Chillin’…

A guide to dangerously easy no-churn ice cream!

Matcha - white chocolate no-churn ice cream for the win!

During the 2020 summer of COVID-19, I found myself turning to this no-churn ice cream base over and over again. I’ve had an ice cream maker for years. But during this time of basic grocery uncertainty, I haven’t wanted to waste valuable freezer space having the freezing canister frozen and ready.

This recipe is so simple and lends itself to endless variations. Take 2 cups of cream and a can of sweetened condensed milk (traditional or coconut) and add almost any flavors you want.

The core steps are:

Whip 2 cups of heavy cream.

Gently fold in sweetened condensed milk.

Add flavorings and mix-ins.

Freeze.

T H A T ‘ S  I T !

No returning to the freezer every few hours to break up ice crystals is required. The aeration in the whipped cream retains the perfect textural structure.

The potential variations are too numerous to count. Here I am sharing some favorites from over the last few months. Don’t feel limited to these. I hope this will inspire you to try other combinations! It’s such a wonderful feeling to be able to create gluten-free, egg-free, and even soy free ice creams that are really decadent, and pretty darn simple with such ease.

Examples of variations:

Chocolate-Cherry Swirl - Add 2 tablespoons of cherry puree and 1 tsp almond extract, when folding in the sweetened condensed milk*. Layer cherries in thickened syrup or slightly diluted cherry pie filling** through the ice cream, along with chocolate flakes or chips.

*I have tried this one with both sweetened condensed coconut milk and coconut cream for the whipped cream base. Because coconut fat solidifies very firm when chilled, this combination doesn’t work for a true ice cream because you have to almost defrost it to scoop it. With that said, it still makes for a fluffy, creamy, decadent dessert; it’s just not a true ice cream. Use the sweetened condensed coconut milk here, but stick with heavy cream for the whipped cream for the proper texture.

**This is the recipe for my favorite cherry pie filling EVER! Luxardo-spiked cherry pie filling 

Double Chocolate – Melt a bit of 70% dark chocolate and fold it into the ice cream base along with the sweetened condensed milk and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Layer and mix in smaller chocolate chunks or chocolate chips.

Chocolate Malt – Combine 1 TBSP each of cocoa powder and maca root powder. Fold in with the sweetened condensed milk and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Crush gluten-free pretzels and mix in.

Matcha – Use sweetened condensed coconut milk, in place of regular. Mix 2 tsp of matcha powder in a small bowl with just enough boiling water to make a loose paste. Fold in with the sweetened condensed milk and 1 tsp. vanilla extract. Layer and swirl in white chocolate chips or chunks.

Very vanilla – Slowly heat the cream over medium low heat with half a vanilla bean that has been split, and the beans scraped into the cream, until just before it comes to a boil. Cut heat and let cool completely. Pull out the half bean and reserve for another use*. Chill the vanilla-infused cream overnight before whipping and folding in the sweetened condensed milk.

*Rinse the leftover bean thoroughly and place on absorbent paper to dry completely. The dried, emptied bean can be:

• placed in a small jar of granulated sugar. Within a day or two you’ll have vanilla sugar.  Vanilla sugar is lovely as is to add to coffee or tea, but is also really nice to use for making cinnamon sugar for sprinkling on toast, your cappuccino or even your hot chocolate.

• placed in a jar of vodka (or brandy) to make vanilla vodka (or brandy).

Peanut Butter - Fold 2 TBSP peanut butter powder (such as PB2) into the whipped cream along with the sweetened condensed milk of your choice; layer with peanut butter sauce and/or chocolate fudge sauce. You may also add slices of banana that have been softened in a pan with butter, brown sugar and a splash of rum. Be sure to let the banana mixture cool completely before layering in the ice cream mix.

Salted Caramel - This is the EASIEST and has the most decadent texture. Use Nestle’s La Lechera dulce de leche (sweetened condensed milk, cooked in the can until caramelized) in place of regular sweetened condensed milk. Fold gently* into the whipped cream along with 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 2 tsp flaky sea salt such as Maldon (or 0.5-1 tsp if using a finer textured salt, according to the fineness of the grind).

*The dulce de leche is much thicker than the other sweetened condensed milks, and so more challenging to mix in gently, without losing the air in your whipped cream. So, start with a couple of tablespoons of the dulce de leche and whisk that carefully into the whipped cream; it should barely deflate the cream and make the cream a bit stronger. Then gently fold in the remainder of the dulce de leche.