How to make creamy, dreamy no-churn ice cream

Washington Post

a day ago

Homemade ice cream, any way you like it, any time you want it: In other words, living the dream.
But not all dreams are meant to come true, at least in the way you expect. In the quest for ice cream on-demand, not having an ice cream maker — and the related space, time and budget — may feel like an insurmountable obstacle. Thankfully, there's a way to churn out customized batches without, well, churning.
We've made — and eaten — a lot of ice cream between the two of us, and even we were a little skeptical when we decided to develop a satisfying no-churn recipe. To say we surprised ourselves with the creamy, scoopable and riffable frozen treat we ended up with would be an understatement. And it starts with a simple, five-ingredient base that comes together in minutes in the food processor.
Get the recipe: No-Churn Ice Cream
No-churn ice cream recipes are nothing new. After all, people were making ice cream long before the advent of the dedicated appliance, though plenty of manual options have existed for centuries.
The methods and quality of no-churn recipes vary wildly, but when they're good, they're very good. 'Sometimes you actually end up tricking someone,' says cookbook author Jessie Sheehan, who's been experimenting with no-churn ice cream for years.
Throwing all our experience making traditional ice creams out the window felt traitorous, not to mention risky. But even Tyler Malek, co-founder of the Salt & Straw ice cream chain and two-time cookbook author, was unfazed by our approach. 'If it tastes good and feels good on your tongue, then it's fine.'
We wanted to find the sweet spot between doing everything by hand and relying on a devoted machine, using equipment many home cooks already own. And even if we couldn't fully replicate the texture of ice cream churned in a machine (no-churn ice cream is typically denser, not a bad thing in our book), we wanted to get close enough that any minimal trade-off would be outweighed by ease and speed.
Some recipes call for simply mixing a base together by hand, which seemed like asking for especially dense ice cream. Others call for whipping cream before folding in the denser ingredients, including sweetened condensed milk — doable, but less than ideal if you're worried about losing the air you just beat into the cream. Some employ a multipronged strategy of blending a base, freezing it, then blending it again before serving, or even stirring multiple times throughout the freezing process, neither of which passed the no-fuss test.
We picked the various elements we liked from the other recipes out there, then, inspired by a stabilized food processor whipped cream in a recent Black Forest Cake recipe, applied them to an all-in-one method with the common kitchen appliance — and we couldn't be happier with the results. Here's how to follow our lead.
At its core, Malek says, ice cream is a calculated mix of butterfat, other milk solids, water and sugar, with each contributing to the final texture and mouthfeel. Similar to other no-churn recipes, our ice cream base only requires heavy cream (1 pint), sweetened condensed milk (one 14-ounce can), salt, milk powder (½ cup) and vanilla, which is optional though recommended. (For a chocolate base, swap in cocoa powder for half the milk powder.)
While Malek says the type of dairy you use is less consequential than the percentage of fat you end up with, we stuck with heavy cream for its whippable nature and relatively high fat content. Milk powder and sweetened condensed milk, a mix of cooked-down whole milk and sugar, both introduce more milk solids and fat into the base without an excess of water that would otherwise make the ice cream icy. (Don't have milk powder? We offer an option to swap in 2 ounces of cream cheese, one of Sheehan's ingredients of choice, which is also handy for its emulsifying properties.) Plus, sweetened condensed milk offers just the right amount of sugar to keep the ice cream soft and scoopable. Too much sugar and you get soup; too little and it's hard as a rock.
By sheer luck, our percentages of fat, water, sugar and milk solids ended up close enough, though not identical, to Salt & Straw's ratios. We could see why, even with an unorthodox approach, no-churn ice cream could nearly nail the texture of its traditionally churned cousin.
The food processor is a kitchen MVP. It also makes a stable, if somewhat denser, whipped cream. That was one reason it was so appealing for ice cream, especially as too much air in the base can lead to a grainy, icy texture. (We were not enamored of the texture when we tried this in a stand mixer.) Take care not to overmix, lest you end up with sweet butter. When in doubt, err on the side of under-processing; slightly denser, firmer ice cream is preferable to the alternative.
Get the recipe: No-churn ice cream
The only other equipment you need: a loaf pan, preferably metal, to freeze the base in, and a spatula with which to scrape it into the pan. Similar to baking, metal's conductivity is an advantage here, speeding up freezing, meaning you can enjoy the ice cream sooner and with less risk of ice. Our batch we froze in a Pyrex loaf pan took appreciably longer to solidify. And, as Malek notes, glass can break.
As far as other supplies, we cover the ice cream with parchment paper. Malek says this keeps condensation — and therefore frost — off the surface of the ice cream and protects it from any off-flavors. You can wrap the covered pan in plastic wrap, too.
After a few tests, it was clear that not using the canister of an ice cream machine, which can take as long as 24 hours to freeze, put us at somewhat of a disadvantage. Insufficiently chilled cream and equipment led to bases that either whipped inadequately or not at all. But that was easily remedied. Just as we recommend chilling the bowl and beaters whenever you want to make whipped cream, we suggest popping the container of cream in the freezer for 20 minutes (any longer and it will start to go solid), and the food processor bowl and blade in the fridge or freezer (pick whichever has more room) for at least the same amount of time. Malek also advised us to freeze the metal loaf pan for extra insurance. Unlike the cream, you can't overchill the equipment.
Start by pulsing the heavy cream a few times to begin aerating it. Add the other base ingredients, and process the mixture until it's glossy, smooth and thick. You can safely run the processor for about 2 minutes, then it's best to pulse or process in short bursts so you don't take the mixture too far. It should start to build up along the sides of the bowl, and you will see a fairly large gap grow between the top of the blade and the mixture as it thickens. Listen for the food processor to start sounding more muffled. When the base is done, it will look like melty soft-serve ice cream but should hold its shape when you scoop out a spoonful. It shouldn't be runny. Tip the spoon sideways to check. Eventually it will slide off, but if it stays put for a few seconds, you're good to go.
After that, pack the base into your loaf pan, layering in whatever mix-ins you like (see below), and freeze until solid, at least 6 hours, though the timing may vary.
Because of the stripped-down nature of the recipe, it's best to enjoy no-churn ice cream within a few days or at least a few weeks, though we doubt this delicious small batch will last that long. One word of warning: Without the stabilizers you find in other recipes or store-bought cartons, this ice cream tends to soften and melt quicker at room temperature, so avoid leaving it out on the counter for too long.
While this recipe makes a delicious vanilla or chocolate ice cream as is, it can also be a jumping-off point for whatever flavors your heart desires. Sheehan recommends experimenting with extracts or even alcohol, such as mint extract or whiskey. (Like sugar, alcohol can keep ice cream soft, up to a point. Too much and the ice cream will never freeze.) You can customize it further by adding mix-ins such as cookies, nuts, chopped candy bars, pretzels, jam, chocolate sauce or caramel. It's best to add them in two layers as you're transferring the base to the loaf pan. We generally recommend the mix-ins total no more than 1½ cups.
For solid items, chop or crumble them into small pieces for the best eating experience. One note from Malek: If you're looking to preserve the crispy texture of a mix-in, such as a brittle, candied nuts or potato chips, press them onto the surface of the ice cream toward the end of freezing or right before serving to keep them from softening too much.
With thick sauces and jams, we found it easiest to place dollops of them as you layer, then gently swirl with a butter knife or offset spatula to create ribbons throughout. Too much mixing and you risk losing the air you whipped into the ice cream.
To get you started, we came up with three different flavors, along with formulas for each:
Other ideas include vanilla with chopped pistachios and strawberry preserves, which tastes divine drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with flaky salt. Editorial aide Victoria Caruso wants a version with candied ginger and gingerbread cookies. Sheehan likes to dissolve espresso powder into the base for coffee ice cream, and folds in marshmallow fluff and melted chocolate for a s'mores version. 'I do think you would be surprised by how much you can add and still have success,' she says.
Get the recipe: No-Churn Ice Cream