~ "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; Through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures." ~ "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing" ~ "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." ~ "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."~

Thursday, September 10, 2015

The Best and Easiest No Churn Ice Cream/Gelato... an Espresso Gelato Variation.

Espresso Ice Cream/Gelato Variation... No Churn, One Bowl, 4 Ingredients. Since I mentioned in my last post the amazing ice cream I've been making this summer ... I knew I couldn't let it go without sharing it with you as well. I know it's kind of late, why with summer being almost over... but ice cream, well, ice scream can be made all year round:).

If you've always wanted to make ice scream at home and had no ice scream  maker... well, this recipe is for you. 
If you've always wanted to make homemade ice scream that was smooth, creamy and without ice crystals... then this recipe is for you. 
If you've always wanted to make a ton of ice scream variations without so many recipe variations... well, this ice cream is for you. 
If you enjoy the store-bought Tallenti gelato... well, this homemade version is it! Actually, my husband says it's way better. 

Ok, so  I hardly ever call a recipe AMAZING... because recipes are quite subjective. What I may call amazing, you may not... and while others may call a recipe amazing, I may not. But... this ice scream recipe is truly outstanding. And it's super, super simple to make! It will amaze you and amaze your guests as well.  Well, at least those of us that like ice scream:)...

I've made this ice cream(more like gelato) many times... it's foolproof! I've played around with the flavor variations, and they've all been delicious. And while I've posted exact measurements for best results, I've also used a can of sweetened condensed milk  combined with 1 (475ml=2 cups) heavy cream container... to make a double batch. This way you don't need to buy a second container of heavy cream:). It's a tad sweeter, but not noticeably. 

While you can find variations to the no churn ice cream online, I find this is by far the easiest to do. You place all the ingredients in a bowl and whip to soft peaks... this of course doesn't include any add-ins you may choose to include, which you' ll fold in at the end. The only thing you have to remember is to not over beat the cream... otherwise it will turn buttery. Beat it to the consistency of a light mayonnaise and you'll be ok.. And all this is done in a single bowl... no need to beat the cream separately.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do... I know my husband enjoys it the most:).  This would be lovely... placed in disposable containers with a pretty label... perfect to bring as a hostess gift. Hope you enjoy...

Note: You can make this ice cream/gelato with with a ton of variations... the idea is to use heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk and flavorings of choice. 

The alcohol can be optional, though it keeps the ice scream from freezing solid in the freezer.

Variations I have made in the past included ingredients I had on hand at the moment:

 1)A mint chocolate chip, adding mint extract, and mini chips along with 1 TBS cherry liqueur, 
2) A chocolate rum-walnut, adding 1-2 TBS dark cocoa, rum extract and chopped walnuts along with 1 TBS cherry liqueur, 
3) A cherry shaved chocolate(cherry garcia), adding just the cherries from  fruit-sweetened cherry preserves, almond extract, and shavings of dark chocolate along with 1 TBS cherry liqueur.

But variations can be endless... adding broken up cookies, brownies, cookie dough, various cooked down fruits, nuts and chocolate can all be used. Be creative and make your own... apple pie, pumpkin pie and cherry pie sound wonderful:)...

Ingredients: Adapted from Nigella Lawson - makes about 1 1/2 pints (or 800 ml) 

1 ¼ cups cold heavy cream
⅔ cup sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons Irish Cream (or you can use espresso liqueur)

Directions:

1. Measure and place all ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Using a hand held mixer(or you can whisk by hand) beat ingredients  until soft peaks form, and has thickened into an airy mixture, almost similar to a light mayonnaise consistency. Do not overbeat.
3. Pour in a freezer proof air tight container, and freeze overnight.
4. Enjoy a scoop of delicious and super smooth ice cream:)!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The recipe looks interesting & got bookmarked, but with the cold weather starting to settle into central Illinois, the pumpkin ice cream link caught my eye. Just thought I'd share an idea from a guy in the area who makes his own ice cream & sells it in a coffee shop/cafe in his hometown. He crumbles crispy gingersnaps into his pumpkin ice cream. So, so good!

Ellie said...

Anon, Thanks for stopping by:)... the idea of adding crumbled gingersnaps sounds like it would add so much flavor... not to mention wonderful texture. The pumpkin ice cream has got to be one of my very favorite seasonal ice creams! You know, I was thinking, you can easily make some mini gingersnap ice cream sandwiches as well. I can only imagine how cute and delicious they'd be.

Thanks for sharing the idea... and I hope you'll make ice cream sooner than later:). Sometimes ice cream in the winter, by the fire, makes for a wonderful treat:)...

Alina said...

Best ice cream I ever made! So creamy and easy to make! Thank you, Ellie. Did you ever try to make homemade condensed milk? Next time I'd like to make it a bit less sweet and don't know how...
Thank you again!

Ellie said...

Alina, Yes! Isn't it the best I've cream ever?! I'm so glad you enjoyed it as well:).

I've done homemade sweetened condensed milk before... just never posted it. It takes awhile, so it can be quite time consuming. But I am sure you can use it here in this recipe. Also, if you would like to make the ice cream less sweet, you can increase the amount of cream... or even lower the condensed milk a tad bit. I would probably just add more cream, this way you have more ice cream:).

Hope you enjoy making your very own flavors... and thanks a bunch for stopping by and sharing your feedback!