Vanilla ice-cream

Makes about 1 litre

(Jason Lowe)

Don't even think of making vanilla ice-cream on the cheap. For this recipe, you'll need lots of egg yolks and cream, plus a nice creamy milk such as Gold Top, Guernsey or Jersey to make the ice-cream rich and delicious.

400ml milk, such as Gold Top or Guernsey or Jersey
1 good quality vanilla pods
teaspoon vanilla extract
400ml Jersey or clotted cream, or a mixture of both
6 egg yolks
150g caster sugar

Put the milk into a heavy-based saucepan. Split the vanilla pods lengthways with a sharp knife and scrape out the seeds with the tip of the knife into the milk; add the spent pods, too. Slowly bring the milk to the boil, then remove from the heat.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl, then gradually pour on the hot milk, whisking well. Return to the pan and cook over a low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk, for about 5 minutes until slightly thickened, but don't let it boil.

Pour the custard into a bowl and whisk in the cream. Leave to cool, then churn in an ice-cream machine until thickened. Scoop into balls to serve.