Homemade French Vanilla Ice Cream Easy Copycat Recipe

Transform your summer into a sweet celebration with this creamy French vanilla ice cream that rivals any premium brand. Unlike regular vanilla ice cream, this luxurious treat features egg yolks that create an impossibly smooth, custard-like texture that melts perfectly on your tongue. The taste? This tastes better than many premium ice creams you can buy. Your family will soon be enjoying delicious scoops of homemade vanilla ice cream.

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Why This Recipe Works

The secret to this French vanilla ice cream’s incredible creamy texture lies in the raw egg yolks, which act as natural emulsifiers to create a silky, custard-like base without any cooking. The high fat content from heavy cream and whole milk provides richness while preventing ice crystals from forming. By skipping the traditional custard-making process, you avoid the risk of scrambling eggs while still achieving that signature French vanilla luxury.

What is French Vanilla Ice Cream?

French vanilla ice cream is an old-fashioned frozen treat that gets its name from the French style of ice cream making, which incorporates egg yolks into the base. This isn’t about the type of vanilla used, but rather the technique that creates a richer, more luxurious texture than regular vanilla ice cream.

Why You Must Make Homemade French Vanilla Ice Cream From Scratch With This Recipe 

The quality of ice cream in supermarket freezers has improved significantly. These days, you can find plenty of gourmet brands in the supermarket freezers, but buying a pint will cost you plenty.

If you love ice cream, investing in a proper ice cream machine and learning how to make your own will save you a lot of money in the long run.

This French Vanilla Ice Cream recipe is perfect for beginners new to making ice cream. While most ice cream recipes require cooking the base to make a custard before churning, this recipe lets you skip that step, saving time and preventing you from turning on the stove.

French Vanilla Ice Cream Ingredients

This recipe is made with simple ingredients that are readily available.

For the Ice Cream Base:

• Eggs – Provide richness and act as natural emulsifiers for a smooth texture
• Sugar – Sweetens the mixture and helps prevent ice crystals from forming
• Heavy cream – Creates the rich, creamy base that makes this ice cream luxurious
• Whole milk – Balances the richness and helps achieve perfect consistency
• Vanilla extract – Delivers the classic vanilla flavor that makes this ice cream special, you can swap this for vanilla bean paste

Ingredient Notes

You can find several whipping creams on supermarket shelves, but the kind you want for this recipe is the regular version.

Consuming raw eggs can be dangerous. If you are concerned about using raw eggs in the ice cream, you can find pasteurized eggs in some stores. 

How to Make the Best French Vanilla Ice Cream

Just a few simple steps for making this French Vanilla Ice Cream recipe::

1. Whisk the eggs for 1 to 2 minutes in a large bowl until they lighten in color and appear frothy. You can mix with a mixer if you desire.

2. Continue to whisk, adding the sugar in stages.

3. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk the egg mixture until well combined.

4. Churn the ice cream according to the instructions for your ice cream maker.
5. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container and place it in the freezer until ready to serve.

What Goes Well With French Vanilla Ice Cream 

After all your hard work, you don’t want to cover up the subtle flavors of french vanilla with sauces or too many toppings. If you must add a garnish, try sprinkling crushed walnuts on top or enjoy with a vanilla wafer.

Just in case you want to drizzle on some toppings, here are some suggestions:

• Chocolate Syrup
• Hot Fudge Sauce
• Magic Shell
• Peanut Butter Sauce

French Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Some versions of french vanilla use real vanilla seeds for flavor and the slightly gritty texture the seeds give the ice cream.

Recipes using vanilla beans require heating on the stove to draw out as much flavor as possible. If you want to use vanilla seeds instead of vanilla extract in this recipe, you can try the following:

1. Warm the milk and cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat. 
2. Rinse and dry the vanilla bean.
3. Split the vanilla bean in two the long way using a sharp knife.
4. Use the back of the knife’s blade to scrape the seeds into the saucepan.
5. Add the vanilla bean to the saucepan. 
6. Cover the saucepan and let the milk and cream steam with the vanilla for a minute or two. 
7. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let cool for five minutes. 
8. Pour the flavored cream mixture into a container with a lid and put it in the fridge until chilled. 
9. Pick out the vanilla pods and use the milk and cream in the recipe. Leave out the vanilla extract.  

How To Store French Vanilla Ice Cream

Storing homemade ice cream is a little more complicated than you might think. Commercial manufacturers use stabilizers and blast chillers to prevent ice crystals from forming on their ice cream. Home ice makers don’t have those options.

There are a few storage tricks you can use to keep your ice cream as creamy and delicious as possible:

• Use a reusable ice cream container or an airtight container.
• Place plastic wrap directly on the top of the ice cream.
• Store ice cream in the back of the freezer for a more consent temperature.
• Eat homemade ice cream within a few days for the best texture. 

More Ice Cream Recipes to Make

• Cherry Garcia Ice Cream
• Cake Batter Ice Cream
• Chocolate Ice Cream
• Homemade Peanut Butter Ice Cream
• Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Delicious Ice Cream and Frozen Treats

• Banana Milkshake
• Bananas Foster
• Chips Ahoy McFlurry
• Frosted Coffee
• Hot Fudge Cake
• Oreo Mint McFlurry
• Reeses Ice Cream Pie
• Strawberry Frosty

Check out my easy ice cream recipes and the best recipes for summer here on CopyKat!

This recipe is from Ben and Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream and Dessert cookbook. You can find many more of their recipes in the book.