Homemade ice-cream

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ManicMum

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Homemade ice-cream
« on: February 01, 2017, 17:26 »
I was a lucky girl at Christmas as my mother in law gave me the ice-cream maker to go with the Kenwood chef..... So I would love to pick your brains about recipes. 

My attempts at an egg custard based ice-cream have been disappointing (tasty but I think the custard hadn't thickened enough) but the yoghurt/cream cheese base has worked well, particularly using home-grown honey instead of sugar.

What other easy peasy idiot-proof recipes do other people use?

PS the yoghurt and cream cheese combination tastes surprisingly superb, even to those who were a bit dubious at the thought!
ManicMum

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DanielCoffey

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Re: Homemade ice-cream
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2017, 07:38 »
I have only ever tried the custard base and agree it can be tricky to get the balance between "too thin / overdid it". I did end up with the odd "sweet scrambled egg" but found that with practice, it got a bit easier. Straining the custard was essential, as was chilling it in the fridge before churning.

I moved from the frozen bowl equipment to a powered self-chilling unit and found the powered unit allowed me to use recipes that had alcohol where the frozen bowl would have thawed before the recipe was complete. It also produced a smoother, denser icecream due to the temperature and the more powerful stirrer. I don't have it any more because I developed sensitive teeth so I passed it on to the teenage daughter of the mum who provides my farmers market eggs. Best gift ever, she said.

If you have found a reliable method and like the taste, great!

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madcat

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Re: Homemade ice-cream
« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2017, 11:17 »
Mrs B gave me some great recipes which you should find if you search the site.  She experiments with all sorts and sells them, a real expert.  I puree the fruit from making my fruit liqueurs and use that as the flavouring a lot of the time - the left over gooseberries from gooseberry gin, puree'd to get all the pips out and turned into a basic icecream custard is surprisingly delicious!  Ditto redcurrant gin and cassis and ....  mmmm.  Well, it would be criminal to waste the fruit, wouldn't it?  :nowink: I use about the same quantity of fruit puree (with residual alcohol) to cream which makes a firm ice-cream that you need to leave out for half an hour before serving.  Remember that alcohol makes for a softer icecream, which could be the reason that rum and raisin is so popular?

For an everyday icecream that I can tweak with chocolate or fruit puree or whatever is suitable, I use the following :

Basic ice cream custard
Makes about 2 pints.  I love this recipe because it’s so easy to remember — two yolks and a quarter-cup of sugar for every cup of dairy. But as long as you stick to the general idea, feel free to switch things up to taste. Want it lighter? Switch some of the cream with milk, or drop an egg yolk or two. Add or take away a little sugar. You get the idea. And, of course, flavor it however you’d like.  Now keep in mind that the point of this is that it’s all-purpose — it’s great, but it’s not supposed to be technically perfect. Some flavors are better served with specific ratios of milk and cream, etc. But whatever, leave that to the professionals. We’re here for fun.
 
200ml milk
70g icing sugar
200ml double cream
2 large egg yolks
pinch salt (dont skip it - the icecream does benefit from it)
 
Heat milk, about half the sugar, half the cream, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Bring just to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. If steeping for flavor (ie putting something in the mix like vanilla or cardamom), add your ingredients, take off heat, and cover.
Meanwhile, in large-ish bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the other half of the sugar.
When the steeping is done, strain or fish out the flavorings and reheat the milk mixture, just until hot. Pour about half of it in a slow stream into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. (This is called tempering the yolks, and it heats them up evenly without turning them into scrambled eggs.) Pour the milk-yolk mixture back into the pot and cook it over medium-low heat, stirring constantly and making sure you’re scraping the bottom. Cook it until it’s thick enough to coat the back of your spoon: Swipe the spoon with your finger. If it leaves a trail about the width of your finger, it’s ready. Don’t let it boil.
Strain the ice cream base through a fine-mesh sieve into a metal bowl. (The straining catches any bits of egg that may have scrambled; it’s kind of optional if you were careful, I tend not to bother.) Stir in the rest of the cream, and let cool. Cover and chill in fridge until cold, at least 6 hours or overnight. (If you really don’t want to wait, dunk the bowl in an ice water bath, stirring, until it’s cold.) At this point, you have what they call crème anglaise, a lovely dessert sauce. If using fruit purees or booze or chocolate chips or fresh fruit pieces, this would be a good time to stir it in.  Taste and check for sweetness etc.  Sometimes a little lemon juice can spark up the flavours.
Freeze in ice cream maker, according to manufacturer’s directions or your preference.
Pack ice cream in an airtight container and let it set in freezer until firm, at least another 4 hours.
All we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about (Charles Kingsley)

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ManicMum

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Re: Homemade ice-cream
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2017, 16:24 »
Thank you for those responses - loving the idea of re-using booze-infused fruit!  Our vodka'd raspberries usually get into bread and butter pudding or flavour apple pie but that takes it to a which le new dimension!

And a bit more guidance about "coating the back of a spoon" is very helpful - mine definitely wasn't thickened enough.

I'll have another try with the custard base - casting my eyes around for inspired flavourings.

For anyone who hasn't tried yoghurt as a base: mix 600g of thick Greek yoghurt with 250g of cream cheese and either 200g of caster sugar + vanilla or 200g of honey - that's it.....just mix then churn.

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DanielCoffey

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Re: Homemade ice-cream
« Reply #4 on: February 03, 2017, 07:35 »
One other advantage of straining the cooked custard is that it gets rid of those little blobby bits that will usually dangle off the egg yolk when you separate them.

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Mrs Bee

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Re: Homemade ice-cream
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2017, 23:10 »
I don't sell my ice cream Madcat, only cakes and preserves. :)
But I have been making ice cream for 28 years now. I don't know about the ice cream maker for the kenwood as I use a gelatiera machine with a built in freezer.

Having a machine with a built in freezer means you can whizz up any fruit with some cream or yoghurt and sugar and have ice cream ready to eat in 20 minutes. You can also reduce the amount of sugar too.

There are lots of recipes that make gorgeous ice cream that you don't need a machine to make. An iced soufflé/ parfait is made with stiffly beaten egg whites and sugar as a base then folded into lightly whipped cream and fruit puree. You freeze it over night and it stays light and airy. It doesn't go rock hard.

For a basic custard ice cream Gary Rhodes recipe is the best and if you make it the day before you need it mix in a tiny pinch of salt and leave over night in the fridge the custard ripens and gives a better flavour.

There are some really good ice cream recipe books out there. My favourite is by Rosemary Moon.

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jaydig

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Re: Homemade ice-cream
« Reply #6 on: February 05, 2017, 10:50 »
I don't sell my ice cream Madcat, only cakes and preserves. :)
But I have been making ice cream for 28 years now. I don't know about the ice cream maker for the kenwood as I use a gelatiera machine with a built in freezer.

Having a machine with a built in freezer means you can whizz up any fruit with some cream or yoghurt and sugar and have ice cream ready to eat in 20 minutes. You can also reduce the amount of sugar too.

There are lots of recipes that make gorgeous ice cream that you don't need a machine to make. An iced soufflé/ parfait is made with stiffly beaten egg whites and sugar as a base then folded into lightly whipped cream and fruit puree. You freeze it over night and it stays light and airy. It doesn't go rock hard.

For a basic custard ice cream Gary Rhodes recipe is the best and if you make it the day before you need it mix in a tiny pinch of salt and leave over night in the fridge the custard ripens and gives a better flavour.

There are some really good ice cream recipe books out there. My favourite is by Rosemary Moon.


I am getting seriously tempted by the thought of an ice cream machine with a built in freezer. I currently have a Cuisinart one that has to have the bowl frozen in the freezer, and although it is a really good machine, half of the time I don't have spare space to accommodate the bowl.  I know the other type are expensive, but my hubby loves homemade ice cream.   
Any recommendations as to what type is good.  I can't afford one of the ones that cost about £700, but would be looking at about £200 - £250 maybe.

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Mrs Bee

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Re: Homemade ice-cream
« Reply #7 on: February 05, 2017, 18:51 »
I have a Gaggia gelatiera which is about £250.  It has more than paid for itself because if I were to buy ice cream I would buy the top of the range ices.

It has a spindle and paddle  that sticks out of the machine rather than the magimix machine which has the paddle in the lid. A friend has one of those and she finds it difficult to use. It is a faff getting the lid and paddle on.

The Gaggia has a built in freezing unit a metal bucket to make the ices in and then you can lift it out and put the freezer to store.

I don't use the metal bucket though, I just make it in the machine and scoop it out into a plastic container. The reason is two fold, I tend to make several recipes and batches at a time and if I organise the flavours carefully and do the subtle flavours first and the deeper flavoured ices last I don't need to wash the machine out in between.

Cleaning the inside of the machine is quite easy, a clean cloth and a bowl of warm water with a little washing-up liquid in is fine, and then wipe dry with clean cloth. The last thing I do is spray with a Milton solution, and before I make any ice-cream I spray with a Milton solution too. I learnt that on my food hygiene course.

I am totally happy with my machine and can recommend it.

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jaydig

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Re: Homemade ice-cream
« Reply #8 on: February 06, 2017, 10:01 »
Morning, Mrs Bee, and thanks very much for the information about your ice cream maker.  I agree with you that it will probably pay for itself, as to buy really nice ice cream isn't cheap, and, if properly made, ice cream on it's own is a lovely dessert.
I think next month will be the month I'll be able to get one, just in time for the summer and all the soft fruit etc  I can't wait to start experimenting.  I've tried different ices with the Cuisinart that I have at the moment, but because the bowl has to be frozen every time it takes too long to try to make more than one batch at a time.
I'll look up some of your recipes to try, because as you've already given them a test run, they're sure to be delicious.
Thanks again.

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Mrs Bee

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Re: Homemade ice-cream
« Reply #9 on: February 06, 2017, 12:15 »
My pleasure Jaydig.

I quite agree about the prefreezing the bowl machines is does seriously limit the amount you can make in one go.

I got one of those first from JL, about 30 years ago. Had one go with it and took it straight back and got one with a built in freezer. It lasted me for 25 years before it gave up the ghost. And it was very well used. Unfortunately you cannot buy that make anymore so I have gone for the Gaggia and as I said previously have been very happy with it.

All my son's friends who came to tea when he was little loved going to the freezer to see what flavours I had and piling their plates up.

Actually, they all came round for his 30th birthday BBQ and the first thing one of them said after he had given me a bear hug was, 'do you still make ice cream?' When I replied yes and that was pudding today he had the most amazing grin on his face. Bless!

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jaydig

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Re: Homemade ice-cream
« Reply #10 on: February 06, 2017, 12:44 »
Aaaaahhh, Mrs Bee!    Boys never grow up do they?

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DanielCoffey

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Re: Homemade ice-cream
« Reply #11 on: February 08, 2017, 08:03 »
I had the same brand of icecream maker as Mrs Bee and can also recommend it. The only reason we don't have it any more is because we both have sensitive teeth.

It is a large unit but well worth the space it takes if you like icecream. You will immediately notice it makes much smoother icecream than you will be used to with the "freeze-and-churn" bowls. I too didn't use the inner bowl but the manual advises that is very handy for when you have contrasting flavours to make in one session. You can make quite a few types back to back if you have the custards ready.

Mrs Bee - I know what you mean by how visitors like it. Our machine is now used by the teenage daughter of the lady who sells us eggs and she is *very* popular among her school girlfriends because of that.

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Mrs Bee

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Re: Homemade ice-cream
« Reply #12 on: February 08, 2017, 12:13 »
You are absolutely right there is no comparison between ices made in the gaggia and those made in the freeze the bowl ones.

If money is an issue the freeze bowl ones are OK but there are better ice-cream recipes that don't need a machine so I would use those recipes rather than the buy the freeze the bowl jobbies. But of course it is all down to personal taste.

If you have a machine with a freezer unit, you can also make low sugar ices which are great made in small quantities and eaten almost straight out of the machine. They do go a little hard with keeping, but are great fresh.

There is also a nice little recipe book called skinny ices for people who want to eat ice cream but with less calories.

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jaydig

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Re: Homemade ice-cream
« Reply #13 on: February 10, 2017, 19:32 »
Mrs Bee,  if you wouldn't mind, just a couple more questions about the Gaggia machine that you use. One of the comments made about it in the reviews was that it only made a very small amount of ice cream, and there seem to be conflicting description of exactly how much is does make, some say 1L and others say only 500ml, so I'm a bit confused.
The other question is, how easy is it to clean if ice cream is made in the non removable bowl?  These machine cost £300 now, so I'll have to wait a little longer if I want one, but I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing.

Thanks again.

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Mrs Bee

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Re: Homemade ice-cream
« Reply #14 on: February 10, 2017, 19:53 »
I can't be exactly sure about the amount it makes because  I usually make a lot of mixture and freeze it in 2 batches. I decant the first lot and pop it in the freezer while I make the next batch.

I would say it does more like a litre.

Cleaning is no problem. I get a clean dishcloth and a mixing bowl of hot water and washing up liquid and wash the inside out with the wet cloth.  I then rise the cloth in clean water and clean off any residue washing up liquid.

A quick dry with a clean tea towel then I spray with a mixture of dilute Milton. You can find the ratio on their website. And leave it for 15 minutes. I also spray the inside with Milton solution and leave for 15 minutes before using the machine.  That was a tip I was given at my food hygiene course.

The paddle and removeable  pieces I wash  and rinse with the washing up in the sink.

It sounds like a lot of work but it only takes a few minutes.

If the price has gone up it is probably the result of the Brexit vote. My new induction hob had a price hike before I bought it. If I had made my mind up about that it would have been greatly cheaper. :mad:



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