No-Cook Homemade Ice Cream

Southern Living, Aug 2004 by Dosier, Susan

Stir the season's most tempting flavors into this truly easy frozen dessert.

If your fondest memories of homemade ice cream are those of sitting on the ice-cream freezer while grandpa churned it, then you're just like me. But I've come to realize that my children have never even seen me make homemade ice cream. While this flaw in Southern parenting is alarming, it's fixable. The No-Cook Vanilla Ice Cream and variations here are my ticket to family reunion memories for years to come.

Several years ago, concerns about egg safety prompted us to cook any ice-cream base that used fresh eggs. Not to worry; this recipe doesn't use eggs. Instead, the mixture gets incredible richness from sweetened condensed milk. Use our basic vanilla ice cream as a base, and try every delicious flavor.

NO-COOK VANILLA ICE CREAM

MAKES 1 QUART

PREP: 5 MIN.; CHILL: 30 MIN.;

FREEZE: 2 HRS., 5 MIN.

Lera Townley of Roanoke, Alabama, shared this recipe through her daughter Wanda Stephens, our Office Manager at Southern Living, Mr. Townley wouldn't eat ice cream with eggs in it, and the result is this recipe.

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 (5-ounce) can evaporated milk

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups whole milk

WHISK all ingredients in a 2-quart pitcher or large bowl until blended. Cover and chill 30 minutes.

POUR milk mixture into freezer container of a 1 -quart electric ice-cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. (Instructions and times will vary.)

REMOVE container with ice cream from ice-cream maker, and place in freezer 15 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container; freeze until firm, about 1 tO 1½ hours.

LERA TOWNLEY

ROANOKE, ALABAMA

NOTE: For testing purposes only, we used a Rival 4-quart Durable Plastic Bucket Ice Cream Maker and a Cuisinart Automatic Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker.

NO-COOK CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM: Omit sugar, vanilla, and whole milk. Add 2 cups whole chocolate milk and 2/3 cup chocolate syrup. Proceed as directed. Makes 1 quart.

NO-COOK CHOCOLATE-ALMOND ICE CREAM: Prepare No-Cook Chocolate Ice Cream as directed. Remove container with ice cream from ice-cream maker, and place in freezer. Freeze 15 minutes. Stir 3 ¾ cup toasted sliced almonds into prepared ice cream. Place in an airtight container; freeze until firm. Makes 1 ¼ quarts.

NO-COOK TURTLE ICE CREAM: Prepare No-Cook Vanilla Ice Cream as directed. Stir 1 ¼ cup caramel sauce into prepared ice cream. Remove container with ice cream from icecream maker, and place in freezer. Freeze 15 minutes. Microwave ½ cup semisweet chocolate morsels and 1 teaspoon shortening in a microwave-safe glass bowl at HIGH 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Place ¾ cup toasted chopped pecans on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Drizzle pecans with melted chocolate. Freeze 5 minutes. Break into bite-size pieces. Stir chocolate-andpecan pieces into ice cream. Place in an airtight container; freeze until firm. Makes 1 ½ quarts.

NO-COOK FIG-MINT ICE CREAM: Prepare No-Cook Vanilla Ice Cream as directed. Remove container with prepared ice cream from ice-cream maker, and place in freezer. Freeze 15 minutes. Stir together 2 cups chopped peeled fresh figs, ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint. Stir mixture into prepared ice-cream mixture. Place in an airtight container; freeze until firm. Makes 1 ½ quarts.

NOTE: We used Black Mission Figs; any fresh figs in season should work in this recipe, including green figs.

NO-COOK PEACH ICE CREAM: Omit vanilla and sugar, and reduce whole milk to 1 ¼ cups. Process 4 peeled, sliced medium-size fresh ripe peaches or 1 (15.25-ounce) can peaches in light syrup, drained, with 2 tablespoons sugar; ¼ cup fresh lemon juice; and ¼ teaspoon salt in a blender or food processor until smooth. Stir into milk mixture with ¾ cup peach nectar. Proceed as directed. Makes 1 ½ quarts.

NO-COOK STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM: Omit vanilla, and reduce whole milk to 1 ½ cups. Process 1 (16-ounce) container fresh strawberries or 1 (16-ounce) package thawed frozen strawberries, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon salt in a blender or food processor until smooth. Stir into milk mixture. Proceed as directed. Makes 1 ½ quarts.

NO-COOK COCONUT ICE CREAM: Omit vanilla and sugar, and reduce whole milk to ½ cup. Whisk 1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon salt into milk mixture. Proceed as directed. Serve ice cream with toasted coconut, shaved chocolate, or chopped macadamia nuts. Makes 1 quart.

TROPICAL SUNDAE: Top coconut ice cream with sliced bananas, mango slices, and pineapple chunks.