystals.
Heavy cream
Adds fat, which makes the ice cream rich and smooth.
Vanilla extract
Adds aroma and flavor to the finished ice cream.

The step that matters

Cook the custard until it thickens. Egg proteins set gradually as they heat, so the mixture must be cooked gently in a double boiler until thickened. Overheating can curdle the eggs, while undercooking leaves the base thin and runny.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like

Vanilla Ice CreamVanilla Ice Cream108 recipesWhite CakeWhite Cake431 recipesPound CakePound Cake373 recipesOrange Bundt CakeOrange Bundt Cake349 recipes