Delicious Homemade Ice Creams ~ You Really Don't Need an Ice Cream Machine!

Yesterday I had a sudden ice cream sesh - at the end of October! I'm mad, me! 

It was inspired by a bag of cheap satsumas which I bought but didn’t know what to do with!  So I decided to see what sort of ice cream I could make using my basic method.

Ice cream is a great way to use up leftover bits and pieces and I have a way of making it that is very quick, easy, rich, smooth, creamy, delicious and doesn't need a machine or any mashing as it freezes. 

Have a Look Inside!

I have used this method as a professional chef for years and years (and years) and have written an book, appropriately named Luscious Ice Creams without a Machine which gives the no-churn ice cream recipe, why it works, tweaks and tricks when incorporating different ingredients and how to adjust the texture accordingly.  It includes more than 100 ice cream recipes plus recipes for ancillaries such as syrups, sauces, biccies, cones etc. and some serving suggestions.  Using this book you can easily go on to create delicious ice creams of your very own.

The eBook version of Luscious Ice Cream without a Machine is a lot less than 500ml of Ben & Jerry's and the paperback less than a litre!  And of course way cheaper than buying an ice cream machine.

I’m not a meany, however, here is the basic recipe direct from Luscious Ice Creams …, prepare to be unimpressed, at first!  

Directly from the book ...

No Churn Ice Cream Recipe 

500ml double cream - not the extra thick kind

200g condensed milk

~   Whisk the cream till it is very thick and looks like the picture (below) and then stop.  If you go too far it will become butter!

~   Fold in the condensed milk.
~   If it looks a little lumpy give in a very quick extra whisk to even things out.

~   Freeze.

If that's all you do you get an ice cream that is not exactly soft scoop but which does have a good texture once it’s been out of the freezer a few minutes. It has a pretty blah taste. I can sense your excitement from here but there’s even more, I urge you to read on. 

As I say there are all sorts of ways to make this ice cream really lush, some even include alcohol (!) but here are a couple of examples I made sponteaneously using this easy ice cream recipe.

Caramelised Satsuma Ice Cream

6 satsumas
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp water
250 ml double cream
100g condensed milk

~   Halve the satsumas through their equators, squeeze all the juice into one bowl and set aside.

~   Then scrape all the un-squozen bits of fruit still attached to the shells into a separate bowl.
~   In a pan over low heat stir together the sugar and the water till the sugar is dissolved and bring to a boil.  Don’t stir once it boils but swirl about a bit when it begins turning colour.

~   Boil to a deep golden brown watching carefully.

~   Immediately and carefully pour in the satsuma juice you have set aside. When adding liquid to caramel there is a lot of boiling and bubbling and the caramel hardens into lumps in the liquid. Don’t panic, just stir over a low heat till the caramel melts back into the juice.

~   When smooth add the little bits fruit from the second bowl and cook for a minute  before setting aside to cool completely.

~    Whisk the cream till thick. Fold in the condensed milk and then the satsuma mixture.  Give it a quick extra whisk to smooth things out.

~    Freeze.

When I served this I had another idea based on one I had about 15 years ago.  At that time I served a Seafood Mixed Grill and grilled halved lemons, cut side down to serve with it; pretty, impressive and delicious.  

So today I decided to do something similar with the remaining Satsuma I had saved to make the picture look pretty – I cut it in half and cooked it cut side down in a little butter and sugar till it was as you see in the picture. We drizzled the hot juice over the ice cream.  I’m so glad I can cook!

Bacon Jam Ice Cream!

This was just a quickie. When I was about to add the satsuma juice to the cream recipe (above) I just set a couple tablespoons of the cream and condensed milk mix and folded in 2 teaspoons of bacon jam from Eat 17.

My real man was too scared to try this, luckily for me - it was lovely!