Don't laugh, I've been playing at making ice cream today. I have no idea what goes into ice cream, apart from probably milk. I love ice cream but I regard it as a treat, the only time I buy it is when I'm out and about and I have a Magnum. I dare not buy big tubs of it from the supermarket, because I know once I get it home, it won't last more than a few hours, because I would scoff the lot. I am sure it is full of calories and sugar, and all manner of stuff I shouldn't be eating. There must be a way of making a healthier option at home.
All my cooking is made up, I use what I already have, because to follow a recipe means having to go out and buy the right ingredients for it. So, the first thing I did was to chop up a banana and put it in the blender jug. Then I added some diluted evaporated milk, don't ask me how much, and what was the ratio of milk to water, it was a guess.
Next I thought I might add some chocolate. I bought this cheap bar of plain chocolate from Tesco for 30p, I thought I might add some squares to a drink of hot cocoa, to make it a bit more chocolatey. So, I need to crush a few squares to go into the icecream mix.
Here is the ideal gadget to do that. It's got blades inside, which plunge up and down on a spring when you press down on it.
Here are a few squares crushed into crumbs.
Add it to the mix.
Then I thought it needed something else, so I crushed some mixed nuts with the gadget, and added those, and whizzed it all together. Then I shared it out between four plastic recycled pots. Put the lids on, and now they are in the freezer.
A really quick way to make and ice cream is to add frozen fruit to the blender with a pot of plain yogurt, whizz for a few seconds, it makes a racket but it produces a nice soft fruity ice cream. Hope yours turns out nice for you, even if it doesn't freeze properly it will be delicious with those ingredients.
ReplyDeleteHi from House fairy
ReplyDeleteIlona, that pud looks great1 I hope you are going to decorate them too?
Hi Ilona....dip chunks of banana in melted chocolate, put in the freezer for a few hours...tastes just like banana ice cream. Lots less calories and fat than your idea too.
ReplyDeleteI tried this - absolutely delicious and absolutely recommended! I put the choc dipped banana slices on baking parchment on a baking tray then into the freezer. I made lots but they seem to have disappeared!
DeleteJust blitz some soft fruits in a blender and make some easy posicles. Much less calorific and really refreshing in the summer. Mix water, lemon juice and sugar, freezing this for an hour, stirring it up and re-freezing again. Repeat this process a few times and you get a lemon sorbet.
ReplyDeleteHi Ilona, I've never made ice cream, but people on the DTE forum often make it. The basic recipe seems to be a general custard made with milk and eggs then flavoured with whatever takes your fancy. Your ideas today sound as if they will be just the ticket.
ReplyDeleteOn another matter entirely. Can I thank you for your walk posts. They are truly inspiring and bring a lot of pleasure. Before I was made redundant, I used to come over to Grimsby and the environs fairly often to give free training in coping with loss and bereavement to various voluntary organisations. I have cousins and friends in Brigg. Your glimpses into the local villages take me out into another world.
I have successfully frozen yoghurt of all kinds. Lemon is yummy. You could do the same thing and sweeten with banana or honey or whatever. Ana usa
ReplyDeleteMy mom used to occasionally make ice cream without an ice cream freezer. (This was 60 years ago). In order for it to be light, you have to whip air into it. She would first freeze the mix in ice cube trays (so it would freeze quickly--any flat pan would do), take it out of the freezer, break it into pieces, and whip it with an egg beater or (later) an electric mixture--then return it to the freezer to freeze solid. If yours seems to lack a light, fluffy texture, you might try this. The chocolate and banana sound de-lish.
ReplyDeleteYum! This is my kind of "recipe" too :) Looking forward to your report!
ReplyDeleteVery creative! Look forward to your review of the banana-choc ice cream. Unfortunately I can't have dairy products, but learned a quick way to make frozen treats: put grapes in the freezer. They taste very sweet and are like tiny popsicles :)
ReplyDeleteJoyce
Thank you Joyce, I will try that, when the grapes come on special offer. They are very expensive at the moment.
DeleteWell, it looks okay, but the tasting will be the test. I don't see why it shouldn't be lovely.
ReplyDeleteBriony
xxx
I agree with Sarah about the custard mix. Nigel Slater made a lovely ice-cream with a tin of custard and some apples he'd cooked so we've bought in a cheap tin to try it out.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoy your blog with a cuppa to get me started in the mornings.
I've seen cooking shows where they make ice cream without the ice cream maker thingy. Like someone else said, you need to whip some air into the mixture to give it that creamy light texture. Yours sounds really good. All the ingredients that I love are in it! Let us know how it comes out. I am like you - I would eat the whole container of ice cream so I don't buy it. Every once in awhile, I get an ice cream while I'm out and about somewhere. This way, it's only one and I don't have that temptation in the freezer every day.
ReplyDeleteIt will come out pretty solid if you don't keep whipping it with a fork. If it does, don't worry. If you can put it into a liquidizer in chunks, give it a quick whizz then re-freeze, remembering to keep give it a whisk with a fork every 1/2 an hour until you can no longer do it.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait.
ReplyDeleteLove from Mum
xx
After it freezes the first time, take it out and whizz in blender again, and refreeze....this works for me. It comes out creamy and smooth.
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