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    You are here: Home / Ice cream / Easy vanilla ice cream

    Easy vanilla ice cream

    Published: Aug 30, 2020 by Sarah Brooks

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    Scoops of vanilla ice ice cream in a grey bowl, with a vintage teaspoon, on a beige teatowl and a white wooded flood backgroud, with some small white flowers on the side, with text overlay, Easy vanilla ice cream and KCAEIC.

    This easy vanilla ice cream is simple to make and is egg free. Great on its own, in an ice cream sundae or paired with your favourite dessert.

    Top down view of a bowl of vanilla ice cream, in a grey bowl, with a spring of mint on the side in the bowl, on a beige tea towel and white wooded floor background.
    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • How to make easy vanilla ice cream:
    • HOW TO SERVE:
    • HOW TO STORE:
    • LOOKING FOR MORE YUMMY DESSERT RECIPES?
    • 📋 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Vanilla ice cream is such a classic flavor and goes perfectly with just about any dessert including my classic ice cream sundae. This one is an easy version but does need a ice cream maker. If you don't have an ice cream churner you could make my no churn vanilla ice cream without an ice cream machine. If you're feeling more adventurous you can try my rich vanilla bean ice cream with a custard base. Or if you're looking for an alternative to vanilla you can try my sour cream ice cream which pairs perfectly with fruit baked desserts.

    side view of single scoop of vanilla ice cream in shallow blue and white bowl, with a whole vanilla bean resting on the scoop on an angle, on a while wooden background.

    What's the difference between vanilla essence and vanilla extract?

    It depends on what country you live in. Often vanilla essence refers to imitation vanilla flavoring, which is a budget-friendly option for flavoring desserts. Vanilla extract usually refers to vanilla flavoring made by extracting the flavor from vanilla beans. This gives a natural, richer, full-bodied vanilla flavor but is more expensive. Sometimes however the term vanilla essence and vanilla extract are used interchangeably so it's worth checking the labels where you live.

    You can also use whole vanilla beans, sometimes called vanilla pods where is where the natural vanilla flavor is extracted from. You use vanilla pods by splitting the pods open, scrapping out the seeds inside and infusing the whole pod for maximum flavor. This arguably produces the best vanilla flavor but is by far and away the most expensive option.

    Ingredients

    Ingredients for vanilla ice cream recipe. Thickened cream, vanilla extract, full cream milk, castor sugar and tapioca starch.

    Vanilla extract: sometimes also called vanilla essence, depending on where you live. You can use either, or imitation vanilla essence, depending on your preference and budget.

    Cream: in Australia I use thicken cream. The key thing is it needs to have a fat content of around 35% or you risk your ice cream being icy.

    Milk: gotta be the full cream stuff, so around 3.5% fat. Anything less is going to make your ice cream icy.

    Castor sugar: for both taste and scoop-ability. Castor sugar is best here as it gives a clean taste to the ice cream, I don't recommend replacing it with other sugars.

    Tapioca starch: is a natural and accessible way of both thickening and stabilizing the ice cream.

    Optional:

    Glucose syrup – also called confectioner’s glucose. It's available from some supermarkets or specialty baking stores. A small amount of glucose syrup helps lower the freezer point of ice cream and improves the texture and scoop-ability of the ice cream. If you can’t get glucose syrup you can substitute with the same amount of light corn syrup or powdered dextrose, commonly available from brewing shops. Do not add to much or your ice cream will melt in a red hot minute!

    How to make easy vanilla ice cream:

    Measuring milk into the bowl.

    Measure the tapioca starch into a small bowl. Measure out the milk, then add a couple of tablespoons into the bowl with the tapioca starch. Mix well to form a slurry and get out all the lumps.

    Adding milk to pot.
    Adding cream to pot.
    Adding sugar to pot.
    Glucose syrup in measuring spoon.
    Adding glucose syrup to the pot

    Add the milk, cream, sugar and glucose syrup if using to a small pot on the stove. When measuring the glucose syrup ideally use a digital kitchen scale, otherwise make sure it's a flat half a tablespoon. Heat on high and stir well until all the sugar is dissolved.

    Adding tapioca starch slurry to the pot.
    Adding vanilla essence to the pot.

    Add tapioca starch slurry and stir well for a few minutes on medium heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Add vanilla essence and stir well. Transfer the mix to a heat-proof container and chill in the fridge for at least four hours, ideally overnight.

    mixture in a bowl for chilling.
    Mixture churning in ice cream machine.

    Put your ice cream storage container in the freezer to chill. If using a self-churning machine, turn it on about ten minutes before you churn your ice cream. Otherwise, take the churning bowl out of the freezer right before churning.

    Churned ice cream in churner bowl.

    Pour mixture into ice cream churner and churn. It will be the consistency of soft serve when done. Transfer to a chilled container and freeze until firm.

    HOW TO SERVE:

    If you did not use glucose syrup you may need to leave the ice cream in the fridge for about ten minutes to soften up enough to scoop. Otherwise remove from the freezer, scoop, and enjoy! Great on its own, in an ice cream sundae, or paired with your favorite desserts. Delicious!

    Top down view of a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of ice cream, in a loaf pan, with an ice cream scooper, on a white wooded background.

    HOW TO STORE:

    You can store this ice cream in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to two weeks for the best texture. It will still taste good after this but may become icier over time.

    Have you made this recipe? Tell me how it when in the comment below and tag me on Instagram so I can see your delicious creations! #KCAEIC

    LOOKING FOR MORE YUMMY DESSERT RECIPES?

    Why not try making

    • No churn vanilla ice cream
    • French vanilla bean ice cream
    • Sour cream ice cream
    • Chocolate chip ice cream
    Scoops of vanilla ice ice cream in a grey bowl, with a vintage teaspoon, on a beige teatowl and a white wooded flood backgroud, with some small white flowers on the side.

    📋 Recipe

    Top down view of a bowl of vanilla ice cream, in a grey bowl, with a spring of mint on the side in the bowl, on a beige tea towel and white wooded floor background.

    Easy vanilla ice cream

    Author: Sarah Brooks
    This easy vanilla ice cream is simple to make and is egg free. Great on its own, in an ice cream sundae or paired with your favourite desserts.
    5 from 8 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 5 mins
    Plus chilling time 4 hrs
    Total Time 4 hrs 15 mins
    Course Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine American
    Servings 6 serves (⅔ cup each), approx.
    Calories 383 kcal

    Equipment

    • ice cream maker

    Ingredients

    • 2 teaspoons (5gms) tapioca starch
    • 1 cup (250gms) full cream milk
    • 2 cups (500mls) thickened cream
    • ½ cup (110gms) castor sugar
    • ½ tablespoon (15gms) glucose syrup *optional
    • 2 teaspoons (10mls) vanilla extract

    Instructions
     

    • Put the tapioca starch into a small bowl. Measure the milk. Add a couple of table spoons of milk into the bowl with the tapioca starch and mix well to form a slurry.
    • Add remaining milk, cream, sugar and glucose syrup (if using) to a small saucepan.
    • Heat on high, stirring well until all the sugar is dissolved.
    • Add tapioca starch slurry and mix well for a few minutes.
    • Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
    • Add vanilla essence or extract and mix well.
    • Transfer to heatproof container, cover and chill in fridge for at least four hours, ideally overnight.
    • Put storage container into freezer to chill
    • If using a self churning machine turn it on ten minutes before churning to cool down. Other wise remove the bowl from the freezer just before churning.
    • Churn the ice cream. It will be the consistency of soft serve when done.
    • Transfer churned ice cream to chilled container and freeze until firm.
    • To serve remove from the freezer, scoop and enjoy! Great on its own, in a ice cream sundae or pared with your favourite desserts. Delicious!

    Notes

    You can substitute tapioca starch with the same amount of corn flour/corn starch.  If substituting, add the slurry with the sugars at the start of the cooking because the corn flour/starch needs to cook for longer to activate it. 
    Corn flour/starch doesn't freezer as well, so your ice cream maybe a little icier, but will still taste delicious!
    If you don't use glucose syrup your ice cream may freeze a little firm.  Put it in the fridge for about ten minutes to make it soft enough to scoop (this is better than leaving it on the bench because it will soften uniformly).  

    Nutrition

    Calories: 383kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 4gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 19gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 94mgSodium: 38mgPotassium: 137mgSugar: 25gVitamin A: 1223IUVitamin C: 0.5mgCalcium: 101mgIron: 0.1mg

    Nutritional Disclaimer

    Nutritional information is an estimate based on an online database. The nutritional content of ingredients may vary by brand. If you require accurate nutritional information, you should calculate this based on the specific brands and products you are using.

    Keywords: egg free, French vanilla ice cream, philadelphia style ice cream
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    Pin it for later!

    Scoops of vanilla ice ice cream in a grey bowl, with a vintage teaspoon, on a beige teatowl and a white wooded flood backgroud, with a sprig of mint on the side, with text overlay, Easy vanilla ice cream and KCAEIC.
    159 shares
    • Share121
    • Yummly
    • Tweet

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Paolo Paolo

      August 31, 2020 at 5:57 am

      5 stars
      I love ice cream! I haven't used tapioca starch before but will definitely try this amazing recipe!

      Reply
    2. Erin

      August 31, 2020 at 4:24 pm

      5 stars
      My kids love vanilla ice cream! It's the best flavor! Thanks for this delicious recipe. It is very versatile as well.

      Reply
    3. Farrah

      August 31, 2020 at 8:27 pm

      5 stars
      Yay! I've been wanting to try making my own ice cream--love that this is so easy to make and that's cool that it's egg-free! I need to find my ice cream maker!

      Reply
    4. Peter

      September 01, 2020 at 1:36 am

      5 stars
      TRULY easy. thank you for a wonderful recipe!

      Reply
    5. Alexandra

      September 01, 2020 at 4:56 am

      5 stars
      The best ice cream, if you ask me - so good with everything!

      Reply
    6. Stacy Boswell

      September 01, 2020 at 1:57 pm

      I havent heard of thickened cream. But I think heavy whipping cream will work for this recipe. Looks yummy, thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    7. Gavin

      September 03, 2020 at 4:06 am

      5 stars
      Can't beat a classic - this and some rhubarb crumble = heaven!

      Reply
    8. Robyn

      September 03, 2020 at 7:40 am

      5 stars
      I have never used tapioca starch in ice cream before, what a delicious recipe!

      Reply
    9. Rachi

      September 03, 2020 at 11:22 am

      5 stars
      Nothing beats a good vanilla ice cream!!! Especially when it’s homemade.

      Reply

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