Vanilla Ice Cream

This is a basic recipe that can be added to in order to change the flavor. Once we added fresh basil from our garden in Mexico and it was incredible.

In pot, bring half and half to a boil so that it almost foams over. Remove from the heat. Beat egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually pour in the scalding half and half, whisking so that the eggs don’t curdle.
Place the bowl with the ingredients over simmering water (improvise a double boiler), stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. When the custard coats the back of the spoon, remove it from the double boiler and continue to stir. Stir in the vanilla and any other ingredients at this time.
Pour the custard into a bowl that has been cooling in the freezer. Cover with wax paper and put in the freezer.
Stir every hour. The more the custard is stirred, the fluffier the ice cream becomes. It can be left overnight without stirring, which creates a gelato-like, thick frozen custard.