Homemade Ice Cream

Hello patient blog readers. I apologize for my absence. I’ve been making ice cream, cleaning my house, watching tee ball games, reading, and hanging out with the rovers. {BTW they are hardly amused with Darby Doll, in fact, after the picture below was taken my little Warrior grabbed me by my leg and threw me on the floor! The audacity!}

Before I start on my post I feel the need to do a little housekeeping. Ashley’s awesome kitchen is painted WEEKEND GETAWAY by Benjamin Moore. Her beautiful CHOCOLAT print that is framed above her open shelves is from the Pottery Barn outlet, but she says it’s been a while, so good luck hunters!

And… let’s chat for a second about the fruit roll-ups. I’ve heard of several failed attempts. First, 170° is fine if that’s as low as your oven will go and it will still likely take just as long to bake/dehydrate.  Depending on how long it takes your fruit to reduce and how thick it is as a result and depending on how thick you spread it on your parchment will all play a factor into how long it will take to cook. It could take up to 12 hours. If you pull it out and it seems to be sticky on top but firm, it is likely done already. You can take paper towels and blot the stickiness off the top before you roll it up. If it’s still squishy in some places and not firm like a fruit roll up, it’s not done yet. Put it back in the oven and let it bake until it’s no longer squishy.

And I’m suffering from what I call email debt, thanks for your patience as I slowly pay it off.

I am a very happy subscriber of Cook’s Country Magazine and when I saw the latest issue’s cover…

I immediately spotted this…

Which was shortly after I told these frogs to jump out of my magazine photo shoot.

I will quickly remind the male readers, who also play the role of father, don’t forget your babies’ mommies this weekend {or your own mommy}. And if you’re at a complete loss… this magazine would be a fun treat for either of them! I believe the reason I love it so is because it’s super glossy, completely advertisement free, and chocked full of recipes, tips, and hints!

So… the ice cream claimed to be “ice cream maker-free” and since we used to have 3 ice cream makers and currently have zero, it was right up my alley! In place of the ice cream maker it called for heavy whipping cream and sweetened condensed milk. Have y’all ever made ice cream this way? Let me tell you, it’s super easy and as the Raiger would say, “it’s way GOOD!”

These are the contenders…

And I spiked mine with these two also… decaf so I could eat a big bowl at bedtime and not be bothered by it later you know that happens to geriats! 🙂

And these are my containers… {but any plastic ware that’s freezer-safe will do!}

FYI: One quart of heavy whipping cream will yield enough “whipped cream” to make 3 quarts of ice cream. With my quart of heavy cream I made chocolate {left}, vanilla {center}, and mocha {right}!

My favorite being the mocha. It was just going to be coffee and I got a little crazy and squirted some Hershey’s syrup in with it and I’m so glad I did.

And the chocolate really made the coffee flavor come to life.

In a nutshell, you whip heavy cream to stiff peaks and add it to a mixture of condensed milk, sour cream, vanilla and to that, if you choose, you can add coffee and chocolate!

You start by gently whisking a little of the whipped cream in and then gently fold the rest of the whipped cream in and it will leave you with a yummy, creamy, and smooth non-frozen ice cream. Then you contain it, try to keep your fingers out and then you freeze it and      w   a   i    t .

About 6 hours later you call your fairy princesses away from their toy-tornado-destroyed bedroom, let them put their grimy feet on the counter and have a taste !

But be sure to leave the mocha one in the freezer simply because you won’t want to share it with little fairy princesses!

The verdict: We LOVED the chocolate and mocha. I didn’t so much love the vanilla. I didn’t follow their directions entirely {I couldn’t find the Ghiradelli white chocolate they recommended so I omitted}. It’s likely my own fault but it wasn’t as smooth as the chocolate and mocha and tried to crumble as I scooped it out with the ice cream scoop. Again, could be my own fault for likely omitting an essential ingredient! But… the mocha and chocolate… mmmm!! Smooth and delicious.

Here’s their website. You have to subscribe to get the Magic Vanilla Ice Cream recipe but I made enough modifications to post my own version of the chocolate and mocha…

Yields: 1 quart
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1/4 cup of sour cream
1 1/4 cups of heavy cream

Mix condensed milk, vanilla, salt and sour cream until well combined.  To it add…

for CHOCOLATE variation: add 5-6 tablespoons {or more to your liking} of chocolate syrup

for MOCHA variation:  mix 1 heaping teaspoon of instant coffee powder with 1 tablespoon of boiling water. Add instant coffee mixture, along with a generous squirt of chocolate syrup to the condensed milk mixture

Mix your heavy whipping cream on high {it would love a cold bowl and cold whisk too} until stiff peeks form {3 or so minutes}. Whisk some of the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture until incorporated and then gently fold the rest of the whipped cream in. Place in an airtight container and freeze 6 hours before serving!

Next I’m trying chocolate malt! I’ll let you know how it goes!

Another post in the pipeline… stay tuned, it’s important!