Archive for: ice cream
If you love maple syrup, you really should make this Maple Syrup Ice Cream. It is ice cream made with pure maple syrup, instead of sugar, and it delivers a lot of maple flavor in a cold, creamy base. Surprisingly, it isn’t too sweet to eat by the scoopful and I often enjoy it that way. It is even better when served alongside a slice of homemade pie, a fruit cobbler or some shortbread cookies – anything you might ordinarily pair with plain vanilla ice cream. Getting a small bite of maple ice cream in each bite of pie will turn an ordinary pie into something very memorable.
The ice cream starts with a french ice cream base, where hot milk is used to temper eggs to create a nice custard base. The eggs add a nice richness to the ice cream without making it too eggy. This ice cream also uses only whole milk and no heavy cream, as I found that too much cream took away from the maple syrup a bit. You will need to use an ice cream maker for the best results with this recipe.
AS a final note, I know that maple syrup is a pricey ingredient. It is definitely necessary to use the real thing in this recipe, not pancake syrup or a blend. I also recommend opting for a dark maple syrup, or grade B maple syrup, instead of a light syrup or grade A (even if it is labeled “extra fancy”), so that you get the best flavor in the ice cream. It is even better if you have a little bit of syrup left over so that you can drizzle a little bit over the ice cream when you serve it.
+Continue Reading
This is an ice cream for peanut butter lovers. Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream is a rich peanut butter ice cream that has a swirl of chocolate shavings running through it, delivering a great chocolate-peanut butter flavor with creamy ice cream and a slight crunch from the chocolate. It is addictive – and might be even more addictive than the peanut butter cup candies that inspired this flavor combination.
The ice cream starts out with an easy to make peanut butter base. Use a peanut butter that you like the flavor of for this recipe, because you are really going to taste it in the finished product. I used an all natural national brand (Jif All Natural) that I frequently use for baking. There are no eggs in the ice cream base because the peanut butter adds a lot of thickness to the mixture, and plenty of fat to keep the finished ice cream ultra-smooth and scoopable. I also used honey as the sweetener here because it goes so well with peanut butter, and it is easy to whisk in to the no-cook ice cream base.
I churned the peanut butter ice cream in my ice cream maker (and yes, you will want an ice cream maker for the best results with this recipe), then added in the chocolate. Ice cream churned in an ice cream maker typically needs to be frozen after churning to fully firm up, and transferring it from the machine to a storage container is the perfect time to add any mix-ins to a batch of homemade ice cream.
I didn’t want to use chocolate chips in this ice cream because I don’t like big, hard chunks of frozen chocolate in my ice cream (standard chocolate chips are just too big). So instead, I shaved a bunch of milk chocolate into chocolate curls, then layered those very thin pieces of chocolate with the ice cream as I scooped it out of the ice cream maker and into a freezer-safe container to firm up. I used a lot of chocolate shavings in between the layers of ice cream, and the result was not only a great peanut butter and chocolate combination, but also a beautiful chocolate swirl in my ice cream. I used milk chocolate, but you can use milk or dark. I think that shaving the chocolate into rough curls is a fast and easy way to break the chocolate down into small pieces and they have a great texture, but finely chopping the chocolate is an alternative that will work here, too.
+Continue Reading
Everyone has a favorite flavor when it comes to ice cream shops. Sometimes it is something simple, like a simple vanilla or cookies n’ cream, and sometimes it is something that you can’t really find anywhere else. Baskin-Robbins’s Jamocha Almond Fudge is one of those flavors that you just don’t find anywhere else. The flavor has been on their menu since 1959 and has been the favorite flavor of many people since that time. BR isn’t exactly the small, artisan ice cream shop down the street, however, so the way to get a high quality batch of this particular ice cream flavor is to make it yourself.
My Coffee Almond Fudge Ice Cream has the same combination of flavors as BR’s Jamocha Almond Fudge. It starts with a coffee ice cream base that is studded with roasted almonds swirled with a chocolate fudge ribbon. I like to use slivered almonds in this ice cream because you still get a good crunch and almond flvor from them, but the almonds are thin enough that they don’t get rock hard when the ice cream is frozen. The coffee ice cream is rich and smooth, with a cafe latte flavor, and the roasted almonds and fudge are great ways to dress it up.
I use instant coffee (Starbucks Via is my preference) in this ice cream because it is a quick and easy way to control the amount of coffee flavor in the recipe. You can replace the instant coffee with about 3/4 cup of crushed, roasted coffee beans and steep them in the hot milk/cream for about 5 minutes, if you prefer to take that route, too. The ice cream is made as plain coffee ice cream and churned until soft. Once it is made, the almonds and fudge sauce are swirled into the base while it is still soft to distribute them, then the ice cream is frozen until firm to set the swirl before serving.
+Continue Reading
Homemade ice cream is truly a special dessert. They’re rich, creamy and can be customized with any flavor or mix-in that you can think of. And since ice cream is usually store-bought by most of us, it is very impressive to friends and family when you make your own. There are all kinds of ice cream makers on the market, from models that cost less than $50 (and sometimes quite a bit less) to expensive models that go for several hundred dollars. Before jumping in and buying one, many will wonder the same thing: Do I need an ice cream maker to make homemade ice cream?
The short answer is no, you do not necessarily need an ice cream maker to make homemade ice cream. There are a few ways to make homemade ice cream without an ice cream maker. For instance, you can make ice cream using the granita method, and freeze your ice cream base and stirring it occasionally to distribute the ice crystals until it is completely frozen. You can also opt for a no-churn ice cream recipe that uses whipped cream to incorporate air into the mix. Or, if you’re looking for something a little more creative, I’ve made great ice cream using dry ice before (this technique can be done with a mixer or by hand).
That being said, it is easier, faster and you will get better results when you do have an ice cream maker. Ice cream makers are designed to speed up the process of freezing an ice cream base. When you speed up the time it takes to freeze the mixture, and add some churning action, you end up with smaller ice crystals and a much smoother finished product. An ice cream made with the granita method just won’t get quite as smooth as something made with a machine. You also have a lot more options when you use an ice cream machine, and you’re not just limited to no-churn recipes. Instead, you can make rich ice creams in any flavor, experiment with low fat ice creams (which can turn out very icy with some methods) and fruity sorbets.
So, while you don’t need an ice cream maker to make homemade ice cream in general, it is worth the investment if you’re in to making homemade ice cream on a regular basis because it makes the process faster and turns out top notch ice cream. If you don’t make any ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet or even slushy daiquiri-type drinks on a regular basis, however, it is just another tool taking up space in the kitchen and it isn’t worth adding one to your collection when you can make homemade ice cream without an ice cream maker.
An ice cream maker is must-have kitchen gadget for ice cream lovers who will use it year round to make many batches of homemade ice cream in flavors from fresh Strawberry to Cookies n’ Cream. An ice cream maker isn’t a staple for those who only eat ice cream occasionally, however, as it doesn’t make sense to devote a lot of pantry space to an appliance that is only going to get used a few times a year. But homemade ice cream is a wonderful thing and, if you can spare a little bit of space, it is worth getting one. One ice cream maker in particular is small, fun to use and takes up very little room – a Play and Freeze Ice Cream Ball.
The Play and Freeze Ice Cream Ball doesn’t look like your typical ice cream maker.It has no plugs, no paddle to churn and requires no pre-freezing. Instead, you simply add ice and rock salt to one end of the ball, and pour your ice cream base into the compartment on the other side. Then you shake, toss, roll and move the ball around vigorously for 15-20 minutes. The movement of the ball churns your ice cream base and turns it into freshly churned ice cream! The ball comes in two sizes: Pint and Quart. The quart size gives you a little more ice cream, and will work well with most standard home ice cream recipes. I’d go for the larger size, unless you have kids who want to customize their flavors and might prefer the novelty of each having their own personal ice cream maker.
The ball isn’t going to be for everyone, especially since it takes a little effort on your part to get that ice cream churned! That said, it is a lot of fun to work with and will reliably turn out ice cream time and again. Kids will have a blast with it, and adults can justify any ice cream craving by thinking about the calories they’ll burn off playing with the ball to make a batch.
