THE TAKE-IT-EASY ICE CREAM

Ice Cream
• Philadelphia - style •

With milk, cream, and sugar.

Philadelphia-style ice cream is our Take-It-Easy ice cream; it is what we make when we are short of time yet want to make something that everyone will love. Easy and superb, it is a delightful reminder of how great it is to make your own ice cream at home.

This easy-to-make ice cream is just milk, cream, and sugar, also called Fior di Latte in ice cream parlours. It churns to such a beautiful, fluffy cloud that you will find yourself making it over and over again. After tasting a spoonful, you will wonder why people even put vanilla in ice cream, when milk, cream and sugar alone can taste THAT good. 

also available:

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

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

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, vanilla extract.

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

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, vanilla extract.

or see:

The ingredients

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

• Milk: use whole milk; this has approx. 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 read below): 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.

Sugar: for an authentic Fior di Latte flavour, use regular sugar (white granulated sugar). 

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.

🇬🇧 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”.

• 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.

Sugar: for an authentic Fior di Latte flavour, use regular sugar (white granulated sugar).

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.

• Heavy cream (for double cream see scroll to the 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.

Overview

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

Warm the sugar with half of the milk until it is hot and steamy and the sugar dissolves.

Pour the warm milk into a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over an ice bath; chill until completely cold.

Add the rest of the cold milk and all the heavy cream; stir to combine.

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.

Warm the sugar with half of the milk until hot and steamy and the sugar dissolves.

Pour the warm milk into a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over an ice bath; chill until completely cold.

Add the rest of the cold milk and all the heavy cream; stir to combine.

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.

Watch us making it
The recipe

Ice Cream | Philadelphia - style

Ice Cream | Philadelphia - style

Ingredients:
Notes:
If you find the heavy cream in this Philadelphia-style ice cream recipe is too much, do not try to reduce it. Instead, make this ice cream thickened with corn starch, which has the least amount of heavy cream a homemade ice cream can have.
 
Philadelphia-style, on the other hand, is easy because we do not thicken the ice cream mixture. So we need that much heavy cream to compensate for the lack of body in the ice cream mixture.

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

• sugar: measuring sugar in tablespoons is more accurate than measuring it in cups. Use a 15 ml measuring tablespoon (not a regular one); this is 13 gr of sugar. To measure correctly, each time you scoop the sugar, level it with the flat side of a knife.

• milk and cream: thoroughly scrape with a rubber spatula any residues left on the sides and bottom of the cup every time you measure something and empty it.

Note that the quantities in each measuring system (grams, ounces, and cups) in this recipe are not accurate conversions, so choose a measuring method and use this for 

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):

milk 35% / heavy cream 49.4% / sugar 15.6 %

in desired total weight of ice cream mixture.

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

To make the 585 g (20 oz) heavy cream, you need:

  • 410 g double cream (15 oz) (this is approx. 50% fat)
  • 175 g whole milk (5 oz) (this is approx. 3.5% fat) *

To make the heavy cream, put the double cream in a medium bowl, then pour in the milk, a little at a time, stirring smoothly with a rubber spatula. Avoid whisking, as it may turn into whipped cream.

The resulting heavy cream has 36% fat, perfect for this ice cream. Proceed with the recipe, just as if you had the 585 g (20 oz) heavy cream needed. 

*this 175 g (5 oz) of milk is extra to the 415 g milk (14 oz) asked in the recipe. So, if you use double cream, you need in total 590 g of milk (19 oz), from which:

  • 415 g (14 oz) are for the recipe; and
  • 175 g (5 oz) are mixed with the double cream to make heavy cream

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:

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: Dissolve the sugar 
Warm the milk with the sugar: in a medium saucepan, put roughly half of the milk (200 g; 7 oz; 1 cup) and all the sugar (185 g; 6 oz) and warm over medium heat, often stirring until the sugar dissolves and the milk is hot and steamy (this is at 75° C / 167° F if you have a thermometer). Do not let it boil.

Remove from the heat and pour it into a large, heatproof bowl. Hint: prefer a bowl made of heatproof glass or stainless steel; these materials help the milk chill fast in the next step. Avoid using a plastic bowl which will take forever to cool, or a regular glass bowl that may break upon contact with the ice bath.
 
Step 2: Cool completely

Prepare an ice bath by putting the bowl with the warm milk into a larger bowl and filling the empty sides with ice cubes. Pour as much cold water as needed so that the level of the water bath in the large bowl is 2 cm / 1 inch above the milk. 

Let the milk cool for 20-30 minutes, occasionally stirring, until it is cold to the touch (this is below 12°C / 54° F if you have a thermometer). Refresh the ice bath with 

ice cubes as they melt too keep it super-cold. You will need in total about 300 g / 10 oz of ice cubes. 

Remove the bowl from the ice bath and wipe its bottom dry with a kitchen towel.

Add the cold liquids: add the rest of the cold milk (215 g; 7 oz; ¾ cup)  and all the cold heavy cream (585 g; 20 oz) and stir thoroughly to combine.

The ice cream mixture is ready for churning. If you do not churn it immediately, cover the bowl and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

If you do not have enough ice cubes, you can chill the ice cream mixture in the refrigerator overnight – or until it is completely cold. To do so:

Add the cold liquids into the warm milk: add the rest of the cold milk (215 g; 7 oz; ¾ cup) and all the cold heavy cream (585 g; 20 oz) into the warm milk, and stir thoroughly to combine. 

Chill until completely cold: cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days.

When churning with a domestic ice cream maker, the ice cream mixture must be fridge-cold (4ºC–12ºC / 39ºF-54ºF / it feels fridge-cold when you place your index finger into it).

If the ice cream mixture is not cold enough, the ice cream maker may not be able to churn it to its fullest potential, resulting in a sloppy liquid vs. fluffy ice cream.

Step 3: Churn the ice cream

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

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

Stir: give the ice cream mixture a nice, thorough stirring. If there are streaks of cream visible in the ice cream mixture, give it a quick blitz with an immersion blender, or pass it through a fine-mesh sieve.

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 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.

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 
· place the ice cream bowl 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:

  • 3-5 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 1-2 hours: or as needed) while it is in the freezer. The ice cream is ready when it has an internal temperature of -11°C / 12°F. If you do not have a thermometer, to check 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 be firm and with the same consistency from top to bottom.
  • not ready yet: it may feel hard on the top and softer as you go down
  • if left in the freezer for too long: it will be too hard to insert the knife into it; and likely too hard to scoop out of the ice cream bowl. In this case, click on the next bulb to see how to make it scoopable again.

If the ice cream stays in the removable freezer bowl for too long, it will become too hard 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 (these are 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 soft enough 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 freezer bowl.

Straight after churning, the ice cream has a soft-serve ice cream consistency and melts immediately upon contact with anything. So it is too messy to serve or transfer to another container.

Putting it in the freezer after churning sets it and brings it to the right consistency: scoopable and easy to serve or transfer to another container to store it.

Storing and serving

Storing: Philadelphia-style ice cream is at its best when eaten the day it is made. If you want to keep it for longer, cover it well to protect it from the freezer’s smell and keep it in the freezer for up to one month.

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 minutes until soft; or until its internal temperature reads -11°C / 12°F.

Instructions

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.

Warm the milk with the sugar: in a medium saucepan, put roughly half of the milk (200 g; 7 oz; 1 cup) and all the sugar (185 g; 6 oz) and warm over medium heat, often stirring until the sugar dissolves and the milk is hot and steamy (this is at 75° C / 167° F if you have a thermometer). Do not let it boil.

Remove from the heat and pour it into a large, heatproof bowl. Hint: prefer a bowl made of heatproof glass or stainless steel; these materials help the milk chill fast in the next step. Avoid using a plastic bowl which will take forever to cool, or a regular glass bowl that may break upon contact with the ice bath.

Prepare an ice bath by putting the bowl with the warm milk into a larger bowl and filling the empty sides with ice cubes. Pour as much cold water as needed so that the level of the water bath in the large bowl is 2 cm / 1 inch above the milk. 

Let the milk cool for 20-30 minutes, occasionally stirring, until it is cold to the touch (this is below 12°C / 54° F if you have a thermometer). Refresh the ice bath with ice cubes as they melt too keep it super-cold. You will need in total about 300 g / 10 oz of ice cubes. If you do not have enough ice cubes read No ice cubes? No problem in the questions & troubleshooting below.

Remove the bowl from the ice bath and wipe its bottom dry with a kitchen towel.

Add the cold liquids: add the rest of the cold milk (215 g; 7 oz; ¾ cup)  and all the cold heavy cream (585 g; 20 oz) and stir thoroughly to combine.

The ice cream mixture is ready for churning. If you do not churn it immediately, cover the bowl and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

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

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

Stir: give the ice cream mixture a nice, thorough stirring. If there are streaks of cream visible in the ice cream mixture, give it a quick blitz with an immersion blender, or pass it through a fine-mesh sieve.

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; 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 

· cover the ice cream bowl and place it in the freezer 

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: Philadelphia-style ice cream is at its best when eaten the day it is made. If you want to keep it for longer, cover it well to protect it from the freezer’s smell and keep it in the freezer for up to one month.

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 -11° / 12°F.

If you do not have enough ice cubes, you can chill the ice cream mixture in the refrigerator overnight – or until it is completely cold. To do so:

Add the cold liquids into the warm milk: add the rest of the cold milk (215 g; 7 oz; ¾ cup) and all the cold heavy cream (585 g; 20 oz) into the warm milk, and stir thoroughly to combine. 

Chill until completely cold: cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days.

When churning with a domestic ice cream maker, the ice cream mixture must be fridge-cold (4ºC–12ºC / 39ºF-54ºF / it feels fridge-cold when you place your index finger into it).

If the ice cream mixture is not cold enough, the ice cream maker may not be able to churn it to its fullest potential, resulting in a sloppy liquid vs. fluffy ice cream.

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 to churn it 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.

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

It can take :

  • 3-5 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.

Straight after churning, the ice cream has a soft-serve ice cream 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.

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.

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