Real vanilla custard ice cream

Name: Real vanilla custard ice cream
Total time: 6 h
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 300ml whole milk; 300ml double cream; 1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped; 5 egg yolks; 120g caster sugar

Proper egg custard ice cream, rich and speckled with vanilla seeds.

Time6 hr
LevelMedium
Costabout £0.72 a head

Cost is worked out from Aldi and Tesco shelf prices in October 2026. Your shop and brands will differ.

8 servings

Ingredients

Tick what you need to buy. It goes on your shopping list.

300 mlwhole milk
300 mldouble cream
1vanilla podsplit and seeds scraped
5egg yolks
120 gcaster sugar

Method

1
Heat the milk, cream and vanilla pod and seeds in a pan until steaming but not boiling.
2
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl for 2 minutes until pale and thick.
3
Pour the hot milk over the yolks, whisking constantly. Return to the pan.
4
Stir over a low heat for 8 minutes until the custard coats the back of a spoon. Do not let it boil.
8 min
5
Strain into a bowl, cool, then chill for 2 hours.
120 min
6
Churn in an ice cream machine, or freeze in a tub and beat every 45 minutes for 3 hours. Freeze until firm.
180 min

Double check before you cook. Recipes can contain mistakes. Any diet labels come from the ingredients as written in this recipe and are a guide, not a guarantee. Always check every ingredient and the packet label for allergens and cross contamination, and ask your doctor or dietitian what is right for you, especially with coeliac disease, diabetes or a serious allergy. This is not medical advice.