THE ITALIAN WAY TO ICE CREAM
With milk, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla bean, and cornstarch.
Vanilla beans are a luxury, so when we use one, we make it count. This ice cream does just that: it’s full of warm, full-bodied vanilla flavour and speckled with real vanilla seeds—rich, fragrant, and deeply satisfying. It’s the kind of vanilla ice cream you’d expect at a fine-dining restaurant, only here you can make it at home and enjoy every bit of it at a fraction of the cost.
This is our version of Italian-style ice cream—made the way home cooks in southern Italy have long done: with cornstarch. It’s a traditional method that thickens the mixture just enough to add structure, without relying on eggs or extra cream.
The result is light, clean-tasting ice cream that stays firm even in hot weather. Cornstarch adds body, so you can use less cream without losing that smooth, satisfying texture.
3 more ways to make this Vanilla Bean Ice Cream:
Do not reduce or replace anything; everything is there for a reason.
This is a quick overview of the recipe. If you are new to ice cream making, do read the recipe before proceeding.
Make a cornstarch slurry: whisk the corn starch into 3 Tbs. of the cold milk in a heatproof bowl.
Bring the rest of the milk
and the sugar to a full boil,
and pour it into the cornstarch slurry. Pour back into the saucepan.
Return to the heat and stir until it thickens (around 82°C / 180°F).
Pour into a bowl and add the cold heavy cream. Scrape in the vanilla seeds and add the vanilla pod.
Cool down over an ice bath.
Put the ice cream mixture in the refrigerator overnight; or until completely cold.
Churn in your ice cream maker until fluffed up and creamy.
Put it in the freezer for a few hours to set.
As soon as it sets, you can either serve it from the ice cream maker bowl or transfer it to a container and store it in the freezer.
When making ice cream, it’s best to weigh all your ingredients—even the liquids. We also recommend weighing liquids directly into your bowl or pan as you follow the recipe, rather than measuring them in a separate container and transferring them. This helps avoid small but unnecessary losses during transfer.
Milk and heavy cream: When measuring liquids by volume, always use a rubber spatula to thoroughly scrape any residue left in the measuring cup. This ensures you’re using the full amount.
A rubber spatula isn’t just for scraping—it’s your best tool for stirring ice cream bases the right way.
Use it for:
✔ Scraping the bottom of the saucepan when heating milk or sugar
✔ Mixing evenly, especially when combining thick ingredients like hazelnut butter
✔ Getting every last bit out of bowls, pans, and blenders—no waste, no shortcuts
⚠️ Inadequate stirring = uneven mixture = poor texture after churning.
Good stirring gives you a smooth, even base—and better ice cream.
Don’t have a spatula?
Get a heat-resistant, flexible rubber spatula. It’s a small tool that makes a big difference—and you’ll wonder how you ever cooked without it.
This vanilla ice cream is perfect as it is. However, if you want to boost its flavour you can substitute the regular sugar with good-quality raw cane sugar, such as Demerara or Turbinado. These sugars have a natural subtle caramel flavour which pairs well with the vanilla’s tropical notes and boosts its flavour.
The ice cream mixture needs to cool completely and hydrate before churning, so prepare it in advance (approx. 8 hours before) to give it time to chill in the refrigerator.
If your ice cream maker has a removable freezer bowl, put it in the freezer for the whole time indicated by the manufacturer before churning, usually 24 hours.
Make a cornstarch slurry: In a heatproof bowl, whisk until smooth the cornstarch (25 g / 1 oz) with a splash or two of the measured cold milk (650 g / 23 oz). Leave your whisk in the bowl—you’ll need it again soon.
Heat the milk and sugar: In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining milk and all the sugar (200 g / 7 oz). Heat over medium-high, stirring often with a rubber spatula, until the sugar dissolves and the milk is hot and steamy.
Combine with the slurry: Whisk the slurry again to smooth it. Slowly pour the hot milk into the cornstarch slurry bowl in a steady stream, whisking continuously to prevent lumps. Once fully combined, scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure no cornstarch is left unmixed. Whisk again briefly to smooth everything out.
Thicken the mixture: Scrape the combined mixture back into the saucepan and place it over medium heat. Cook for a few more minutes, stirring constantly with the rubber spatula, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the spatula.
Scrape the bottom of the saucepan as you stir to prevent the milk from catching and burning. If you have a thermometer, the target temperature is around 82°C (180°F).
When thickened, do not let it sit in the saucepan—move directly to the next step.
Strain the ice cream mixture over a fine-mesh sieve and into a heatproof bowl.
Add the cold heavy cream: Pour in the saucepan the cold heavy cream (300 g / 11 oz) and stir thoroughly until smooth.
Scrape the vanilla seeds from the vanilla bean into the mixture and whisk vigorously to distribute them evenly. Add the empty pod as well—it will infuse more flavor during refrigeration. We’ll remove it before churning.
Strain the ice cream mixture over a fine-mesh sieve and into a heatproof bowl.
Cool the mixture with an ice bath: Place the bowl with the ice cream mixture inside a larger one and fill the space around it with ice cubes and cold water to create an ice bath. Make sure no water gets into the mixture. About 200 g (7 oz) of ice—roughly one standard tray—is enough to cool it down properly.
Let the mixture cool in the ice bath for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to help it cool evenly.
Chill completely: Once the mixture is no longer warm, remove the bowl from the ice bath, cover it and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 3 days. The base should be fridge-cold before churning.
Check if the ice cream mixture is cold before churning it: 4ºC–12ºC / 39ºF-54ºF / it feels fridge-cold when you place your finger into it.
Prepare the ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Remove the vanilla pod from the ice cream mixture.
Blend before churning: briefly blitz the ice cream mixture with an immersion blender, stopping once to scrape down the sides and bottom with a rubber spatula. This improves consistency and ensures a smooth, even texture.
Churn: with the machine running, pour the ice cream mixture through the canister and into the ice cream maker. Leave to churn until fluffed up and creamy; depending on your ice cream maker, this can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes.
This ice cream mixture expands and becomes airy as it churns. You’ll know it’s ready when it looks smooth, creamy, and slightly wavy—similar to soft-serve ice cream. Churning time varies depending on your machine and can take anywhere from 30 to 70 minutes.
To check the texture, lift a spoonful. It should be thick enough to stay on the spoon, but still soft. If it looks too thin or starts melting immediately, it needs more time.
If you’re unsure, let it churn for 10 more minutes. Keep in mind that it won’t look like store-bought ice cream at this point—it will still be soft. It only becomes firm and scoopable after a few hours in the freezer.
Stop the machine once the mixture is thick and creamy. If you continue churning beyond that point, the mixture can start losing the air it has built up and may seize, resulting in a dense, heavy texture.
One important note: some ice cream makers are programmed to stop automatically after a fixed time, but that doesn’t always mean the ice cream is ready. If your machine stops and the mixture still looks too soft, simply restart it and continue churning until the texture improves.
Put in the freezer to set: before serving the ice cream or moving it to a container for storing, you have to put it in the freezer to set. To do so, turn off the ice cream maker and:
· remove the removable freezer bowl (still filled with the ice cream) from the ice cream machine
· remove the paddle, scraping any ice cream attached to it back into the ice cream bowl
· cover the ice cream bowl and place it in the freezer
Setting time depends on many factors; see notes below for indicative times.
Serve or store: when it sets, you can serve it directly from the removable freezer bowl or transfer it to an airtight container for longer storage.
The setting time depends on the type of ice cream maker you’re using. Here are the general guidelines:
3–5 hours for machines with removable freezer bowls (these bowls must be pre-frozen before churning)
Under 1 hour for machines with built-in compressors and aluminum bowls
⚠️ Important: Ice cream in aluminum bowls sets quickly. Do not leave it for too long—once fully frozen, it can become extremely hard and difficult to remove without risking scratches to the bowl. Always monitor it closely.
To check if the ice cream is ready, aim for an internal temperature of –11°C (12°F). If you don’t have a thermometer, use this simple test:
Insert a round-tip knife all the way to the bottom of the ice cream:
✔ If it goes in smoothly but meets gentle resistance, it’s ready
✖ If it feels hard on top but soft underneath, it needs more time
✖ If it’s too firm to insert the knife, it’s over-frozen and likely too hard to scoop
If it’s over-frozen, don’t worry—head to the next section for how to bring it back to scoopable.
If the ice cream sits in the freezer in the removable freezer bowl for too long after it has set, it can become too hard to scoop or remove.
To make it scoopable again:
Place the bowl in the refrigerator and allow the ice cream to soften gradually.
Here’s how long that may take:
4–10 hours for removable freezer bowls (pre-freeze models)
1–2 hours for aluminum bowls (from compressor ice cream makers)
Note: These times are approximate and may vary depending on your fridge and the amount of ice cream. Check the texture occasionally as it softens.
Once the ice cream is soft enough to scoop—or its internal temperature reads approximately –11°C (12°F)—you can:
✔ Transfer it to another container and store it in the freezer
✔ Or serve it directly from the bowl
Just be sure to avoid digging into an over-frozen bowl with hard utensils, especially if using a nonstick-coated or aluminum bowl.
Straight after churning, the ice cream has a soft-serve consistency and melts almost instantly on contact. At this stage, it’s too soft to serve neatly or transfer easily—it’s simply too messy to handle.
Freezing the ice cream immediately after churning allows it to set properly. This step brings it to the right texture: scoopable, stable, and easy to portion or transfer into a storage container.
It’s the final step that turns churned ice cream into finished ice cream.
Storing: Transfer the finished ice cream to a lidded container and store it in the freezer for up to one month.
Cover it well to protect it from absorbing any unwanted freezer smells.
Scooping: Like all artisanal-style ice creams, this one freezes hard over time.
To make it scoopable again, place the container in the refrigerator for 45–60 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches about –11°C (12°F).
Once softened, it’ll scoop cleanly and serve beautifully.
