I just got a Jamie Oliver cookbook and I’m totally excited about a ton of it. After making the cranberry bundt I posted last week, I had a bunch of egg yolks left over and custard seemed like a good first move. As an extra bonus, vanilla beans were on a big sale!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons whole milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 6 tablespoons superfine sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 8 large egg yolks

Prepare the vanilla bean by cutting down the length of it, opening it on one side. Scrape the seeds  out and put them in a saucepan.

Add the milk, cream, 4 tablespoons of the sugar, and the scraped-out bean in the pan.

Heat until just boiling, then remove from the heat and let cool for several minutes.

In the meantime, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar in a large bowl until pale.

Remove the vanilla bean from the milk mixture. Ladle a bit of the warm milk into the yolks, whisking as you do so.

Continue ladling the milk into the yolks, whisking all the while.

Pour the mixture back into the warm pot and cook gently on the stove, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.

That's what cooking with real vanilla looks like!

After several minutes, the mixture will thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon, at which time you should take it off the heat immediately. You can eat it warm or cold as is, or chill for at least an hour in the refrigerator and then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the ice cream maker’s instructions.

On the other hand, if you cook it a bit too much, the egg will start to scramble.

Take it off the heat immediately, and either transfer it to a cool pot or put the bottom of the current pot in a bowl of ice water for several minutes. Allow the custard to cool briefly, then strain the egg chunks through a sieve and the remaining mixture will be fine.

I froze mine in an ice cream maker with a big spoonful of fudge sauce, and it was super good!

Delightful!

Frozen Custard

From Cook with Jamie.

• 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons whole milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 6 tablespoons superfine sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 8 large egg yolks

Cut open the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Put the seeds, bean, milk, cream, and 4 tablespoons of the sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, whisk together the yolks and remaining sugar until light yellow. Ladle a small amount of the milk mixture into the yolks, whisking as you add it. Continue adding the milk to the yolks until fully added, whisking the whole time.

Pour the mixture back into the warm pot and return to low heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove immediately from the heat. Serve cold, warm, or chill and then freeze in an ice cream maker.