Sometimes I made a cheater ice cream that used instant French vanilla pudding mix, but that was for one specific recipe.
The peanut butter and jelly ice cream from Scoop Adventures had another method - using cornstarch to slightly thicken the mixture - like a very loose pudding. (I left the jelly out of the PB&J ice cream recipe, but I was totally crazy about the peanut butter part.)
So I decided to give it a whirl with a version of one of my favorite ice cream flavors - Maple Whisky.
And then, while I was waiting for the ice cream base to cool, I had another thought. A lot of ice cream recipes suggest that you cool the base by immersing the bowl in an ice bath and stirring it to chill it. Which makes sense. It cools a lot faster. Others suggest letting it cool to room temperature, then refrigerating.
But then I thought, gee, what's going to cool my ice cream base faster than putting it in the ice cream machine? I mean, it's a cold place and it's constantly being stirred. So why not?
Obviously (or perhaps not-so-obviously) this method wouldn't work if you have a freezer-bowl style of ice cream maker. Probably not for the ice-cubes-and-salt style either, unless you replenished the ice and salt after the base was cold but not frozen. Otherwise, you'd lose the chilling power before the ice cream was solid.
But if you've got an ice cream maker with its own compressor, it doesn't lose its chill. It keeps chilling as long a you're churning.
So I gave it a try.
I don't know if it's okay to put a HOT ice cream base into an ice cream maker, but I added mine when it was warm rather than cool or cold, and everything seemed to work just fine. You might want to check your ice cream manual's instructions, and if there are dire warnings about not adding hot/warm liquids, then heed those warnings or proceed at your own risk.
Welcome to Ice Cream Week 2014!
You could win these! |
And then you're on your own.
Remember, you can enter the giveaway through the end of the month.
This year the event is hosted by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Susan of The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen.
We have teamed up with 25 amazing bloggers to bring you ice cream treats all week long. I hope you have as much fun as we did. Break out those stretchy pants and celebrate Ice Cream Week with us.
Our sponsors for the event have provided us with some great prizes. Wow! Check out the great stuff!
A huge thanks to Cake Boss, Anolon, Microplane, WÜSTHOF, Page Street Publishing and Quarry Spoon.
Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Susan of The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen have tossed in a bonus prize of a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker because they think everyone should own one!
Be sure to swing by all of today's Ice Cream Week Participants:
- Roasted Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream by Cravings of a Lunatic
- Blackberry Peach Ice Cream by Scoop Adventures
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sundaes by The Redhead Baker
- Maple Whisky Ice Cream by Cookistry
- Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream by Life Tastes Good
- Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream by My Catholic Kitchen
- Coffee Chip No Churn Ice Cream by The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch
- Caramel Macchiato No Churn Ice Cream by Renee's Kitchen Adventures
- Double Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches by Crumb
- Lemon Meringue Pie Ice Cream by Love and Confections
- Snickerdoodle Cinnamon Ice Cream Sandwiches by Farm Fresh Feasts
- Gluten Free Ice Cream Sandwiches by Gluten Free Crumbley
- No Churn S'mores Ice Cream by The Spiffy Cookie
- Cocoa Pebbles Ice Cream Cake by Wishes and Dishes
- Mocha Mint Milkshake by The Gunny Sack
- No Churn Low Carb Peanut Butter Coffee Ice Cream by Yours and Mine are Ours
Maple Whisky Ice Cream
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups milk, divided
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup maple whisky
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Put the heavy cream, 1 cup of milk, sugar, and salt in a saucepan and heat to a vigorous simmer, stirring as needed to dissolve the sugar.
Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of milk, 1/4 cup maple whisky, and the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.
When the milk has reached a simmer, whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Continue cooking, stirring, until the mixture returns to a hard simmer and the mixture thickens. You'll feel it thicken. Make sure you're scraping the bottom and sides of the pan.
Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool, stirring occasionally - or fill bowl with ice and put your pot into the bowl and stir to cool it faster. Then refrigerate until fully chilled, then churn according to your ice cream maker's instructions.
Transfer to a storage container and freeze.
Check out my previous Maple Whisky ice cream HERE.
And now for the GIVEAWAY!!!
More goodies to win! |
- One Cuisinart Ice Cream Machine in White
- One Cake Boss Mechanical Ice Cream Scoop with Red Silicone grips
- One Cake Boss 4Pc Ice Cream Bowl Set, Icing Pattern
- One Anolon Advanced Bronze 2 Qt Covered Straining Saucepan with Pour Spout
- One Microplane Herb and Salad Chopper
- One Microplane Premium Classic Grater in White
- One WUSTHOF CLASSIC 9-inch Double Serrated Bread Knife
- One Copy of the Cookbook Making Artisan Gelato by Torrance Kopfer
- One Copy of the Cookbook Everything Goes with Ice Cream by Koralee Teichroeb
- One Copy of the Cookbook Vegan Scoop by Wheeler del Torro
- One Copy of the Cookbook The Great Vegan Bean Book by Kathy Hester
- One Copy of the Cookbook Eat More Dessert by Jenny Kellar
- One Copy of the Cookbook The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
- One Copy of the Cookbook Scoop Adventures by Lindsay Clendaniel
The giveaway is now OVER.