HOW TO MAKE ICE CREAM WITHOUT AN ICE CREAM MAKER
Anyone with a freezer and some bowls can make delicious ice cream.
I know because I've done it! Living together with Thomas in tiny flat in London, we made our first tandem batch of ice cream in an antique cake tin borrowed from our bohemian-punk landlady. (Or "Her, Upstairs," as she was lovingly referred to as.)
Our refrigerator was tiny, in keeping with our flat, and the freezer was basically a sleeve at the top of the fridge near the expansion valve where the cold air comes out. Still, we made our vanilla ice cream, freezing, stirring, refreezing, stirring again until we had our first dessert.
If we can do it in a snug, low-tech London studio, you can do it too, wherever you are. Just follow the instructions below!
Enjoy!!
Tools:
Container large enough to hold your ice cream base liquid with a little extra room at the top (prevents spillage)
Freezer
Sturdy Spoon
Spatula*
*Ideal, not essential
Hand Made Ice Cream Instructions:
Pre-chill your container.
Transfer your custard into the container and freeze for 20 - 30 minutes, or long enough for the edges to start to freeze.
Mix the semi-frozen custard while it’s still in the container. You can do this by hand, which is quite a work out for your arm, (we should know…) or you can use an electric hand mixer (much easier). If certain areas of the custard are too frozen to mix, let the custard relax in your refrigerator until those parts loosen up enough to mix everything thoroughly.
Place the freshly mixed custard back into the freezer for another 30 minutes before repeating step 3.
Continue to do this every 30 minutes until you have a uniformly stable ice cream! It normally takes about 5 - 6 mixing sessions.
{ To add mix-ins, just add a little bit every time you go back to freezer for another stir! }
How to Make Ice Cream without an Ice Cream Maker
Laura | March 2020
Prep time: 20 minutes
Chilling time: 3 - 5 hours
Total time: 3 - 5 hourse
Level of Skill: Easy
Equipment:
- Container large enough to hold your ice cream base liquid with a little extra room at the top (prevents spillage)
- Freezer
- Sturdy Spoon
Instructions:
Pre-chill your container.
Transfer your custard into the container and freeze for 20 - 30 minutes, or long enough for the edges to start to freeze.
Mix the semi-frozen custard while it’s still in the container. You can do this by hand, which is quite a work out for your arm, (we should know…) or you can use an electric hand mixer (much easier). If certain areas of the custard are too frozen to mix, let the custard relax in your refrigerator until those parts loosen up enough to mix everything thoroughly.
Place the freshly mixed custard back into the freezer for another 30 minutes before repeating step 3.
- Continue to do this every 30 minutes until you have a uniformly stable ice cream! It normally takes about 5 - 6 mixing sessions.