Instructions: Scald 2 cups of the cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat, just until the milk gives off steam and bubbles begin to form around the edge. Remove the pan from the heat. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until they have a pale lemon hue. Add the sugar and continue to whisk until dissolved.

Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup of the scalded cream. When the mixture is thoroughly blended, whisk it into the scalded cream in the saucepan. Add the vanilla bean. Return the saucepan to low heat and whisk the cream constantly for about 5 minutes, until it has thickened and reached a temperature of 178 to 180F, as registered on an instant-read or a dairy thermometer. Remove the pan from the heat. Remove the vanilla bean from the pan, then whisk in the white chocolate, until it is melted and thoroughly incorporated. Scrape out the inside of the vanilla bean with the back of a knife and add these flecks to the pan. Whisk in the remaining cream.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Prepare the ice cream in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturers directions. Store the ice cream in the freezer, where it has a shelf life of about 1 week.

YIELD: 1 quart

If you would like to email yourself the recipe for later use, or share the recipe with your friends or family, enter the email addresses below and this recipe will be emailed to you and others as well.