How many yolks to add into a dairy free ice cream recipe?

I have a recipe for dairy free ice cream which I just started making, that basically calls for 2 cups soy milk, vanilla, salt, and sugar. While it doesn't call for eggs, I read a dairy free ice cream tips article that said that adding egg yolks can improve a dairy free ice cream that contains low fat milk. How many egg yolks should I add if the base is 2 cups soy milk? I'm sure I could add just about any amount, but I am curious as to what effect the amount of egg yolks used will have. Also, how would I go about adding them? Would I whisk them into my milk base and then warm in microwave, or just whisk and freeze as is? Also if it would be a good idea to warm them, for how long? Any other tips and suggestions are much appreciated.

Kelly Catrelli
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2 Comments

ChefJune February 28, 2017
I generally use whole eggs in my ice cream, whether they are dairy free or not. 2 whole eggs for 4 cups of liquid.
Your recipe having only 2 cups of liquid sounds like you will end up with quite a small amount of ice cream. Is that your intention?
I would recommend whisking the egg yolks in with the sugar, then stirring that mixture constantly, dribble in the hot milk until the egg mixture is warm. Otherwise you are apt to end up with scrambled eggs.
 
HalfPint February 27, 2017
Basically, you are making a custard-based ice cream, so 2 egg yolks per 8oz (250 ml) soy milk. For 2 cups of soy milk, you would probably need 4 egg yolks. I got the ratio from here: http://www.cooksinfo.com/custard
 
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