Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

I made this batch of ice cream because my birthday is next week and I want to make my own birthday ice cream cake. Since it'll take a little while to make this cake I made the ice cream ahead. And of course I had to snack on it a little until I make my cake.

If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can go on google and actually make your own. You usually need a coffee can and lots of ice and salt. If you want to make the ice cream cake coming up but not this ice cream, feel free to just buy some ice cream and use the method that will be up eventually.


Ingredients:
3 cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
8 large egg yolks
9 ounces vanilla sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean (optional)

Directions
1. Place the half-and-half and the heavy cream into a medium saucepan, over medium heat. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat.

2. In a mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar and whisk to combine. Add split and scraped vanilla bean into mixture and stir.

3. Temper the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar by gradually adding small amounts of the cream mixture and whisking vigorously. Do this until about a third of the cream mixture has been added to the eggs. Pour the egg mixture back into the cream saucepan and mix vigorously. If you don't mix a lot during this process your eggs could scramble and your ice cream would be lumpy which is not good!

4. Cook mixture, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and reaches 170 to 175 degrees F. Pour the mixture into a container and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

5. Stir in the vanilla extract. Place the mixture into the refrigerator and once it is cool enough not to form condensation on the lid, cover and store for 4 to 8 hours or until the temperature reaches 40 degrees F or below.

6. Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes. Stir in chocolate chunks by hand once machine is finished. Serve as is for soft serve or freeze for another 3 to 4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.