Creamy Vanilla Bean Dream Ice Cream

1. Chill Out

Pre-freeze an 8- or 9-inch square metal baking pan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. In a medium saucepan, combine vanilla bean and seeds, cream, milk, 6 tablespoons sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Warm over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture steams steadily and registers 175°F (5-10 minutes). Remove from heat.

2. Yolk Fusion

In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar until smooth (about 30 seconds). Gradually whisk in 1 cup of the heated cream mixture to temper the yolks. Return the tempered yolk mixture to the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens and reaches 180°F (7-14 minutes).

3. Cool Down

Pour the custard into a large bowl and let it cool for 10-20 minutes (no steaming). Place 1 cup of custard into a small bowl. Cover both bowls with plastic wrap; refrigerate the large bowl and freeze the small one until fully cooled, at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. The custard in the small bowl should be frozen solid.

4. Churn and Merge

Mix the frozen custard into the refrigerated custard, stirring until dissolved. Strain the combined custard through a fine-mesh sieve into an ice cream maker. Churn until it thickens to a soft-serve consistency and reaches about 21°F (15-25 minutes).

5. Final Freeze

Spread the churned ice cream in the pre-frozen baking pan. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the ice cream. Freeze until firm at the edges, approximately 1 hour.