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Main page >  Ice Cream Recipes  >  The Caramel Collection > Dark Muscovado Ice Cream > with xanthan gum

An ice cream maker paddle just pulled out of the ice maker bowl with freshly churned dark muscovado ice cream still attached to it; a hand is holding the paddle.

THE LIKE-A-PRO ICE CREAM

Dark Muscovado Ice Cream
• with xanthan gum •

(aka gelato-style)

With Dark Muscovado sugar, milk, heavy cream, and xanthan gum.

This flavour is a true game changer, with a special ingredient that sets it apart from all the rest. What’s the secret you ask? It’s made with dark muscovado raw cane sugar, a deep and complex sugar that brings an unparalleled flavour to every scoop. The tropical notes of vanilla, molasses, and coffee woven throughout will leave your taste buds begging for more. 

Ice Creams made with xanthan gum are our Like-A-Pro ice creams, because which just one extra ingredient -xanthan gum-, you can make an eggless ice cream with a perfect, full-bodied mouthfeel, which churns beautifully, melts uniformly during serving, and keeps well in the freezer for a long time. Just like professionals do!

with more heavy cream

PLAIN & PERFECT. This easy version uses the fewest ingredients, and relies on some extra heavy cream as the key to its rich, creamy texture. (Also known as “Philadelphia-style,” but it does not contain cream cheese.) With Dark Muscovado sugar, milk and heavy cream.

with egg yolks

THE FRENCH-STYLE ICE CREAM. Rich and velvety, this is a custard-based ice cream; a tad bit tricky to make, but so much worth it. With Dark Muscovado sugar, milk, heavy cream and egg yolks.

with cornstarch

THE ITALIAN WAY. This is your hot weather ice cream: easy to make, and resistant to melting. Also the lowest in heavy cream. With Dark Muscovado sugar, milk, heavy cream and cornstarch.

The ingredients

Do not reduce or replace anything; everything is there for a reason.

• Dark Muscovado sugar: for exceptional flavour, use Dark Muscovado sugar from Mauritius as it has a unique taste profile from the island’s volcanic soil and tropical climate. Similar products labeled as “Dark Brown Sugar,” awon’t yield the same results as Dark Muscovado sugar. If you want to experiment with different sugars, conduct a taste test first to ensure the desired quality and flavour by tasting a spoonful of the sugar; if it tastes divine, so will your ice cream. 

• Milk: use whole milk, with around 3,5% fat. Do not substitute with skimmed milk (lower fat) or non-dairy milk. You need the fat, milk proteins and lactose that whole milk contains for this ice cream recipe. 

• Heavy cream: For this recipe, you can use heavy cream with 35% and up to 36% fat content. It is also OK to use heavy cream suitable for whipping or ultra-pasteurised cream, if it has the right fat content (35-36% fat). Do not use low-fat or non-dairy cream, the ice cream will be icy.

• Xanthan gum can be found in speciality shops, health food stores and online. Read more about it here.

Overview

This is a quick overview of the recipe. If you are new to ice cream making, do read the recipe before proceeding. 

Bring the milk, Muscovado sugar, and cocoa powder to a boil.

Pour in the blender jug with the cold heavy cream. Turn the blender on and sprinkle the xanthan gum.

Strain the mixture and cool it down over an ice bath.

Put the ice cream mixture in the refrigerator overnight, or until completely cold.

Churn in your ice cream maker until creamy and wavy.

Put it in the freezer for a few hours to set. 

As soon as it sets, you can either serve it from the ice cream maker bowl or transfer it to a container and store it in the freezer.

🎥 Watch us making it
The recipe

Dark Muscovado Ice Cream
• with xanthan gum •

  • Special equipment: ice cream maker, blender
  • Yields: 1.4 litre/quart ice cream
  • Makes: 1.2 ltr (quarts) ice cream mixture (before churning), ideal for 1.5 ltr (quart) ice cream makers.
Ingredients:
  • 1 cup = 237 ml , 1 teaspoon = 5 ml
Notes:

It is recommended to weigh all ingredients, even the liquid ones, to achieve the best results.

To avoid any unwanted loss of quantity, weigh the liquid ingredients directly into the bowl/pan in which you will mix the ingredients, rather than transferring them from one bowl to another.

If a kitchen scale is unavailable, these guidelines may help:

1 cup (US) = 237 ml | 1 tablespoon = 15 ml

Note that the quantities indicated in grams, ounces, and cups in our recipes may not always be exact conversions, but any deviations will not affect the outcome.

This recipe makes a 1.2 litre/quart ice cream mixture (before churning), perfect for ice cream makers with a capacity of 1.5 and up to 2 litres/quarts (like Cuisinart ice cream makers).

If you need to scale the ice cream mixture up or down, use this ratio of the ingredients (in weight only):

dark muscovado sugar 17.17% / heavy cream 39.4% / milk 43.3% / xanthan gum 0.13%

in the desired total weight of the ice cream mixture.

For example, if you want to make 1000 g (approx. 1 litre before churning) of ice cream mixture, you need:

• 1000 g x 17.17% = 172 g dark muscovado sugar

• 1000 g x 39.4% = 394 g heavy cream

• 1000 g x 43.3% = 433 g milk

• 1000 g x 0.13% = 1.3 g xanthan gum

A flexible rubber spatula is good for:
-wiping the bottom of the saucepan when you cook dairy on the stovetop.
-scraping residues from bowls, saucepans etc.

If you do not have one, we strongly encourage you to buy one, preferably a flexible one. 

Instructions
Plan ahead:

The ice cream mixture needs to cool completely before churning, so prepare it in advance (approx. 8 hours before) to give it time to chill in the refrigerator.

If your ice cream maker has a removable freezer bowl, put it in the freezer for the whole time indicated by the manufacturer before churning, usually 24 hours.

Step 1: Make the ice cream mixture

Prepare the dark muscovado sugar: put the dark muscovado sugar (200 g; 7.1 oz) into a medium saucepan. With your fingers, break up any lumps in the sugar until it is smooth. The lumps are bits of sugar with molasses in them, which is a natural part of this type of sugar. Any undissolved lumps will be difficult to dissolve in the next steps, so do your best now and enjoy the procedure.

Pour the heavy cream (455 g; 16 oz) over the sugar and stir to moisten the sugar. Set aside while you prepare the blender.

Pour the cold milk (500 g; 17.6 oz) into the blender jug and have it ready to blend (or into a large bowl, if using an immersion blender).

Bring the sugar and the heavy cream to a boil: bring the saucepan with the sugar and heavy cream over medium heat. Warm while stirring with a rubber spatula, until the sugar fully dissolves. Increase the heat to high, stirring continuously, and as soon as the heavy cream comes to a rolling boil (when large bubbles that pop vigorously appear on the surface / approx. 90°C / 195°F / if it starts to overflow), immediately remove it from the heat and pour it into the blender jug with the cold milk.

Turn the blender on (medium speed). Note: by blending that much boiling hot cream with that much fridge-cold milk, the blend instantly reaches approx. 48°C; 118°F; This temperature is ideal for dissolving xanthan gum efficiently.

Sprinkle in the xanthan gum: with the blender on, carefully open the cap and slowly sprinkle the xanthan gum (½ teaspoon) over the surface. Blend for 2 minutes to fully hydrate the xanthan gum; do not estimate the time, set a timer. Do not expect the blend to thicken; it will thicken as it cools.

Step 2: Chill the ice cream mixture

Strain the ice cream mixture over a fine-mesh sieve and into a bowl. Pro tip: prefer stainless steel or heatproof-glass bowls as they chill faster. Avoid using plastic or regular glass bowls, as plastic may not chill the mixture well, while glass may break from sudden temperature changes.

Cool it down: prepare an ice bath by putting the bowl with the ice cream mixture into a larger bowl and filling the empty sides with ice cubes and cold water. How many ice cubes? A tray of ice cubes (200 g; 7 oz of ice) is enough to cool down the ice cream mixture: we just need to cool it down until it is no longer warm to the touch so that you can safely put it in the refrigerator. This will take approx. 30 minutes; do stir occasionally.

Chill until completely cold: cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days. Xanthan gum needs 6-8 hours in the refrigerator to fully develop, so do not rush the cooling process.

Step 3: Churn

Check if the ice cream mixture is cold before churning it: below 12ºC / 54ºF / it feels fridge-cold when you place your index finger into it.

Prepare the ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. 

Blend before churning: briefly blitz the ice cream mixture with an immersion blender, stopping once to scrape down the sides and bottom with a rubber spatula. This improves consistency and ensures a smooth, even texture.

Churn: with the machine running, pour the ice cream mixture through the canister and into the ice cream maker. Leave to churn until fluffed up and creamy; depending on your ice cream maker, this can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes.

This ice cream mixture expands and becomes airy as it churns. You’ll know it’s ready when it looks smooth, creamy, and slightly wavy—similar to soft-serve ice cream. Churning time varies depending on your machine and can take anywhere from 30 to 70 minutes.

To check the texture, lift a spoonful. It should be thick enough to stay on the spoon, but still soft. If it looks too thin or starts melting immediately, it needs more time.

If you’re unsure, let it churn for 10 more minutes. Keep in mind that it won’t look like store-bought ice cream at this point—it will still be soft. It only becomes firm and scoopable after a few hours in the freezer.

Stop the machine once the mixture is thick and creamy. If you continue churning beyond that point, the mixture can start losing the air it has built up and may seize, resulting in a dense, heavy texture.

One important note: some ice cream makers are programmed to stop automatically after a fixed time, but that doesn’t always mean the ice cream is ready. If your machine stops and the mixture still looks too soft, simply restart it and continue churning until the texture improves.

 

Step 4: Put the ice cream in the freezer to set

Put in the freezer to set: before serving the ice cream or moving it to a container for storing, you have to put it in the freezer to set. To do so, turn off the ice cream maker and: 

· remove the removable freezer bowl (still filled with the ice cream) from the ice cream machine
· remove the paddle, scraping any ice cream attached to it back into the ice cream bowl 
· cover the ice cream bowl and place it in the freezer 
Setting time depends on many factors; see notes below for indicative times.

Serve or store: when it sets, you can serve it directly from the removable freezer bowl or transfer it to an airtight container for longer storage.

The setting time depends on the type of ice cream maker you’re using. Here are the general guidelines:

3–5 hours for machines with removable freezer bowls (these bowls must be pre-frozen before churning)

Under 1 hour for machines with built-in compressors and aluminum bowls
⚠️ Important: Ice cream in aluminum bowls sets quickly. Do not leave it for too long—once fully frozen, it can become extremely hard and difficult to remove without risking scratches to the bowl. Always monitor it closely.

To check if the ice cream is ready, aim for an internal temperature of –11°C (12°F). If you don’t have a thermometer, use this simple test:

Insert a round-tip knife all the way to the bottom of the ice cream:
✔ If it goes in smoothly but meets gentle resistance, it’s ready
✖ If it feels hard on top but soft underneath, it needs more time
✖ If it’s too firm to insert the knife, it’s over-frozen and likely too hard to scoop

If it’s over-frozen, don’t worry—head to the next section for how to bring it back to scoopable.

If the ice cream sits in the freezer in the removable freezer bowl for too long after it has set, it can become too hard to scoop or remove.

To make it scoopable again:
Place the bowl in the refrigerator and allow the ice cream to soften gradually.

Here’s how long that may take:

4–10 hours for removable freezer bowls (pre-freeze models)

1–2 hours for aluminum bowls (from compressor ice cream makers)

Note: These times are approximate and may vary depending on your fridge and the amount of ice cream. Check the texture occasionally as it softens.

Once the ice cream is soft enough to scoop—or its internal temperature reads approximately –11°C (12°F)—you can:

✔ Transfer it to another container and store it in the freezer
✔ Or serve it directly from the bowl

Just be sure to avoid digging into an over-frozen bowl with hard utensils, especially if using a nonstick-coated or aluminum bowl.

Straight after churning, the ice cream has a soft-serve consistency and melts almost instantly on contact. At this stage, it’s too soft to serve neatly or transfer easily—it’s simply too messy to handle.

Freezing the ice cream immediately after churning allows it to set properly. This step brings it to the right texture: scoopable, stable, and easy to portion or transfer into a storage container.

It’s the final step that turns churned ice cream into finished ice cream.

Storing and serving

Storing: Transfer the finished ice cream to a lidded container and store it in the freezer for up to one month.
Cover it well to protect it from absorbing any unwanted freezer smells.

Scooping: Like all artisanal-style ice creams, this one freezes hard over time.
To make it scoopable again, place the container in the refrigerator for 45–60 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches about –11°C (12°F).
Once softened, it’ll scoop cleanly and serve beautifully.

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2 Responses

  1. In the freezing phase, why is the bowl put in the freezer uncovered rather than covered?

    Reply

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