Ice Cream Class

Nicholas Gavin is the Culinary Creative Director of ChefSteps, where he develops recipes and is responsible for making all the food look beautiful. Nick has worked at ChefSteps for over a decade; he and ChefSteps co-founder Grant Crilly worked together at Modernist Cuisine. Nick has worked in professional kitchens both in the United States and abroad, most notably at Mugaritz in San Sebastian, Spain.

Nicholas Gavin

Classic French vanilla ice cream, with its characteristic golden hue, is as decadent as ice cream gets. The yolks in the rich custard base contribute to a smooth, easily churned scoop that melts slowly. The problem? It’s unmistakably eggy in flavor.We wanted to bring vanilla to the forefront without losing the richness and texture that egg yolks provide. A blend of locust bean gum, guar gum, and lambda carrageenan—trusty hydrocolloids that aid in stabilization—came to the rescue. These ingredients work in concert to provide the stability the ice cream base needs, eliminating the need for egg yolks. The result: perfectly creamy ice cream that tastes of vanilla through and through.EDITORS’ NOTE: We’ve updated this recipe to improve the texture of the ice cream, streamline the process, and provide multiple options for churning. We developed a new stabilizer blend that produces a silkier mouthfeel. We now use both vanilla seeds and pods, as well as vanilla extract, for a more rounded and complex vanilla flavor. We have included instructions for cooking the custard base on the stovetop, as well as sous vide, and lowered the sous vide cooking temperature. If you prefer to use the original recipe, we’ve included it as a tip at the end of the recipe before the make-ahead and storage instructions.

Egg-Free Vanilla Ice Cream