Bailey's Irish Cream Ice Cream

So in preparation for St. Patrick's day this Sunday I decided to try and whip up a batch of Bailey's Irish Cream Ice Cream. I mean what could be better right? So a little back story, I have always liked/loved ice cream and my all time favorite is Rocky Road. But a little while back I wanted to start making my own since I was on a mission to start making as much stuff at home as I could. And seeing as how both me and my wife love ice cream I thought why not, lets start making the stuff. So I was looking for a decent but not overly expensive ice cream maker that made around a quart to a quart and a half of ice cream per batch, which for us will last a pretty long time since we don't eat it all that often. I finally settled on this one by Cuisinart which has worked out quite well. So I was just about to buy it and I was talking to a co-worker of mine about my purchase and he said he had the exact same one that he had never used because shortly after he bought it he found out he was Diabetic. So being a nice guy he brought it in and just gave me the thing! And ever since then I have been making batch after batch of ice cream and also some sorbet's. For the most part making homemade ice cream is devilishly simple and as long as you follow a few key rules you can make just about any kind of ice cream you want to make. If you are wanting to truly make a lot of different types of ice cream I suggest you get this book by David Lebovitz. This recipe here is based on his recipe for vanilla ice cream. As always try and use the highest quality ingredients you can get, I try and use really fresh organic eggs from the market, or when I am lucky a co-worker who has chickens will bring me in a dozen from his chickens (I used his eggs while making this ice cream and they are super yellow). You can adjust almost anything in this recipe to your liking except I would say don't substitute the heavy cream or whole milk for anything else. I am really healthy eater but when it comes to ice cream if I can't have the real stuff I don't want it. The alcohol in this ice cream will keep it from getting really hard, which ins't a bad thing, but you will also taste it a little bit so feel free to lessen the amount I used if you like.

Ingredients

2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream

1 Cup Whole Milk

6 Egg Yolks

1 Whole Vanilla Bean

3/4 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1/2 Cup Sugar

pinch of salt

3/4 Cup Bailey's Irish Cream

Method

1. Get ready a bowl with ice water and place a smaller bowl into the ice bath (make sure this bowl is large enough for the ice cream contents) and pour 1 cup of the heavy whipping cream into the small bowl and place a small mesh strainer over the top of the bowl

2. In another bowl separate out your egg yolks and whisk gently to break them up and set aside (Tip: save your egg whites, they can be frozen for up to a year and when you get enough of them make an Angel Food cake!)

2. In a medium sauce pan combine the 1 cup whole milk and remaining 1 cup of the heavy whipping cream with the sugar and the pinch of salt

3. Heat ingredients over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and milk/cream is heated through. Once heated turn off heat and split the vanilla bean length wise and scrape out the insides and add to milk/cream mixture, also drop in the two pod halves, cover and let steep for about 30 seconds

4. Remove cover and slowly pour half the heated mixture into the egg yolks while constantly whisking to temper the yolks, don't pour to fast or you may end up with scrambled eggs! Once half the mixture has been added to the eggs pour that all back into the sauce pan and return to medium heat and simmer until it coats the back of a spoon. This step can be tricky and will go quick so don't leave it, you do not want it to boil! Also if you are unsure you can always leave a thermometer in the custard and make sure it does not go above about 175 degrees

5. Once mixture is heated and thickened its time to pour it into the remaining 1 cup heavy cream in the chilled bowl. Pour through the strainer to remove any bits of egg that may have curdled. Remove the strainer and whisk mixture for a few seconds to break up any chunks of the vanilla beans. Return the two vanilla pod halves to the mixture and add the 3/4 cup of Bailey's and the 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract then slowly stir with the whisk until cool

6. Once cooled down slightly cover the bowl with foil and place in the fridge to completely cool and thicken up

7. Once chilled churn in your ice cream maker following your makers directions for time, mine takes about 15-20 minutes most of the time. Move to a freezer safe container and let harden for at least 2 hours in the freezer before serving. Due to the alcohol content it will be a little loose right out the ice cream maker but will harden more in the freezer but still be soft when right out of the freezer

This all may sound like a lot just to make some ice cream but trust me when I say it is totally worth it and once you have done it one time it is super easy to do. Hope you enjoy this as much as I do! Happy ice cream making

-Mark