We’re finally reaching the end of the meal. This perfect little scoop of crème fraîche ice cream is the end of what was a really nice meal. If you don’t already have an ice cream machine—what are you waiting for? Seriously, it is the best $50 you’ll ever spend in your kitchen. I didn’t know how much I needed an ice cream maker until I got one a little over a year ago. Now, I have no idea what I did without it. Nothing gets my friends more excited than homemade ice cream. The crowd goes wild. It is also a relatively easy dessert to master.

I think that David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop is another kitchen necessity. It is the ice cream bible. Seriously. Spend some time with this book and you will be a master ice cream maker and before you know it you’ll be inventing your own flavors.

This recipe stood out to me right away, but it took me over a year to finally make it. Crème fraîche is like the fancy and rich relative of sour cream. It is available at places like Whole Foods but you can also make it yourself. Combine 2 cups heavy cream with 1/4 cup buttermilk and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours, until thick. Refrigerate until you are ready to use it.

Crème Fraîche Ice Cream

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 5 large egg yolks
• 2 cups crème fraîche

Prepare a medium-sized bowl with a mesh strainer over the top and set it in an ice bath.

Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Scrape the mixture back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof plastic spatulam scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir to cool over an ice bath. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.

Once cool, whisk in the crème fraîche, then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

***If anyone needs a recommendation for an ice cream maker, I would suggest this. It is affordable and works very well.