When we had been gifted our Kitchen Aid mixer, I was thrilled to pieces. Since then, I've discovered the fabulous world of Kitchen Aid mixer attachments. My favorite so far is the ice cream mixer. I would have never spent the money or allotted the cabinet space required of a separate ice cream machine, but I had always wanted to try and make my own ice cream. The soy and coconut milk versions at the grocery store are sub par at best. Icy, watered down versions of a creamy dessert that I wished to enjoy.
I don't blame the ice cream manufacturers. They are creating "ice cream" for not only those of us who can't have milk, but they are also attempting to grab the markets of egg-free/ nut-free/ gluten-free/ vegans/ vegetarians. It does limit the ingredients they are able to use - and with milk and eggs being key ingredients to ice cream, eliminating both is sure to be tricky.
But I can have eggs. And nuts. So, why not make an ice cream suited to my specific dietary restrictions? Surely it would taste better than the store bought versions (what doesn't?). So, after a couple variations on the specific ratios, here's a recipe that I found to be light* and creamy (no icy, watered down flavor here!). I used Alton Brown's recipe as my benchmark and worked out the specific ratios for the substitutions from there.
Ingredients
2 1/2 c almond milk (I prefer the Original to the Vanilla for this recipe since it has less sugar)
1 1/2 c heavy cream**
8 large egg yolks
9 ounces sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (I used Penzey's Double Strength Pure Vanilla Extract).
Freeze the ice cream mixing bowl (at least 24 hours prior to the ice cream making fun I'm about to tell you about).
Bring the almond milk and cream into a saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to just a simmer and remove from the heat.
In a mixing bowl (or mixer), whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar and continue to whisk until it is combined. The consistency should be thick enough so that the mixture forms a ribbon when you lift the whisk out of the bowl (as shown in photo above).
Once the eggs and sugar are combined, add in the cream/milk mixture slowly, tempering the eggs so as not to cook them. Continue to add the milk mixture to the eggs, stirring to combine as you go. Once all the milk has been added return the entire mixture to the saucepan and reheat over medium low heat until 170-175 F. This is a necessary step to ensure that the eggs are cooked (and salmonella is killed) before being made into ice cream. Continue to cook until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.
To cool down the mixture quickly, we readied a "ice box" aka cooler (filled with ice) prior to starting the ice cream making process. After the mixture was cooked, we simply placed the entire saucepan filled with the cream/egg mixture into the cooler. This cooled the mix more quickly than in the refrigerator, and there was no need for a cool down period prior (never place hot items in your refrigerator - it will cause the entire fridge to warm slightly, causing the temperature to rise above what is deemed safe).
Stir in the vanilla extract (or peppermint, banana, etc.) and continue to cool until the temperature reaches about 40 F or below. Once it has cooled to this temperature, it's now time for the fun part!
Pour the mixture into the the ice cream mixing bowl and turn on the mixer (or ice cream machine). Churn for 25 to 30 minutes until the ice cream mixture approximately doubles in size.
If you want to add candies or cookies and what not, add about with about 5 to 10 minutes left to ensure that it mixes uniformly throughout. Some recipes suggest adding earlier, and I find that it works well for solid add-ins like candies, but soft add-ins like cookies tend to get soft and absorb moisture if added too early. To ensure they stay crunchy, add at the 20-25 minute mark and continue to churn until just mixed through. Freeze into portions and allow to harden before serving.
* To make a more dense ice cream, increase the ratio of the cream to the almond milk. I prefer this version since it limits the amount of dairy, but it is lighter and more airy than a premium ice cream (aka Ben & Jerry's).
** I'm going to give this a try next time using only Almond Milk. I think adding a couple more egg yolks will increase the density enough to offset the absence of the cream. I'll update when I get the results.
I don't blame the ice cream manufacturers. They are creating "ice cream" for not only those of us who can't have milk, but they are also attempting to grab the markets of egg-free/ nut-free/ gluten-free/ vegans/ vegetarians. It does limit the ingredients they are able to use - and with milk and eggs being key ingredients to ice cream, eliminating both is sure to be tricky.
But I can have eggs. And nuts. So, why not make an ice cream suited to my specific dietary restrictions? Surely it would taste better than the store bought versions (what doesn't?). So, after a couple variations on the specific ratios, here's a recipe that I found to be light* and creamy (no icy, watered down flavor here!). I used Alton Brown's recipe as my benchmark and worked out the specific ratios for the substitutions from there.
Ingredients
2 1/2 c almond milk (I prefer the Original to the Vanilla for this recipe since it has less sugar)
1 1/2 c heavy cream**
8 large egg yolks
9 ounces sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (I used Penzey's Double Strength Pure Vanilla Extract).
Freeze the ice cream mixing bowl (at least 24 hours prior to the ice cream making fun I'm about to tell you about).
Bring the almond milk and cream into a saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to just a simmer and remove from the heat.
In a mixing bowl (or mixer), whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar and continue to whisk until it is combined. The consistency should be thick enough so that the mixture forms a ribbon when you lift the whisk out of the bowl (as shown in photo above).
Once the eggs and sugar are combined, add in the cream/milk mixture slowly, tempering the eggs so as not to cook them. Continue to add the milk mixture to the eggs, stirring to combine as you go. Once all the milk has been added return the entire mixture to the saucepan and reheat over medium low heat until 170-175 F. This is a necessary step to ensure that the eggs are cooked (and salmonella is killed) before being made into ice cream. Continue to cook until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.
To cool down the mixture quickly, we readied a "ice box" aka cooler (filled with ice) prior to starting the ice cream making process. After the mixture was cooked, we simply placed the entire saucepan filled with the cream/egg mixture into the cooler. This cooled the mix more quickly than in the refrigerator, and there was no need for a cool down period prior (never place hot items in your refrigerator - it will cause the entire fridge to warm slightly, causing the temperature to rise above what is deemed safe).
Stir in the vanilla extract (or peppermint, banana, etc.) and continue to cool until the temperature reaches about 40 F or below. Once it has cooled to this temperature, it's now time for the fun part!
Pour the mixture into the the ice cream mixing bowl and turn on the mixer (or ice cream machine). Churn for 25 to 30 minutes until the ice cream mixture approximately doubles in size.
If you want to add candies or cookies and what not, add about with about 5 to 10 minutes left to ensure that it mixes uniformly throughout. Some recipes suggest adding earlier, and I find that it works well for solid add-ins like candies, but soft add-ins like cookies tend to get soft and absorb moisture if added too early. To ensure they stay crunchy, add at the 20-25 minute mark and continue to churn until just mixed through. Freeze into portions and allow to harden before serving.
* To make a more dense ice cream, increase the ratio of the cream to the almond milk. I prefer this version since it limits the amount of dairy, but it is lighter and more airy than a premium ice cream (aka Ben & Jerry's).
** I'm going to give this a try next time using only Almond Milk. I think adding a couple more egg yolks will increase the density enough to offset the absence of the cream. I'll update when I get the results.
I can hardly wait tot try this... just need an ice cream maker or magic Kitchen aid!!
ReplyDeletethanks for taking out the guess work.
AP
YUM! I'm always making "ice cream" out of something different and this looks delish! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteDid you end up trying it without the cream? Would be interested to hear the results of adding more egg yolks instead of cream.
I have not tried to add more egg yolks, but I have tried to reduce the amount of cream and increase the almond milk. It just comes out light and fluffy instead of dense (think light ice cream as opposed to dense ben and jerry's). Give it a try with all almond milk and the same amount of eggs listed.
ReplyDeleteCan you have goat's milk? If you can, you could always add some of that in place of the cream also.
I chickened out this time and just made it to your recipe but WOW, it was AMAZING!! Such a subtle flavour but had depth, and the texture was so smooth and silky. I am just Coeliac but the friend I was having for dinner has Coeliac disease as well as not tolerating a whole list of other things very well. But she can have a bit of cream here and there so I did it with the cream. Having said that, I could easily eat this every day and therefore would like to try it with just the almond milk to avoid piling on the kgs!!!! ( ;
ReplyDeleteThankyou for a beautiful recipe - I will have to look around your site and try some other recipes! Now to find something delicious to make using the 8 eggwhites I have leftover!
Glad you had success!
ReplyDeleteI like to make meringue cookies with the whites. They aren't figure flattering either, but certainly tasty!
My hubs like egg white omelettes.
Awesome recipe!
ReplyDeleteAs I am allergic to dairy, I modified the recipe to add 4 cups Almond milk and 1/2 cup of butter. Turned out fabulous...
Thanks for posting this, I hadn't had ice cream for 6+ years. The store bought just didn't get cut it.
Isn't butter dairy?
DeleteIsn't butter dairy?
DeleteA lot of people who can't have cow's milk have a casein allergy. That's the protein in milk. But since butter is milk fat, those people can safely eat butter even when they can't eat other milk products. It depends what in milk you are allergic to, but that's why a lot of people with dairy allergies can have butter.
DeleteI do not have a stand mixer, so I looked up information on making ice cream without the mixer.
DeleteI'm also trying to figure out my food sensitivities, but golly, I NEED to have *some* treat now and then.
I found this information: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2007/07/making-ice-crea-1/
I'm going to give it a shot. No chocolate for me, unless it's the powdered variety, but having one of my favorite treats will make this all worth while. Thank you Jess and Snackerchip!
After I try this, I'll post it to my blog, win or lose, lol.
Glad it worked out for you. That store bought stuff certainly doesn't cut it.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I recently cut dairy completely out of my diet, ice cream has been the hardest to give up. I grew up in an ice cream shop = ice cream snob. I found one that used bananas which is fine if you want a flavored ice cream but I wanted plain vanilla ice cream.
ReplyDeleteYour recipe is great - I did use the 1/2 cup of butter and the 4 cups of Almond Milk. The batch was enough to make 2 with my ice cream maker (the second part worked a little better because I cooled it first). It is creamy not sandy or sorbet like (I hate sorbet)and tastes like REAL ice cream!
Thank you again,
Manda :)
I'm so glad it worked for you and so glad that you liked it! :) Thanks so much for the positive feedback.
ReplyDeleteOk, I changed it up a little. Being lactose intolerant. I just used 2 1/2 cups almond milk, 4 egg yokes, 4oz agave, 1 tsp of double vanilla.
ReplyDeleteIt had great flavor. Light in texture yet still not as creamy as ice cream made with cream. I love your directions on cooling. Wonderful tutorial. I will be checking back in again for more ideas :)
I bought dk chocolate almond milk..do u think if i follow the recipe with the eggs, and butter option...I'll get the same results? Just thinking all that sugar is already in the choc silk almond milk..and can't have the heavy cream due to milk protein allergy.
ReplyDeleteI would have probably gone with stirring/melting in semi sweet chips or dark chocolate into a plain milk mixture to cut down the sweetness. I think that you would have to use at least some sugar with the chocolate milk because you have to mix it with the eggs. I'm not sure how much sugar is in the chocolate milk, but maybe just try reducing the sugar a bit instead of omitting it. I don't think if you omit it completely that it will work. Luckily, this isn't quite as sweet as store bought ice cream to begin with, so you might be okay just following the recipe and using the chocolate milk if you like a sweet ice cream. If not though, definitely use a little less as opposed to omitting it. Let me know how it works out for you!
ReplyDeleteok..so I used 4 cups dk choc almond milk, 1/2 cup butter, and no vanilla, and added slivered almonds and choc chips at the end..and wow..extremely tasty! But the consistency isn't as creamy as I would have like..I am going to try non dairy creamer next time..also might try your suggestion of the goats milk in place of cream...thank you so much for this recipe!
ReplyDeleteI am thrilled to have found this site! Jess, your comments about being able to have eggs, but not milk got me so excited-so many recipes are either all or nothing. My son and I are going to try the all almond milk and butter version this afternoon. One thing I would like to find.... I finally found a stevia that doesn't have a bitter aftertaste, and even my 12 year old will drink lemonade or iced tea sweetened with it. I would like some input from anyone who has tried stevia instead of sugar. I'm not sure if the consistency would be affected. To be able to have ice cream that won't get me sick or blow my diet would be a dream come true....any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteThis is great! I'm trying to cut calories out as well as hidden carbs. This is a great solution. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteJess...I was wondering if you had tried the all almond milk version yet? Thanks--Stephana
ReplyDeleteJess...I was wondering if you have tried making the ice cream with all almond milk yet? I would like to avoid the cream. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteJust wanted you to know I found a milk free alternative for the cream, called Mimic cream..you can google it...I can't wait to get it and try the recipe all over again!
ReplyDeleteAwesome recipe. Thank you. I switched things around a little bit to make it diary free but maintain the fatty, creamy texture of diary ice cream. This is what I did:
ReplyDelete1 1/2 cups almond milk
1/2 cup coconut cream (fat only)
1/3 cup raw honey
6 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract
Worked a treat!
Awesome recipe. Thank you. I switched things around a little bit to make it diary free but maintain the fatty, creamy texture of diary ice cream. This is what I did:
ReplyDelete1 1/2 cups almond milk
1/2 cup coconut cream (fat only)
1/3 cup raw honey
6 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract
Worked a treat!
^ I have a friend that has cut out all dairy for her colicky breasted baby. She is mourning the loss of ice cream. I was thinking of adding cocoa powder since chocolate is her favorite flavor. We were hoping she liked bananas as we love everything Alton Brown makes. I'm so excited to see you used his as a base, we've made his vanilla. I don't have coconut cream but coconut milk so was thinking about using that to increase the fats. I'm glad to read a out the butter option as well. I was thinking about adding almond slivers and slivered coconut too. Her baby has been in the hospital all week with RSV so Im pretty excited to do this for her coming home celebration!
ReplyDelete