Eggnog-Style Ice Cream

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the whole milk, heavy cream, and the seeds scraped from the vanilla bean along with the bean pod. Warm over medium heat until mixture is hot and steaming but not boiling, about 5-7 minutes.
2. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, granulated sugar, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, and fine sea salt until pale and thickened.
3. Slowly pour about half of the warm milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly to temper the yolks.
4. Pour the tempered egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture.
5. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon and reaches 170-175°F (77-79°C), about 5-8 minutes.
6. Remove the custard from heat. Discard the vanilla bean pod. Stir in the pure vanilla extract and rum if using.
7. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean bowl to remove any cooked egg bits.
8. Cover tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight until fully cold.
9. Once chilled, churn the custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions, about 20-25 minutes, until it reaches soft-serve consistency.
10. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and freeze for at least 1 hour to firm up before serving.