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

THE LIKE-A-PRO ICE CREAM

No-Stress Caramel Ice Cream
• with xanthan gum •

No-Stress
Caramel Ice Cream
· with xanthan gum ·

With milk, cream, sugar, and xanthan gum.

Ice Creams made with xanthan gum are our Like-A-Pro ice creams, because with 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!

This No-Stress Caramel Ice Cream version was created because we find the old-fashioned way of making caramel ice cream too stressful: first, you turn the sugar into caramel, then you add the cream into the hot caramel. But the melted caramel steams, splashes and hardens upon contact with the cream; and if you do not burn yourself, then you agonise over the stovetop, stirring and wondering if the hardened caramel will ever melt. And if you are not an expert in making caramel (who is?), you cannot be sure if you burned the caramel, which will make the ice cream taste bitter; you will only find out once the ice cream is ready, having wasted your time and your precious ingredients.

To fix all this, we made this No-Stress Caramel recipe, which is as simple as that: you caramelise the sugar, then pour it into a layer and let it cool and harden. You break a piece and taste it; if you like it (and assuming that you do not eat it all), you pulverise the caramel in a food processor. Then you can proceed with the recipe at your own pace; the pulverised caramel will keep in an airtight container for one month. And the ice cream’s caramel flavour? Oh, you will love it, it is out of this world.

3 more ways to make this no-stress caramel ice cream:

THE EASY! Crowd-pleasing and easy to make. Eat now, thank us later. With milk, cream, sugar.

THE ITALIAN WAY. This is your hot weather ice cream: easy to make, and resistant to melting. With milk, cream, sugar, corn starch.

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 milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks.

THE EASY! Crowd-pleasing and easy to make. Eat now, thank us later. With milk, cream, sugar.

THE ITALIAN WAY. This is your hot weather ice cream: easy to make, and resistant to melting. With milk, cream, sugar, corn starch.

LIKE A PRO. The closest you can get to store bought ice cream with just one extra ingredient. With milk, cream, sugar, xanthan gum.

or see:

The ingredients

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

Sugar: use regular sugar (white granulated sugar): it is the only sugar that turns into caramel.

Raw cane sugars like Demerara or Turbinado do not caramelise; as they contain impurities that get in the way of the caramelisation process, so do not use them in this recipe.
Also, do not use any other sugar or sweetener, natural or artificial, liquid or powder, like honey, stevia, golden syrup, table sweeteners, confectioner’s sugar, etc.

• Cream (heavy cream – for double cream scroll to the right): for this recipe you can use heavy cream with 35% to 40% fat content. It is ok to use cream suitable for whipping or ultra-pasteurised cream with 35-40% fat content. Do not use low-fat cream or non-dairy cream.

🇬🇧 For UK readers: if you want to use double cream -which has a higher fat content (50%) than heavy cream (35-40% fat)- stir some milk into the double cream to bring it to the right fat content. Instructions in double cream – how to use” notes in the recipe.

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

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

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

Sugar: use regular sugar (white granulated sugar): it is the only sugar that turns into caramel.

Raw cane sugars like Demerara or Turbinado do not caramelise; as they contain impurities that get in the way of the caramelisation process, so do not use them in this recipe.
Also, do not use any other sugar or sweetener, natural or artificial, liquid or powder, like honey, stevia, golden syrup, table sweeteners, confectioner’s sugar, etc.

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

• Heavy cream (for double cream scroll right): for this recipe you can use heavy cream with 35% – 40% fat. It is ok to use cream suitable for whipping or ultra-pasteurised cream with 35-40% fat content.

Do not use low-fat cream or non-dairy cream.

🇬🇧 For UK readers: if you want to use double cream -which has a higher fat content (50%) than heavy cream (35-40% fat)- stir some milk into the double cream to bring it to the right fat content. Instructions in Double cream: how to use” notes in the recipe.

• 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. 

Cook the sugar until it is a deep brown caramel color.

Pour the caramel on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Break the caramel into pieces and pulverise it in a food processor/blender. 

Make the caramel milk: warm the milk until hot and steamy and blend, gradually adding the caramel sugar. Strain into a saucepan.  

Bring the caramel milk to a boil and pour into the blender with the cold heavy cream. With the blender on, sprinkle the xanthan gum.

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

Churn in your ice cream maker until fluffed up and creamy.

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 to a container and store it in the freezer.

The recipe
No-Stress Caramel Ice Cream | with xanthan gum
No-Stress Caramel Ice Cream | with xanthan gum
Ingredients:
Notes:

When making ice cream, prefer to weigh all the ingredients, even the liquid ones. We also recommend – whenever possible – to weigh the liquid ingredients directly into the bowl/pan as you proceed with the recipe instead of transferring them from one bowl to another because this transfer causes a small -but unwanted- loss of quantity.

If you do not have a kitchen scale, follow these guidelines:

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

This recipe makes approx. 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):

milk 48.9% / heavy cream 34.4%  / caramel sugar * 16.58% / xanthan gum 0.12%

in desired total weight of ice cream mixture.

*This is the caramel sugar you need to make the ice cream mixture. To estimate the white granulated sugar for caramelising, multiply the desired caramel sugar by 1.5.

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

  • 1000 g x 48.9% = 489 g milk
  • 1000 g x 34.4% = 344 g heavy cream
  • 1000 g x 16.58% = 166 g caramel sugar,
  • 1000 g x 0.12% = 1.2 g xanthan gum

and to estimate the white granulated sugar you need for caramelisation:

  • 166 g caramel sugar x 1.5 = 249 g; this is the white granulated sugar you need to make the caramel sugar for this batch of ice cream

You can adjust the quantity of the xanthan gum in the recipe to your liking, depending on the texture you want to achieve:

  • To slightly stabilise the ice cream without affecting its texture and mouthfeel much, use 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum and decrease the sugar by 10 g (0.35 oz)
  • To create a firmer texture, which has a fuller body and mouthfeel, use 1/2 teaspoon as per the recipe
  • For a stretchy texture similar to Booza/salep ice cream, use 1 teaspoon xanthan gum and increase the sugar in the recipe by 15 g (0.5 oz)

You can combine double cream with whole milk to make heavy cream for this recipe.

To make 415 g (14.6 oz) heavy cream, stir together:

  • 290 g double cream (10.2 oz) (with approx. 50% fat)
  • 125 g whole milk (4.4 oz) (with approx. 3.5% fat) -note that this milk is extra to the 590 g; 20.8 oz asked in the recipe-

The resulting heavy cream has 36% fat, perfect for this ice cream. Proceed with the recipe just as if you had the 415 g (14.6 oz) heavy cream needed. 

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 caramel sugar

Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place it next to the stovetop. Put two trivets beneath the baking tray to protect the counter from the heat, making sure that the tray is levelled and secure in its place.

Bring the water to a boil: in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan pour the water (250 g; 8.8 oz) and bring it to a boil over high heat (100° C / 212° F / it bubbles up vigorously).

Add the sugar: remove the saucepan from the heat and add the sugar (300 g; 10 oz). Stir for 1 minute and 20 seconds; do not estimate it, time it. This is the time the sugar needs to dissolve; some sugar granules left are ok.

Caramelise the sugar: return the saucepan with the syrup over high heat and cook until it is a deep brown caramel colour (195° C / 383° F if you use a thermometer). Do not stir while it cooks, but as the caramel darkens, reduce the heat to medium-high and tilt the pan gently once or twice if you notice darker spots forming, to distribute the heat evenly.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the caramel over the parchment paper, scraping with the rubber spatula caramel residues from the saucepan,

Let it cool down for approximately 30-40 minutes or until it doesn’t feel warm to the touch (this is at 27° C / 80° F if you use an infrared thermometer).

Note that the caramel is very sensitive to humidity, so from now on, take care that anything it comes into contact with is completely dry. Don’t leave it exposed to the kitchen’s humidity either; as soon as it comes to room temperature, either proceed with the recipe or put it in an airtight bag.

Break the caramel into pieces with your hands (dry, please) and put the pieces in a (completely dry) blender jug/food processor. Pulse to break the caramel to pieces as fine as possible.

A blender creates a fine powder which dissolves easily. A food processor breaks the caramel into pieces, the size of a rice grain, which just take a little longer to dissolve.

Store the caramel sugar: immediately weigh the caramel sugar (200 g; 7.1 oz; all of it if measuring in cups) you need for the ice cream into a (completely dry) airtight container and close the lid. Proceed with the recipe, or keep it for up to one month. Any leftover caramel sugar can be stored in an airtight container and used to sprinkle over the ice cream or to flavour your coffee.

Step 2: Make the caramel milk

Set up your blender; it should be heatproof and large enough to blend 800 ml of warm liquid.

Warm the milk: put the milk (590 g; 20.8 oz) in a medium saucepan and warm over medium heat stirring often, until the milk is hot and steamy (this is at 75° C / 167° F if you have a thermometer). Do not let it boil.

Pour the warm milk into the blender; with the blender on, gradually add the caramel sugar (200 g; 7.1 oz), blending to dissolve it. 

Strain the ice cream mixture over a fine-mesh sieve and back into the saucepan you used to warm the milk (no need to rinse).

If any small bits of caramel sugar are left on the sieve after straining, just put them back in the caramel milk; they will gradually dissolve. But if there are large clumps of undissolved caramel sugar left, put them into another saucepan with a splash of the caramel milk and stir over medium heat to fully melt, before adding back to the caramel milk.

Step 3: Make the ice cream mixture

This step is a foolproof way to bring the ingredients to the right temperature before sprinkling the xanthan gum, without using a thermometer. To sum it up, all we do is combine that much fridge-cold liquid with that much voiling-hot liquid. And that’s it. The blend instantly reaches our target temperature for the xanthan gum to dissolve efficiently.

You can read more about this no-thermometer method here.

Pour the cold heavy cream (415 g; 14.6 oz) into the blender jug (or a large bowl, if using an immersion blender). If you do not proceed with the recipe immediately, put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

Bring the caramel milk to a boilplace the saucepan with the caramel milk (from step 2) over medium-high heat, and warm, stirring occasionally; when it comes to a rolling boil (95°C; 203°F; or when large bubbles which pop vigorously appear on the surface; or if it starts to overflow), immediately remove it from the heat and pour it into the blender jug with the cold cream.

Sprinkle in the xanthan gum: with the blender on, slowly sprinkle the xanthan gum (½ tsp.) over the surface and blend for 2 minutes to fully hydrate the xanthan gum. Do not expect the blend to thicken; it will thicken as it cools.

Step 4: Chill the ice cream mixture

Strain the ice cream mixture over a fine-mesh sieve and into a bowl.

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. 15 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 5: Churn the ice cream

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. 

Stir: give a vigorous and thorough stirring to the ice cream mixture. If it is too thick, give it quick blitz with the immersion blender; this will allow it to churn for longer and fluff up. 

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

This ice cream will expand and fluff up during churning. It is ready when it looks smooth and fluffy, with the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. The total churning time depends on your ice cream maker and could be anywhere from 30-70 minutes.

To evaluate if it is ready, lift a spoonful; it should be thick enough to stand on the spoon, but it will still be soft like soft-serve ice cream. If it looks watery or starts to melt the moment you spoon it, leave it to churn for longer.

In any case, if you feel doubts about the consistency, leave it to churn for ten minutes more. But beware: at this stage, do not expect it to be like store-bought carton ice cream; for now, it should be more like soft-serve ice cream. It will firm up and become like store-bought ice cream only after it sets in the freezer.

So, stop the ice cream maker when thick and creamy, as described above. If you leave it to churn for much longer, it will start turning grainy.

Note that some ice cream makers are programmed to stop after a specific time, which doesn’t make sense because the ice cream may need to churn for more to reach its fullest potential. So, if you notice that your ice cream maker stops on its own and upon checking the ice cream, you find that it is sloppy instead of fluffy, try to turn the machine on again and leave it to churn until it reaches the desired texture.

Step 6: 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 

· place it in the freezer, uncovered 

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 for the ice cream largely depends on the type of ice cream maker you use.

It can take :

  • 1-5 hours for removable freezer bowls (these are the ice cream maker bowls which you should pre-freeze before churning)
  • 1-2 hours for aluminium bowls (these are the bowls from compressor ice cream makers)

Note: the times given are indicative. Setting time depends on many factors.

Check it occasionally (approx. every 2 hours; or as needed) while it is in the freezer. The ice cream is ready when it has an internal temperature of -10ºC / 14ºF. If you do not have a thermometer, to evaluate if the ice cream has set, insert a round tip knife into it, all the way to the bottom: 

  • when the ice cream is ready, it feels firm as you go down, but at the same time it is soft enough to insert the knife into it; it should have this same firm consistency from top to bottom.
  • not ready yet: it will feel hard on the top and softer as you go down
  • if left in the freezer for too long: it will be too hard for the knife to insert into it and too hard to scoop out of the ice cream bowl. Do not worry, though! Read right below how to soften it.

If the ice cream stays in the removable freezer bowl for too long, it will harden and be difficult to remove or serve.

To make it scoopable again, leave it in the refrigerator to soften. That can take:

  • anywhere from 4 to 10 hours for removable freezer bowls (the ones which need pre-freezing before churning)
  • 1-2 hours for aluminium bowls (these are the bowls from compressor ice cream makers)

(Note: the time given is indicative, time may vary depending on many factors, so do check it occasionally as it sits in the refrigerator.)

When the ice cream is easy to scoop (or it has an internal temperature of approx. -11°C / 12°F if you have a thermometer), you can transfer it to another container and store it in the freezer or serve it directly from the removable freezer bowl.

Straight after churning, the ice cream has a soft-serve consistency and melts immediately upon contact with anything. This makes it impossible to serve or transfer to another container.

Putting it in the freezer after churning sets it and brings it to the right consistency, similar to that of an ice cream parlour’s.

Storing and serving

Storing: in the freezer for one month, covered well to protect it from absorbing the freezer’s smells. 

Scooping: this ice cream, like all artisanal ice cream, freezes hard in the long term. You can make it perfectly scoopable again by putting it in the refrigerator for 45-60 minuter until soft; or until its internal temperature reads -10°C / 14°F.

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.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place it next to the stovetop. Put two trivets beneath the baking tray to protect the counter from the heat, making sure that the tray is levelled and secure in its place.

Bring the water to a boil: in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan pour the water (250 g; 8.8 oz) and bring it to a boil over high heat (100° C / 212° F / it bubbles up vigorously).

Add the sugar: remove the saucepan from the heat and add the sugar (300 g; 10 oz). Stir for 1 minute and 20 seconds; do not estimate it, time it. This is the time the sugar needs to dissolve; some sugar granules left are ok.

Caramelise the sugar: return the saucepan with the syrup over high heat and cook until it is a deep brown caramel colour (195° C / 383° F if you use a thermometer). Do not stir while it cooks, but as the caramel darkens, reduce the heat to medium-high and do tilt the pan gently once or twice if you notice darker spots forming, to distribute the heat evenly.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the caramel over the parchment paper, scraping with the rubber spatula caramel residues from the saucepan,

Let it cool down for approximately 30-40 minutes or until it doesn’t feel warm to the touch (this is at 27° C / 80° F if you use an infrared thermometer).

Note that the caramel is very sensitive to humidity, so from now on, take care that anything it comes into contact with is completely dry. Don’t leave it exposed to the kitchen’s humidity either; as soon as it comes to room temperature, either proceed with the recipe or put it in an airtight bag.

Break the caramel into pieces with your hands (dry, please) and put the pieces in a (completely dry) blender jug/food processor. Pulse to break the caramel to as fine as possible.

A blender creates a fine powder which dissolves easily. A food processor breaks the caramel into pieces, the size of a rice grain, which just take a little longer to dissolve.

Store the caramel sugar: immediately weigh the caramel sugar (200 g; 7.1 oz; all of it if measuring in cups) you need for the ice cream into a (completely dry) airtight container and close the lid. Proceed with the recipe, or keep it for up to one month. Any leftover caramel sugar can be stored in an airtight container and used to sprinkle over the ice cream or to flavour your coffee.

Set up your blender; it should be heatproof and large enough to blend 800 ml of warm liquid. 

Warm the milk: put the milk (590 g; 20.8 oz) in a medium saucepan and warm over medium heat stirring often, until the milk is hot and steamy (this is at 75° C / 167° F if you have a thermometer). Do not let it boil.

Pour the warm milk into the blender; with the blender on, gradually add the caramel sugar (200 g; 7.1 oz), blending to dissolve it. 

Strain the ice cream mixture over a fine-mesh sieve and back into the saucepan you used to warm the milk (no need to rinse).

If any small bits of caramel sugar are left on the sieve after straining, just put them back in the caramel milk; they will gradually dissolve. But if there are large clumps of undissolved caramel sugar left, put them into another saucepan with a splash of the caramel milk and stir over medium heat to fully melt, before adding back to the caramel milk.

Pour the cold heavy cream (415 g; 14.6 oz) into the blender jug (or a large bowl, if using an immersion blender). If you do not proceed with the recipe immediately, put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

Bring the caramel milk to a boil: pour the caramel milk (from step 2) into a medium saucepan.

Warm over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally; when it comes to a rolling boil (95°C; 203°F; or when large bubbles which pop vigorously appear on the surface; or if it starts to overflow), immediately remove it from the heat and pour it into the blender jug with the cold cream.

Sprinkle in the xanthan gum: with the blender on, slowly sprinkle the xanthan gum (½ tsp.) over the surface and blend for 2 minutes to fully hydrate the xanthan gum. Do not expect the blend to thicken; it will thicken as it cools.

Strain the ice cream mixture over a fine-mesh sieve and into a bowl.

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. 15 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.

Check if the ice cream mixture is cold before churning it: 4ºC–12ºC / 39ºF-54ºF / it feels fridge-cold when you place your index finger into it.

Prepare the ice cream maker according to

the manufacturer’s instructions. 

Stir: this ice cream thickens as it cools; give it a vigorous and thorough stirring to loosen it. If it is too thick, give it quick blitz with the immersion blender; this will allow it to churn for longer and fluff up. 

Churn: with the machine running, pour the ice cream mixture through the canister and into the ice cream makerLeave to churn until creamy and wavy; depending on your ice cream maker, this can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes; read more in How do I know when the ice cream is ready in questions & troubleshooting below.

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 

· place it in the freezer, uncovered

Setting time depends on many factors; read How long does it take for the ice cream to set in questions & troubleshooting below.

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

Storing: in the freezer for one month, covered well to protect it from absorbing the freezer’s smells. 

Scooping: this ice cream, like all artisanal ice cream, freezes hard in the long term. You can make it perfectly scoopable again by putting it in the refrigerator for 45-60 minuter until soft; or until its internal temperature reads -10° / 14°F.

This step is a foolproof way to bring the ingredients to the right temperature before sprinkling the xanthan gum, without using a thermometer. To sum it up, all we do is combine part of the blend at fridge-cold temperature and the other part at boiling-hot temperature. And that’s it. The blend instantly reaches our target temperature for the xanthan gum to dissolve efficiently.

You can read more about this no-thermometer method here.

This ice cream is ready when it is creamy and wavy. The total churning atime depends on your ice cream maker and could be anywhere from 30-70 minutes.

To evaluate if it is ready, lift a spoonful; it should be thick enough to stand on the spoon, but it will still be soft like soft-serve ice cream. If it looks watery or starts to melt the moment you spoon it, leave it to churn for longer.

In any case, if you feel doubts about the consistency, leave it to churn for ten minutes more. But beware: at this stage, do not expect it to be like store-bought carton ice cream; for now, it should be more like soft-serve ice cream. It will firm up and become like store-bought ice cream only after it sets in the freezer.

So, stop the ice cream maker when the ice cream is smooth and pliable. If you leave to churn it for much longer, it will start turning grainy.

Warning: some ice cream makers are programmed to stop after a specific time, which doesn’t make sense because the ice cream may need to churn for more to reach its fullest potential. So, if you notice that your ice cream maker stops on its own and upon checking the ice cream, you find that it is sloppy instead of fluffy, try to turn the machine on again and leave it to churn until it reaches the desired texture.

The setting time for the ice cream largely depends on the type of ice cream maker you use.

It can take :

  • 1-5 hours for removable freezer bowls (these are the ice cream maker bowls which you should pre-freeze before churning)
  • 1-2 hours for aluminium bowls (these are the bowls from compressor ice cream makers)

Note: the times given are indicative. Setting time depends on many factors.

Check it occasionally (approx. every 2 hours; or as needed) while it is in the freezer. The ice cream is ready when it has an internal temperature of -11ºC / 12ºF. If you do not have a thermometer, to evaluate if the ice cream has set, insert a round tip knife into it, all the way to the bottom: 

  • when the ice cream is ready, it feels firm as you go down, but at the same time it is soft enough to insert the knife into it; it should have this same firm consistency from top to bottom.
  • not ready yet: it will feel hard on the top and softer as you go down
  • if left in the freezer for too long: it will be too hard for the knife to insert into it and too hard to scoop out of the ice cream bowl. Do not worry, though! Read right below how to soften it.

If the ice cream stays in the removable freezer bowl for too long, it will harden and be difficult to remove or serve.

To make it scoopable again, leave it in the refrigerator to soften. That can take:

  • anywhere from 4 to 10 hours for removable freezer bowls (the ones which need pre-freezing before churning)
  • 1-2 hours for aluminium bowls (these are the bowls from compressor ice cream makers)

(Note: the time given is indicative, time may vary depending on many factors, so do check it occasionally as it sits in the refrigerator.)

When the ice cream is easy to scoop (or it has an internal temperature of approx. -10°C / 14°F if you have a thermometer), you can transfer it to another container and store it in the freezer or serve it directly from the removable freezer bowl.

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