Make your own ice cream…no churning necessary!

I have been craving ice cream for days! You know how you crave something you don’t have…well, that’s me. I was going to buy ice cream the last time I shopped, but bravely (stupidly) told myself that I didn’t need it, shouldn’t have it…so don’t buy it! Damn, why do I listen to myself? I never give myself good advice!

So there I was, sitting in my living room, watching some kid on TV scarfing down an ice cream cone. ARRGGHH. I really, really wanted ice cream! You would think that with all the kitchen devices that I have, one of them would have been an ice cream maker. Why don’t I have an ice cream maker? I probably talked myself out of buying one of those too. Sheesh.

This craving got me to thinking…I wonder how ice cream is made? What kind of ingredients would go into the making of the ice cream? (Sounds like a movie “The Making of the Ice Cream”. I’d watch that movie!)

Go directly to recipe!

So let’s break it down. Ice Cream…ice and cream. Could it be that easy? Throw some ice cubes into some cream? Nah, that doesn’t sound right. I was pretty sure the litre of whipping cream holding court in my fridge would be a good start, but it would need something to sweeten the taste. Sugar just didn’t seem right. I add granulated sugar when making whipped cream for topping desserts. I add icing sugar when making frosting. Nope, it needed something different. A quick look through the pantry turned up a can of sweetened condensed milk that I had bought a while back to make soft chocolate fudge but never used. Hmmm….that could work. And vanilla, I always have vanilla. So that might make me some vanilla ice cream. That’s kind of plain. It still needs something.

Oh, wait! I have those small chocolate Easter Bunnies that I picked up right after Easter at 50% off. I could shave or chop them up and add to the ice cream, like a vanilla chocolate chunk flavour.

Now, how do I make all these ingredients come together to appease my craving? Well, I experiment of course! Read on to find out what I did…

First I poured the whipping cream and vanilla into a large mixing bowl and used my hand mixer to beat it until stiff peaks formed.

I then took the can of sweetened condensed milk and drizzled about a third of the can over the whipped cream and blended it in with the mixer on low speed until incorporated. I added the rest of the sweetened condensed milk in two more drizzles and mixed thoroughly between each addition.

Once it resemble a melty ice cream texture, I gently folded in the small chunks of Easter chocolate. (This is where you would add any additives you were thinking of putting in.)

I then spooned the mixture into a freezer safe container and put in the freezer. Then….wait….wait…wait…(at least six hours).

I ended up falling asleep, so it wasn’t until the next evening that I actually tried my ice cream. It was definitely worth the wait! So smooth and creamy and the chocolate chunks were the perfect addition.

My mind is already working on what I am going to add to my next batch! The possibilities are endless!

Leave a comment below and let me know what you would add to make the perfect ice cream.

No-Churn Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whipping cream (35%)
• 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 or 2 small milk chocolate Easter Bunnies (or your choice of goodies like nuts, mini Rolos…)

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, whip the cream and vanilla with a hand mixer until soft peaks form.
2. Drizzle sweetened condensed milk into the cream mixture, a little bit at a time, and continue mixing, but at low speed until thick and fluffy like really soft ice cream.
3. When it looks ready, gently fold in your chocolate bits or other additives.
4. Spoon into a freezer safe container (I used a large margarine container) and freeze for at least 6 hours.

Don’t forget to add a comment below and let me know what you think would taste amazing added to this ice cream.