Ice Cream

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This is a nice simple recipe with a lot of potential for wild flavors, I’ll add more of my notes as I experiment. Original recipe from Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book.

Servings:

about 3 pints (more or less depending on flavor)

Ingredients

  • 2 large eggs

  • 3/4 cup sugar

  • 1 cup whole milk

  • 2 cup heavy cream (AKA whipping cream)

Directions

  • 1 . Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.

  • 2 . Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Optional: Add incorporated flavorings during this step (like vanilla or peanut butter).

  • 3 . Pour in the cream and milk and whisk to blend.

  • 4 . Pour mixture into ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions. Optional: In the last 5 minutes of churning, add other add-ins (like fruits, nuts, or candies), then keep churning for the last 5 minutes until finished.

  • 5 . Transfer to containers and freeze for 3-4 hours before serving.

Notes

  • There is theoretically no limit to ice cream flavor combinations. Below I’ve listed some helpful guidelines that help me choose the amount of add-ins for my flavors, generally the amounts are for making flavors with 1 or 2 add-ins. Mix and match and follow your heart!

  • When picking a flavor, be mindful of how many things you add to the ice cream batch. Too many things could make the ice cream harder to freeze, leaving you with a sloppy cold soup. If doing 3 or more add-ins, use less than the amounts listed below.

  • Peanut Butter flavor: add 1/3 cup during step 2. Also good for Nutella, cookie butter, or other similar things.

  • Coffee Flavor: add 3 tbsp during step 2.

  • Bailey’s Coffee Flavor: add 3 tbsp during step 2. Add 1/3 cup Bailey’s during step 3.

  • Caramel Swirl Flavor (and other sauces): add 1 cup caramel separated between layers of ice cream during step 5. You can also add it during step 4 to do it the easy way.

  • Caramel Flavor (and other sauces): add 1 cup caramel during step 2.

  • Berry Flavors: add 1/2 cup of sliced berries (or similar) of your choice during step 4.

  • Large Soft Fruits: mash/purée 1 cup of fruit (plum, peach, pineapple, mango, etc.) and mix with 1/4 cup sugar. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Drain fruit juice into ice cream during step 3. Add fruit purée during step 4.

  • Nutty Flavors: add 2/3 cup of nuts of your choice during step 4.

  • Syrup Flavors: add 1/2 cup maple syrup (or other syrup) during step 2.

  • Other add-ins: add 1 1/2 cups of candies, cookies, cookie dough, or similar during step 4.

  • Extracts: add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or similar extract) during step 2. Add 3/4 tsp (1 dram) licorice flavor extract during step 2.

  • Chocolate Cherry flavor: freeze chocolate ahead of time. Add 1/4 cup shaved chocolate and 8 sliced cherries during step 4. To shave chocolate, use a chef’s knife to finely shave/chop the sides of the chocolate into tiny thin shavings. For the cherries, cut into quarters.

  • Alcoholic Flavors: add up to 1/2 cup of alcohol. The more you add, the harder it is to freeze, so I recommend 1/3 cup + a splash. You can mix this with other flavors.

  • Food Coloring: I recommend starting with 10 drops of color, if desired, and add more if necessary. Adding more than 30 drops can affect consistency.