How to Make Homemade Ice Cream

Homemade ice cream is such a decadent treat. I personally LOVE having the “soft serve” as soon as it is done churning and it’s 100% more tasty than store-bought. The basic gist of ice cream is to make a base of milk & cream and add in your desired flavoring.

I’m going to provide the recipe for the coffee that I’m making in this tutorial, chocolate, and vanilla bean ice cream for you to do at home. If you want the recipes for other flavors, reach out to me or check out the link at the bottom of this blog.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream recipe inspired from Jeni’s splendid ice cream at home

Yield: 1 quart

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 ½ oz (3 Tbsp) cream cheese, softened
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 1 ¼ cup heavy cream
• 2/3 cup sugar (but I usually reduce to ½ cup sugar)
• 2 Tbsp light corn syrup
• 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out, seeds and beans reserved

Prep

1. Mix 2 Tbsp of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.
2. Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.
3. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

Cook

1. Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla seeds and bean in a 4-quart saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat and boil for 4 minutes.
2. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry.
3. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook. Stirring with a heatproof spatula until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
4. Remove from heat

Chill

1. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth
2. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon ziplock feature bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath.
3. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary until cold – 30 minutes

Freeze

1. Remove the vanilla bean pod
2. Pour the ice cream base into the ice cream churner and spin until thick and creamy. You can enjoy this as “soft serve” or continue to the next step for a firm freeze.
3. Pack the ice cream into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment paper directly against the surface and seal with an airtight lid
4. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours

Whipped Cream

We always make homemade whipped cream to top off the treat. 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1-2 tsp sugar or honey. Whip with immersion blender or mixer until fluffy.

Coffee Ice Cream recipe inspired from Jeni’s splendid ice cream at home
Yield: 1 quart

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 ½ Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 ½ oz (3 Tbsp) cream cheese, softened
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 1 ¼ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp light corn syrup
• 2 Tbsp ground coffee beans

Prep

1. Mix 2 Tbsp of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.
2. Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.
3. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

Cook

1. Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat and boil for 4 minutes.
2. Remove from the heat and add the coffee grounds. Let steep for 5 minutes.
3. Strain the milk mixture through a sieve lined with a layer of cheesecloth. Squeeze the coffee in the cheesecloth to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the grounds.
4. Return milk mixture to the saucepan and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry.
5. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook. Stirring with a heatproof spatula until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
6. Remove from heat

Chill

1. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth
2. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon ziplock feature bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath.
3. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary until cold – 30 minutes

Churn & Freeze

1. Pour the ice cream base into the ice cream churner and spin until thick and creamy. You can enjoy this as “soft serve” or continue to the next step for a firm freeze.
2. Pack the ice cream into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment paper directly against the surface and seal with an airtight lid
3. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Active Cook Time: 10 minutes
Chill Time: 30 minutes
Churn Time: 30 min
Freeze: overnight

Servings: 10 (½ cup servings)

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp cornstarch
• 2 oz bittersweet chocolate (55%-70% cocoa)
• 1 can evaporated milk
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 ¼ cup heavy cream
• ⅔ cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp light corn syrup
• ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions

1. Prep and set aside for later:
   1. Measure 1 cup whole milk. In a small bowl, add 2 Tbsp of this milk to 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp cornstarch. Stir with a fork to make a smooth slurry.
   2. Fill a large bowl with ice and water
   3. Chop the 2 oz chocolate into slivers
2. Cook:
   1. Combine in a pan to cook: the remaining whole milk + 1¼ cup heavy cream + 1 can evaporated milk + ⅔ cup sugar, 2 Tbsp corn syrup (okay to estimate this so you don’t have to measure it).
   2. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat and boil for 2 minutes (set a timer!)
   3. Remove from heat and add the ⅓ cup cocoa powder. Whisk with fork or whisk until all the lumps are incorporated.
   4. Bring the milk to a boil for another 2 minutes (set a timer!). Watch this very closely so it does not boil over.
   5. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the cornstarch/milk slurry to the hot milk mixture.
   6. Cook again over medium-high heat for 1 minute until the milk starts to thicken.
   7. Remove from heat and stir in the chopped chocolate.
   8. Stir in the salt.
   9. Pour into bag to chill in the ice bath for 30 minutes
   10. Churn in a cold ice cream machine for 30 minutes.
   11. Put into freezer-safe container and freeze overnight or at least 4 hours.

A whole slew of other ice cream flavors can be found here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/01/dining/the-master-ice-cream-recipe.html

Don’t have an ice cream churner? No problem. Use the tips on THIS WEBSITE to replace the ice cream churner.

Written By

Diana Dutcher

I am an educator and entrepreneur who is passionate about non-toxic living. I get to be with my five kiddos (8, 6-year old twins, and 4-year old twins) as much as I want and teach one day a week. It's a beautiful abundant life 💖

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