Ah, ice cream. How I love thee. If anything were to ever make me return to eating refined sugar, it would be ice cream. Especially Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough or Maple Tree Hugger...Yum! Or Snickers ice cream bars...drool!! My friends and I ascribed to the motto at college that there was always room for ice cream because it just fills in the cracks!! In my opinion, there is always a reason to eat ice cream.
But, alas, when I start to think of what refined sugar does to my body, it starts to loose it's appeal. Mood swings, rage, crying. Yup, I'll give it a miss. But, that doesn't change the fact I love ice cream! Insert, homemade ice cream.
This is the good stuff! Made from all natural ingredients, without any refined sugar, it's simple to make but you have to be patient. It's not nearly as easy as opening a carton from the frozen food aisle, but this stuff is good and worth the wait!
One of the biggest hurdles of making ice cream for me was the ice cream churner. I was under the impression I was going to be investing hundreds of dollars for a product that does just one thing. I thought I'd just have a look at the local appliance store and weigh up the pros and cons when I discovered that a very basic ice cream maker is only $30. I can justify that to get my ice cream hit!!
You can choose to invest in an ice cream maker, or you can put in a little more effort and churn it yourself. It's more time consuming, but less costly. You can read more about it here.
First, start by making your custard. I like the eggless ones because they don't need to be heated, so they are a bit less time consuming. If you pick one containing eggs and thus has to be cooked, be aware that you have to entirely cool the custard before churning, which adds 6-24 hours to your ice cream making time.
In a freezer safe bowl pour 2 cups whipping cream, 2 cups whole milk, 1/2 cup natural sweetener (maple syrup is my choice, but honey works well) and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Whisk together well. To ensure the mixture is cool, put in the freezer for 30 minutes so it's cold enough to churn well. Don't allow the mixture to freeze, just get really cold.
When it's completely cool, pour into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions for churning the ice cream.
When churned, pour into a freezer safe container and freeze for an additional hour or two until completely set. Remember, this is all real ingredients, so it tastes best if eaten within one week.
I really enjoy this ice cream on its own or with toppings. My favourite is Honey Vanilla Toffee.
Enjoy!
Vanilla Ice Cream
Makes 1 Litre
Ingredients:
2 cups whipping cream (choose local, high quality if possible)
2 cups full cream milk
1/2 cup natural sweetener like maple syrup or honey
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Method:
In a freezer safe bowl, mix together all ingredients and whisk well. Place in freezer for 30 minutes or until completely cold. Pour into an ice cream churner and follow the manufacturer's instructions for churning. Return to a freezer safe bowl and freeze for an additional one to two hours, or until set. Best if consumed within one week.
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