Well...the good news! It's the 21st Century and you can have all that yummy goodness without any of the hard work. Why oh why did I think making your own food seemed so overwhelming? Food has become such a store bought convenience that I didn't even think about making much of my own food. I mean...why would you make your own ice cream when there are rows and rows of tidily lined up jolly containers in the grocery store freezer?
Honestly, there are even a few ice cream brands I would still consider eating. A few years ago Haagen-Dazs came out with a line of ice cream called "Five". It had only 5 ingredients and they were all pretty reasonable if you had to buy ice cream. Of course it wasn't organic, but...if you were in a bind and needed an ice cream fix it did seem reasonable. Sadly, I haven't seen that choice around anymore. I don't know if it is still available in some markets or not. On the flip side...there are brands out there that NO one should be consuming. Read the ingredients people! Of course you know if you can't identify an ingredient or you can't pronounce it you shouldn't put it in your mouth! I'm not going to go into all the gory details here. You know...like anti-freeze being in many brands and such...I want to talk about yummy homemade goodness instead!
Making you own ice cream is quick, easy and fun. There are so many "modern" ice cream makers on the market these days. They are reasonably priced and well made. This is the one I have and I'm very happy with it.
I even like that it is festive and red! I purchased mine at Williams-Sonoma and it was a promotional deal where it came with two freezer bowls instead of one. I think this is a fairly common promo and I recommend you look for it. I often use both bowls when entertaining. It makes it quick and easy to have plenty of ice cream and to make two different flavors with the same ice cream base recipe.
Okay...I have a confession. I actually bought this for my boy for Christmas a couple years ago. I expected him to "wow" me with all kinds of amazing ice cream flavors. Well...a year went by and he'd never even taken it out of the box! So...I thought it was only fair that I "borrow...permanently" his ice cream maker...right? Yeah, he has whined about it a time or two...but, since I'm actually making ice cream with it and he gets to eat it on a pretty regular basis that has kind of shut him up. :)
I tried a few different recipes and came up with what I consider the "perfect" ice cream base. Now...I don't use eggs. I know many recipes do call for eggs. According to me (and Alton Brown) ice cream does NOT have eggs in it. That would be frozen custard. That is also delish and can be made in the above ice cream maker. And...you can even call it ice cream if you want to!
I have experimented with different whipping cream as well. I also learned from Mr. Alton Brown that you shouldn't use "heavy" whipping cream. I agree with this as well after trying both. Sadly, I have also realized that most whipping cream has the dreaded ingredient carrageenan. Even organic whipping cream. This makes me sad and bugs me at the same time. All I want in my whipping cream is cream! Well...luckily...I found a product that I'm in love with!
Kalona Super Natural makes awesome products in my opinion. I buy this at Whole Foods or Real Foods Markets. It is organic, not "heavy whip" and contains no carrageenan. I also like that it comes in a 32 ounce bottle. Just the right amount for two batches of amazing ice cream.
The following base recipe is my very favorite.
Marianne's Basic Ice Cream Recipe
2 cups organic whipping cream
1 cup organic whole milk
3/4 cup white cane sugar
1 TBSP vanilla extract
2 cups of add-ins...(not necessary unless you want to add something yummy i.e. nuts, cherries, fruit, candy)
Combine the cream, milk and sugar in a bowl. Stir until dissolved. Stir in vanilla extract. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
Now...use your imagination! You can add 1 tsp. of almond extract and fresh chopped cherries and have a really spectacular summer treat. You can add cocoa powder or chocolate chips. You can be exotic and add lavender syrup and honey. Really, the sky is the limit!
I will share two of my favorites. When I was growing up there was a local ice cream store that made malted milk ice cream! I dreamed about that stuff for years. I craved it and cried for it. So...I came up with this. I make the base recipe and add 9 tablespoons of malted milk powder. Oh my...it is soooo close to my ice cream dreams. It is freakishly good and has become a favorite with my family and friends.
The other flavor I can't find anymore is "brown sugar". Well...make your own! I sub the white sugar for packed brown sugar and then add an extra 1/2 cup of brown sugar to punch up the flavor. This has also been a big hit.
After refrigerating your ice cream base make it according to the manufacturers instructions for your machine. We personally like it right out of the bowl after it churns and is like soft serve. Usually if I'm entertaining I put it in a covered freezer container and let it get hard for a few hours. Either way it is fabulous.
This is what it looks like when it is finished churning. Edible right then or go ahead and freeze it until you are ready to eat!
When you realize how quick and easy this is your life will completely change! You will use your imagination and taste buds and come up with all kinds of outrageousness! You may never look back...
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