Vanilla Ice Cream

In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch.

In a large bowl, whisk the cream cheese until smooth. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, combine the remaining 1-2/3 cups milk, the heavy cream, sugar, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla bean and seeds (if using vanilla bean paste or extract, don’t add it yet). Bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the vanilla bean flavors the mixture, about 4 minutes. Gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to a gentle boil and cook over medium heat until the mixture is slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.

Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. If using vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract, stir it in now.

To prepare an ice bath, fill a very large bowl with ice cubes and add cold water until the ice is slightly submerged. Nestle the bowl with your hot ice cream mixture into the ice bath, ensuring it makes good contact with the ice and is stable. Whisk the mixture occasionally while it cools, about 30 minutes, or until thoroughly chilled.

If you’ve used a vanilla pod, remove it. Freeze the ice cream in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer the ice cream into a container and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze until the ice cream is firm, about 4 hours.