Serves 4-6
250ml milk
250ml double cream
1 vanilla pod, split and separated from seeds
6 egg yolks
90g caster sugar
1 Place the milk, cream, vanilla pod and seeds in a small heavy saucepan. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and leave to infuse for an hour.
2 Whisk the egg yolk and sugar together, then pour over the milk and whisk again. Transfer to a thick-bottomed saucepan and heat gently until the mixture will coat the back of a spoon.
3 Leave to cool, then pass through a sieve and chill well in the fridge. Before churning in an ice-cream maker, add any flavourings, such as 100g-150g home-made honeycomb or prunes in armagnac (see below) or 2 tablespoons of Baileys.