Eggnog Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup milk
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• 2/3 cup white, granulated sugar
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp rum, bourbon, or brandy

Directions

1. Pour the 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of the cream into a heavy 2 quart saucepan. Stir in the cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt, then warm the mixture until it gives off steam without coming to a boil.
2. Turn the heat down to warm, cover the pan, and let the spices infuse for at least a half hour. Remove the whole cloves and throw them away.
3. Add the sugar to the warm milk and cream mixture, stirring until it has fully dissolved.
4. Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a metal bowl, and set that bowl inside a larger bowl filled with ice water. Set a fine mesh strainer over the cream.
5. In a medium sized bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Gradually stream in about half of the warm cream and milk mixture, whisking the whole time so the yolks warm gently instead of scrambling.
6. Pour the warmed yolk mixture back into the saucepan.
7. Set the pan back on the stove over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and scraping along the bottom, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spoon. When you drag a finger through the coating, the line should stay clear instead of flowing back together. This can take about 10 minutes.
8. As soon as the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, take it off the heat right away and pour it through the prepared strainer into the cream set over the ice bath, so the cooking stops. If the custard is still too thin to cling to the spoon, keep cooking it a bit longer.
9. Stir the strained custard into the cold cream. After it has cooled down in the ice bath, move the mixture to the refrigerator and chill it thoroughly, at least a couple of hours.
10. Just before churning, stir in the vanilla extract and the rum, bourbon, or brandy.
11. Churn the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
12. Transfer the ice cream from the machine to an airtight container and place it in your freezer for several hours before eating. It will be very soft right after churning, but it will firm up as it freezes. If it has been stored for more than a day, let it sit for a few minutes before scooping.