root beer cuppy cakes with very vanilla ice cream

it's futile to resist the allure of a root beer float.

i'm the first to admit that i don't get excited by cake. it's not so much the cake, as it is the frosting. i can't stand frosting. there. i said it and i don't care who knows. frosting and i are done professionally. or so i thought. while perusing my favorite baking blog, the brown eyed baker, i became smitten with her root beer float cake. for as much as i hate frosting, i love root beer floats. and i have a super easy vanilla ice cream recipe that's ready to shine in this dessert.

very vanilla ice cream:

• 1 1/2 cups milk (if you live in NY, ronnybrook's cream line milk is super)
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 pint cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• pour milk into a small saucepan. cut vanilla bean in half lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds. add to the saucepan along with the bean.
• heat the milk over medium low until bubbles form around the edge of the pan, and steam rises from the surface. do not simmer the milk.
• turn off the heat, and cover the pan. let sit for 30 minutes. whisk in the sugar until it's dissolved.
• pour milk through a strainer, into a larger bowl (it helps if it has a spout). add the cream and extract, whisking to combine. cover and chill in the fridge for 8 hours, or overnight.

• add the chilled base to your ice cream maker, and churn as per instructions. when it reaches the soft serve stage, put it in a tupperware container and freeze for 4 hours.