Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Split the vanilla bean and, with the back of a knife, remove the seeds. Combine with the half-and-half and half of the sugar. Heat, stirring occasionally, until steam rises from the half-and-half; remove from the heat.

Beat yolks and remaining sugar until thick and slightly lightened. Stir about ½ cup of the heated half-and-half into the yolk mixture and beat.

Stir the warm egg mixture back into the half-and-half mixture, return the pan to the stove and heat on medium low, stirring constantly, until thickened. The mixture is ready when it thickly coats the back of a spoon and a line drawn with your finger remains intact. This should take around 3 to 5 minutes.

Cool completely, then stir in the cream and freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When ice cream maker stops, freeze in the freezer until firm.

Enjoy!