It's National Ice Cream Day and for once I'm not late!! I'm a huge sucker for these National Something or Other Days, mainly because they give me a good excuse to indulge in those treats I (pretend I) try not to eat. I recently purchased an ice cream machine (this one) despite the many objections of my boyfriend, Moses. You see, we really don't have any extra room, so just like with cookbooks, I'm pretty much banned from buying new appliances. But since it was on sale and it's summer, I decided to rebel and buy it anyway!

The first recipe I tested (the night I brought home my secret new ice cream maker) was David Lebovitz's Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe, which is a glorious Vanilla Bean Custard. It's delicious but it was rather time consuming and recommended ice bathing and then refrigerating over night. The results were, of course, amazing but it's not an ice cream you can make on the spur of the moment. I also picked up some awesome tips at work from a very talented food stylist and swirled in some (cooled) rhubarb and ginger compote at the very end. YUM.

So today, for my second ice cream in my shiny new ice cream machine, I opted to try Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams Ice Cream Base.  My incredible coworker, who should really start her own food blog because she is my go to for all recipe questions, suggested I try Jeni's base after I complained about how laborious the custard base I had made the first time ended up being. And of course, she was right, it was a great and easy base. I highly recommend making this if you need to whip some ice cream up in a hurry. Tasty, easy and easy....three of my favorite things. I served mine up with some fresh figs, thanks Jenn for picking them up yesterday, and then drizzled a tiny bit of honey on top! Hurrah for summer, figs and National Ice Cream Day!

Honeyed Cardamom Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Lightly adapted from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams via Saveur Magazine

Makes 1 Quart

INGREDIENTS

• 2 c. whole milk
• 4 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 12 cardamom seeds
• 1 1/4 c. heavy cream
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 3 Tbsp. cream cheese, softened
• Honey, to taste
• Ice + water, for ice bath

TOOLS

• Ice cream machine
• 4-qt. saucepan
• Silicone spatula
• Paring knife
• Measuring spoons and cups
• Mixing bowls
• Gallon sized Ziploc freezer bag
• Fine mesh sieve

FIX

1. In a bowl, stir together 1/4 c. milk and the cornstarch; set slurry aside.
2. In a 4-qt. saucepan, whisk together remaining milk and the cream, sugar, corn syrup, cardamom seeds, seeds from vanilla bean pod (scape with paring knife) and salt; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
3. Cook for 4 minutes; stir in slurry. Return to a boil and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes.
4. Place cream cheese in a bowl and pour in 1/4 cup hot milk mixture; whisk until smooth. Then whisk in remaining milk mixture.
5. Strain through sieve and pour mixture into a plastic bag; seal, and submerge in a bowl of ice water until chilled. Pour mixture into an ice cream maker; process according to manufacturer's instructions.
6. When almost completely set, drizzle desired amount of honey.
7. Transfer ice cream to a storage container and freeze until set.
8. Serve and enjoy!