Nothing says summer like a heaping scoop of chocolate-chip cookie dough in a waffle cone. Although it takes a little longer than lining up at your local shop, making homemade ice cream allows you to nix artificial ingredients and get creative with the flavouring process. The following recipes are simple, healthy, delicious, and different—something we can all scream for.
Making ice cream at home from scratch may take a little time and preparation, but it’s not difficult and comes with a host of benefits. For starters, making your own ice cream means you can forgo the stabilizers, additives, and extra sugar found in commercial ice creams and instead incorporate fresh, high quality seasonal ingredients.
You also have the option of customizing your creation to your specific desires and tastes. And don’t forget to add extra texture and flavour by stirring in or topping your ice cream with healthy additions such as chopped nuts, seeds, spices, toasted coconut, or berries.
This summer, there’s no need to scream for ice cream. Churn up one of these recipes and you’ll be on your way to cool, creamy relief in no time.
Recipes
- Razzle Dazzle Banana Soft Serve with Maple Almond Crunch
- Avocado Mint Ice Cream with Grilled Pineapple
- Lemon Poppy Seed Ice Cream with Blueberry Swirl
- Carrot and Apricot Ice Cream
- Nutty Cacao Frozen Cream
Ice cream maker buyer’s guide
Before running out to buy one, it’s important to consider a few points to ensure you are purchasing the correct machine for your needs.
Capacity
This will depend on how often you plan to use it and the amount of ice cream you want to make. Most electrical ice cream makers have a capacity of 2 quarts (2 L) or less. Older hand-crank ice cream makers usually have a greater capacity.
Weight
If you don’t plan on storing your ice cream maker on the kitchen counter, consider how heavy the unit will be to lift up and down from a cabinet.
Time per batch
Making a lot of ice cream is a much slower process in a machine with a freezer canister since the bowl has to be frozen between each batch. A built-in freezer mechanism is great for making multiple batches one after the other; however, they usually have a smaller capacity and a higher price tag.
Cube method
Craving some sweet, cool relief from the heat but don’t have an ice cream maker? Use ice cube trays to achieve a decadent frozen confection with no machine required.
Freeze the desired ice cream base in ice cube tray until firm.
Combine frozen cubes with some extra liquid (preferably what was used in the making of ice cream base) in food processor until smooth.
Transfer mixture to airtight container and freeze until firm, about 2 to 3 hours.
Fresh from frozen
If you can somehow resist eating your homemade ice cream right away and need to store it in the freezer, here are a few tips for keeping your hard work tasting its best.
- Store ice cream in the very back of the freezer. Changes in temperature can cause ice cream to melt slightly and then refreeze, forming crunchy ice crystals that you worked so hard to avoid in the first place.
- Store ice cream in a container with a high surface-area-to-volume ratio that will expose the majority of the ice cream to the cold air. This will chill the ice cream faster, keeping those pesky ice crystals at bay.
- Use a container with a tight-fitting lid to store your ice cream. This will help keep freezer burn and questionable odours from taking hold of your ice cream.