how to make ice cream without an ice cream maker

Ingriedients
225ml whipping cream,
375ml whole milk,
5 egg yolks,
120g caster sugar
1½ vanilla pods or failing that about ¾ of a teaspoon of vanilla essence.

Part 1
Heat the milk and cream in a pan to just below boiling point and allow to cool a little.
Beat the eggs yolks, sugar and vanilla pods or vanilla essence together
Add the warm cream and milk slowly to the yolk mix stirring gently
Put this back in a pan and heat gently until it begins to thicken.
The right thickness of the custard can be tested by leaving the spoon in the mix and waiting until it coats the back of a spoon.
When this thickness is achieved pour it into a suitable freezer container and freeze immediately for 4 hours.

Part 2
When the 4 hours is up take it out of the freezer and stir it with a fork until it becomes like slush. Put it back in the freezer.
½ an hour later repeat this process.
½ an hour later repeat this process again.
½ an hour later repeat this process again and this time put it back in the freezer for an hour.
Your ice cream is ready.

This ice cream recipe works fine it looks and tastes great but it’s a 2 part process and to be honest it can take nearly a day to make. Unless you live in the kitchen you might forget to crush the ice every ½ hour and this makes the texture unappealing to most. People tend to be pretty impressed when you serve them homemade ice cream and I’m sure the opposite reaction is equally possible.
Enter the ice cream maker!

How to make ice cream with an ice cream maker

An ice cream maker or ice cream machine will speed things up considerably, churning away for half an hour while you create ice cream. By the time this is done it presents you with a pint of lovely smooth ice cream.

You still have to cook the custard mix which takes about a half an hour. You then just put the mix into the ice cream maker and half an hour later you have ice cream.

It is best to put the container from the ice cream maker into the freezer 24 hours before you use it as this will really improve the quality of the resulting ice cream.

When the ice cream machine is finished, the ice cream should hold its shape when scooped with a spoon, but you can freeze it to the texture and firmness you want.

Adding flavours to your ice cream

If you want to make flavoured ice cream you can add it into the ice cream maker after about 12 to 15 minutes, when the ice cream is starting to solidify, but before it gets to your desired consistency.

If you don’t use an ice cream maker you can add the flavours when the ice cream mixture starts to solidify from freezing.

Liquid flavours can be added before freezing.

If you want to add some fruit to the ice cream you should put a little sugar over it before adding it to the ice cream.

If you want to make chocolate chip you can drop little amounts of melted chocolate into the freezing mixture and it will solidify on contact.

Candied peel, sweets, nuts and chocolate pieces can be added without doing anything to them.
It is best to add really small pieces when making ice cream as this tastes better. As a guide the flavours you add to your homemade ice cream they should be no bigger than a chocolate chip.

When serving ice cream it is best to take the ice cream out of the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes before serving to reach the right consistency.