Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Caramel Sauce

I can't believe it is Thanksgiving week! Time is truly flying! I hope everyone is ready for the big day!! The countdown is on!!

If you are still looking for the perfect ice cream to go with all of your homemade pies, look no further! This vanilla bean ice cream is divine. The recipe comes from David's book, The Perfect Scoop...so you know it is going to be good. David is the king of ice cream, in my opinion.

Using a real vanilla bean is the key here. You steep the bean/seeds for thirty minutes with the custard, which really brings out a nice vanilla flavor. You also add in some vanilla extract too! The vanilla flavor is strong, and you know you are eating the good stuff when you can see the black specks in your ice cream.

For fun, we made Dorie's caramel sauce to drizzle on top! Talk about a great dessert! The caramel sauce was easy to make...just keep a close eye on it so you don't burn it:) It will keep in the fridge for awhile too...so use it up on other desserts or drink it if you are really craving sugar:) It is that good!!!

So hurry up and make some ice cream this week...your pies will taste even better:)

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
from the Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
6 large egg yolks
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of cream, and salt in medium saucepan. Scrape seeds from the vanilla bean into the warm milk and add the bean as well. Cover and remove from the heat. Let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes. Pour the remaining cup of cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs yolks. Slowly pour the warm cream mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly. Scrape the mixture back into the saucepan and stir it constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula until mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour custard through strainer and stir it into the cream. Put the vanilla bean into the custard, add the vanilla extract, and stir until cool over an ice bath. Chill the mixture completely in the refrigerator. When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean (rinse it and reserve it for another use) then freeze the mixture according to the ice cream maker’s instructions.

Dorie’s Caramel Sauce

1 cup sugar
3 T water
1 T light corn syrup
¾ cup heavy cream
1 T unsalted butter

Put the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a medium saucepan and stir to combine. Heat over medium heat without stirring, until the caramel turns a deep amber color, 5-10 minutes…it took ours ten! It will turn fast, so keep watching it!

Lower the heat, stand back from the saucepan and add the cream and butter. Stir to smooth and calm down the caramel. Remove the pan from the heat.

Pour the caramel into a heatproof jar and cool until it is slightly warm-for about an hour.

The sauce will keep in the fridge for about a week. Just reheat in the microwave. This is great over ice cream, cakes, tarts, etc!!