August is a prime time to enjoy cool and creamy ice cream, especially this year with the weather being so consistently sunny and warm.
If you fancy making some yourself, but don’t have an ice cream maker, today’s two recipes are designed for you. They are for a style of ice cream where no churning is required. There’s also no need to turn on the stove, as you have to do when making traditional ice cream.
Unlike that ice cream, where you make and then cool a custard mixture and then churn and freeze into ice cream, in this technique, that custard is replaced with thick, canned, sweetened condensed milk.
To make the ice cream, you flavour condensed milk and then beat and fold in whipped cream. The mixture is then frozen in a glass or metal loaf pan and frozen, with the end result being an ultra smooth and creamy ice cream that tastes divine.
For today’s recipe, I chose to make two always-popular flavours, vanilla and chocolate.
The vanilla ice cream is simply flavoured with a generous amount of pure vanilla extract. The chocolate one is flavoured with cocoa powder that, when combined with the condensed milk, creates a wicked, fudge-like flavour.
Each ice cream recipe yields about 1.4 litres, about six to eight servings. For a quick, but always well-received summer dessert, I like to scoop and serve these ice creams topped with local berries.
If you want to further accent the flavour of each ice cream, once partially frozen, you could swirl something into it, such as crushed cookies, raspberry jam or caramel sauce. You then continue to freeze the ice cream until solid and scoopable. You swirl the items into the ice cream when it’s partially frozen, because in that form they’ll have something to cling onto, helping to keep them suspended in the ice cream, not sinking to the bottom of the pan.
No-churn Vanilla Ice Cream
This easy-to-make ice cream is a sweet, cool summer treat.
Preparation: 10 minutes, plus freezing time
Cooking time: None
Makes: About six to eight (3/4 to 1 cup) servings
1 3/4 cups sweetened condensed milk, regular or low fat (see Note)
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract, or to taste
• pinch fine salt
1 (473 mL) container whipping cream
Place a nine- by five-inch glass or metal loaf pan in the freezer to chill.
Place the milk, vanilla and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Taste and add a drop more vanilla, if desired.
Place the whipping cream in another bowl, or bowl of your stand mixer, and whip until firm peaks form.
Whisk about 1 1/2 cups of the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture to lighten it. Now fold in the rest of the whipped cream with a spatula until well blended and no globules of whipped cream remain.
Pour and spread the ice cream mixture into your chilled loaf pan. Set pan in the freezer and freeze two hours, until ice cream is quite thick, but still not frozen solid.
At that point, if desired, you could swirl in flavourings with a small spoon (see Eric’s options).
Whether you swirl in other flavourings, or just leave the ice cream as is, cover it now and freeze until it’s solid and scoopable, about four hours. Keep frozen until ready to serve.
Note: You’ll need two (300 mL) cans of sweetened condensed milk to get the amount required for this recipe. You’ll only use part of the second can. Save the rest for another use.
Eric options: Items that you could swirl into this ice cream include 1/2 to 1 cup raspberry or strawberry jam, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce or lemon curd; eight crushed Oreo cookies; or 1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips.
No-churn Chocolate Ice Cream
The combination of sweetened condensed milk and cocoa powder in this recipe creates a divine chocolate fudge-like taste.
Preparation: 10 minutes, plus freezing time
Cooking time: None
Makes: six to eight (3/4 to 1 cup) servings
1 3/4 cups sweetened condensed milk, regular or low fat (see Note)
1/2 cup cocoa powder (see Note)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract, or to taste
• pinch fine salt
1 (473 mL) container whipping cream
Place a nine- by five-inch glass or metal loaf pan in the freezer to chill.
Place the milk, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Place the whipping cream in another bowl, or bowl of your stand mixer, and whip until firm peaks form.
Whisk about 1 1/2 cups of the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture to lighten it. Now fold in the rest of the whipped cream with a spatula until well blended and no globules of whipped cream remain.
Pour and spread the ice cream mixture into your chilled loaf pan. Set pan in the freezer and freeze two hours, until ice cream quite thick, but still not frozen solid.
At that point, if desired, you could swirl in flavourings with a small spoon (see Eric’s options).
Whether you swirl in other flavourings, or just leave the ice cream only chocolate flavoured, cover it now and freeze until it’s solid and scoopable, about four hours. Keep frozen until ready to serve.
Note: If your cocoa has lumps, sift it or whisk it through a fine sieve before using it. You’ll need to buy two (300 mL) cans of sweetened condensed milk to get the amount required for this recipe. You’ll only use part of the second can. Save the rest for another use.
Eric’s options: Items you could swirl into this ice cream include 1/2 to 1 cup white chocolate chips; 1/2 cup to 1 chopped chocolate-covered almonds, chopped chocolate malted milk balls, chopped chocolate mint patties, or chopped Skor candy bars; or 1/2 to one cup caramel sauce.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
