Making your own ice cream with an ice cream maker: cool tips
Fancy a cool down? Your ice cream maker is guaranteed to be the star of your kitchen this summer. With this clever gadget, you can whip up sorbets, gelatos and trendy ice cream recipes in no time, completely stress-free. So, how do you get started? Here are our cool tips!
Quick ice cream maker recipes: What you need to know
Ice cream makers for home use work in different ways, but they all have the same goal: delicious homemade ice cream.
- Self-cooling ice cream makers work in a similar way to professional machines. They actively cool the ice cream mixture and prevent ice crystals from forming by churning it. The result? Creamy ice cream, just like from a professional.
- With ice cream makers with an external cooling element, you'll need to use your freezer: simply add the ice cream mixture to the container, let it freeze, then churn it in the ice cream maker and serve.
You can get great results with both types of machine. If you want to make your own ice cream with an ice cream maker, it all comes down to the recipe and the ingredients. The basis for creamy ice cream is sugar, fat and flavourings like fruit or nuts. To prevent ice crystals from forming, follow these tips:
- The fattier, the better: The higher the fat content of the milk or cream, the less water it contains. This in turn means that fewer ice crystals can form.
- Not all sugar is the same: Standard granulated sugar lowers the freezing point of your ice cream, but other types can do even more: mix granulated sugar with dextrose in your ice cream recipe. Dextrose lowers the freezing point by around 130 percent!
- Add chunky ingredients last: Pieces of nuts or fruit should only be added to the ice cream mixture in the last five minutes. Ice crystals can form on them.
- Create a bond: A little cornflour or locust bean gum will create a strong bond in the ice cream mixture, giving ice crystals no chance.
- First cook, then cool: If you boil the ingredients together before putting them in the ice cream maker, they will form strong bonds, water will evaporate and the ice cream will be creamier.
Extra tip: Vanilla or chocolate? Anyone can do that! In the Lidl Recipe World you will find lots of unusual ideas for ice cream creations with a gourmet touch.
Quick recipe: Strawberry ice cream with an ice cream maker
You will need (for 4 portions)
- 150 g fresh strawberries
- 70 g sugar (ideally 50 g caster sugar + 20 g dextrose)
- 125 ml full-fat milk
- 50 ml cream
- A splash of lemon juice
Wash and hull the strawberries, then blend with the sugar, lemon juice and milk. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks and fold into the mixture. Leave to chill in the ice cream maker until it reaches your desired consistency.
Feel free to adapt this quick ice cream maker recipe as you wish. Use other berries, swap some of the milk for Greek yoghurt or add other flavours like vanilla or a hint of balsamic.
Don't have an ice cream maker? Swap the fresh strawberries for frozen ones and put everything into a high-powered blender. Serve the ice cream immediately.
The ultimate summer dessert: Ice cream from the barbecue!
Ice cream is as much a part of summer as delicious food from the barbecue. So why not combine the two? Grilled ice cream might sound impossible, but it's actually very simple:
- Whisk egg whites with icing sugar until stiff. Make sure you use a clean, grease-free bowl. A hand mixer will get the job done quickest.
- Place ice cream on top of tartlet cases. You can simply buy these ready-made. For perfect scoops, it's best to use an ice cream scoop.
- Completely cover the ice cream on the tartlet cases with the meringue. There should be no gaps. Be careful not to let the meringue collapse.
- Place the tartlets on your barbecue rack, close the lid and bake briefly until the meringue forms a lightly browned crust. Serve immediately and enjoy!
