Neapolitan-Style Ice Cream

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine whole milk, heavy cream, 3/4 cup sugar, fine sea salt, and the scraped seeds plus pod of 1 vanilla bean. Warm gently over medium heat until steam appears and sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let vanilla infuse for 15 minutes.
2. In a bowl, whisk egg yolks until smooth. Gradually temper the yolks by slowly whisking in about 1 cup of the warm milk mixture. Then whisk the yolk mixture back into the saucepan.
3. Cook the custard over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon and reaches 175°F (79°C) on a thermometer. Remove from heat and strain into a clean bowl. Discard the vanilla bean pod. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours until well chilled.
4. Divide chilled custard evenly into three bowls.
5. For the chocolate portion: heat 1/3 custard gently in a small saucepan until warm. Remove from heat and stir in chopped bittersweet chocolate until smooth. Cool to refrigerator temperature and return to refrigerator.
6. For the strawberry portion: combine chopped strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar in a bowl. Let macerate at room temperature 15 minutes, then gently fold into 1/3 cup of the custard. Add 5 ml pure vanilla extract. Chill until cold.
7. Leave the remaining 1/3 custard as the plain vanilla portion.
8. Churn each mixture separately in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions, about 20-25 minutes per batch. Transfer each flavor to an airtight container.
9. Layer the strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate ice creams in a loaf pan or container. Smooth the top, cover tightly, and freeze at least 4 hours to firm up and allow flavors to meld.
10. To serve, scoop Neapolitan ice cream so each serving includes all three flavors.