Ice cream recipes & Coffee
Go straight to Ice Cream recipe
A tremendously hot summer and my pregnancy were the two main reasons why
I've started experimenting with ice cream recipes. The last few weeks of July were really hot and I
couldn't stand the heat in our kitchen anymore. Now, that was a dilemma!
There were only a few weeks left before giving birth to our baby son and I
couldn't possibly do any more baking. The only meaningful solution seemed to
be recipes
where baking wouldn't be needed, and
homemade ice cream recipes were spot on. Without any doubt ice cream will be and always has
been the ultimate indulgence and the perfect dessert the whole year round in
many families. It's refreshing and matches coffee really well - perfect!
The easiest way to have your yummy ice cream is of course hopping to your
local shop. But wait a minute, why not making it home? Oh yes, many would
argue this might well be one of the toughest desserts to make.
No worries, making homemade ice cream is easy, really doesn't take to much time and
after all it
tastes so much better. You can experiment with different
ice cream flavors using seasonal fruits, nuts, chocolate, vanilla, spices and
even honey, lavender and other more exotic ingredients. It is really up to you and
your imagination. Don't be shy, experiment!
At the beginning I had no idea where to get ice cream recipes but as always,
what would we do without internet! Yes, yes, there are books as well and
book stores are full of yummy ice cream recipes but for people like me internet is
so much more convenient.
Confidence and bravery were not at their best with my first ice cream recipes
so I only went for more conventional options and simple ingredients: fruits, cream,
cheese, sugar and lemon juice (because of my pregnancy at that time I also didn't
use eggs). Mashing with potato
masher or mixing with hand blender, cutting the fruits and a bit of cooking are the
main working operations which don't take too much time. Though, you
need a pinch of patience. It takes at least 8-10 hours before ice cream is
finally ready. The reward is beyond your dreams - your own yummy homemade
ice cream.
Here are my ice cream recipes:
Tips - how to make homemade ice cream:
-
You can't make a decent ice cream without whipping cream, double cream, clotted cream or crème fraiche. Double cream is
a "must" for vanilla ice cream, clotted cream and crème fraiche are the best for fruit ice creams and whipping cream
is just perfect with coffee flavors.
-
Ice cream scoops: the most user-friendly are half-moon-shaped, stainless steel scoops. I've already bought 3 or 4 brightly coloured plastic scoops because I like colors but they are
decorative more than anything else and not so good for making perfect ice cream scoops.
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Homemade ice cream always hardens much more than those from the shops and to
avoid this you may either add a spoon of alcohol drink to it (alcohol doesn't freeze) and/or
increase the amount of sugar (sugar doesn't freeze either).
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Take the ice cream from the fridge 10-15 minutes before eating.
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The best way to store ice cream in the fridge is to cover it with plastic wrap or wax paper before closing the container.
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During the freezing process (usually after 2 hours) you need to break up the ice crystals
(i.e. stir well). You can do this with a fork or electric mixer.
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You may wish to use milk instead of cream but in this case there won't
be enough fat and the ice cream will turn really hard. To avoid this add
milk and cream in a 50:50 ratio.
Good to know
-
Ice cream cone is a yummy edible pastry container. It is available in different shapes and sizes.
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"Gelato" is an Italian word for ice cream (and it means: frozen).
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In Spanish ice cream is called "helado".
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It takes around 50 licks to finish one scoop of ice cream.
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Ice cream made with milk was first recorded in Italy.
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In the UK the first ice cream was recorded in 1672!
-
There are ice cream recipes which require eggs and ice cream recipes without eggs
(quite different but both yummy).
The still-freezing method
For those who do not own an ice-cream maker, this is the alternative method for churning the mixture. Place the mix in a sealed container and put it into the coldest part of the freezer. After 60-90 minutes, remove from the freezer and beat the mixture with a fork or an electric whisker to make uniform slush. Return the mixture to the freezer and repeat the process twice, at intervals of 60-90 minutes. After it has been beaten three times, return it to the freezer for a further hour or so, and it will be ready to serve.
