Ingredients
1c granulated sugar, divided
1/2 vanilla bean
1 cinnamon stick
1tsp. ground cinnamon
3c heavy cream
1 1/2 c milk
8lg egg yolks
2 lg eggs
Pinch of salt
Preparation
Place 1/2 c of sugar, vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, and ground cinnamon, cream and milk in medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil. Turn off heat and let steep for 20 min.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together remaining ½ cup sugar. Egg yolks, whole eggs, and salt. Remove cinnamon stick from cream mixture and return it to a boil.
Whisk ¾ cup of hot cream mixture into egg mixture; return entire mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture thickens and a path remains on back of sauce-coated spoon when you drag your finger across it ( should register 17F on an instant read thermometer. Remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve into a medium bowl.
Fill a larger bowl 1/3 full with ice water. Place bowl containing base into ice bath and let stand, stirring occasionally, until cool, about 15min. Remove from ice bath, cover bowl and chill for at least 4 hours
