Ok, it’s not totally stevia sweetened. But this recipe uses only 1/4 cup of agave for two quarts. When I took this picture, I pulled the tub of ice cream out of the freezer and immediately scooped it into the sundae cup. No waiting.
Cara, from Cara’s Cravings, (whom I adore, by the way) asked about making a lower carb or lower calorie ice cream. My reply to her was was quite lengthy so I decided to write a post.
After all, it is ice cream season.
Ice Cream Challenges
Homemade ice cream can be challenging for a few reasons. The first is your ice cream maker. I love my KitchenAid ice cream maker attachment
The next challenge is how you put the ice cream base together. I cook my ice cream like a traditional french custard which makes the ice cream creamier and richer.
Finally, if you want a healthier ice cream and use just low-fat milk or stevia you’ll end up with an icy, hard as a rock dessert. Fat helps put the cream in ice cream. I’ve also found that agave, even in small amounts, results in an ice cream that doesn’t freeze too hard.
Tips For Healthier & Scoopable, Creamy Ice Cream
Here’s what I do to make my ice cream healthier and still delicious:
- A combination of heavy cream and 1% milk creates a healthier ice cream that’s still creamy.
- Unflavored gelatin helps the ice cream ‘whip up’ lighter.
- Arrowroot helps reduce iciness.
- Using two large eggs helps make a lighter, creamier ice cream with less fat. The creamiest ice cream is made with just yolks – anywhere from 4 and up. I’ve tried one egg, four whites, and like two eggs the best.
- Reduce the sweetener by half and add 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon liquid stevia. Start with 1/4 teaspoon and taste the ice cream. Taste and add another 1/4 teaspoon if needed. It’s slightly less sweet once frozen.
- Chill your ice cream to 40 degrees before freezing.
If I’m making ice cream for someone else, I usually go full tilt. But for everyday eating, this recipe works for us.
Yes, it’s just plain old vanilla. (This is Joe’s favorite.) But, it’s the most important flavor to perfect. Once you have a good vanilla you can make literally anything. So take this recipe and run with it.
How do you make ice cream?
Reminders
- Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten-Free’s theme is Dairy-Free Delights, hosted this month by Zoe at Z’s Cup of Tea. You can still whip up a dairy free treat and get it to her by Sunday.
- Slightly Indulgent Tuesday’s theme for next week’s is Healthier Snacks – it doesn’t have to be a new post, just a snack that’s healthier.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups 1% milk
- 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder
- 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup light agave nectar
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid vanilla stevia
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Mix one tablespoon of milk with arrowroot powder. Set aside. Put remaining milk in a 4 quart sauce pan and sprinkle gelatin on top of milk. Let gelatin sit for several minutes until it softens. Heat milk and gelatin over medium heat, stiffing often, until milk is at the scalding point but not boiling and gelatin has dissolved. Once milk reaches the scalding point, turn heat down to low immediately and remove milk from heat.
- In a medium heat proof bowl, beat eggs on medium until light and frothy. Add agave and continue beating until incorporated and lighter. Add cream, vanilla, and stevia. Beat until light.
- Add half of hot milk mixture to egg mixture, stirring constantly. Pour back into sauce pan and return to heat. Add arrowroot and stir. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly. Do not boil. To see if the mix is finished cooking, dip a spoon into the mix and quickly remove it. Using a clean finger, draw a line in the mix on the back of the spoon. If the mix holds the line and does not run then it’s finished. Alternatively, use an instant read thermometer to check the temperature – it’s done cooking when it reaches 165 degrees F.
- Strain with a fine into a medium bowl or a quart mason jar. (You may need to use more than one jar.) If using a bowl, cover, putting plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. With a mason jar, you screw the lid on tightly. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. The ice cream mix will thicken considerably.
- Stir freeze according to manufactures directions.
Noelle
posted on June 24, 2010 at 11:28 am
I meant to you earlier, but congrats on your book deal! Sounds fabulous!
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Anna
posted on June 24, 2010 at 11:47 am
Congrats on the book deal!
Your post is timely as I was making ice cream last night and pondering how to make leftovers *more scoopable* after they’ve been in the freezer. I’m assuming you could switch the dairy for non-dairy alternatives? I’m definitely going to try it!
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Amy Reply:
June 24th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
@Anna, Yes, you can make it dairy free – I have had good success with coconut milk.
Hemp milk is a little creamier but rice milk and almond milk would be too icy unless you added some fat. At least that’s what I’ve found.
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Anna Reply:
June 24th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Is hemp milk creamier than the coconut milk? Thanks Amy for taking the time to respond. I want to try this this weekend.
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Alta
posted on June 24, 2010 at 11:48 am
I have never tried arrowroot or gelatin in ice creams before. I should try this! Then maybe I can get away with making it lighter – I love using regular coconut milk, but it’s definitely not low-calorie that way. I might be able to use lite or mix almond milk in if I snuck in the gelatin and arrowroot. I too love my Kitchenaid! I didn’t know why, really – I haven’t had another ice cream maker to compare – but the results are so good with the KitchenAid that I don’t see any reason to venture elsewhere!
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Amy Reply:
June 24th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
@Alta, Have you tried half coconut milk and half light coconut milk? That works really well. I’ve tried almond milk and it gets way too icy for me. It would make a great sorbet if you whirled it in a food processor.
I did try other ice cream makers and took them all back and just bought another KitchenAid attachment. Nothing has even come close.
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Dina
posted on June 24, 2010 at 3:10 pm
Thank you so much for this post Amy! I just started subscribing to your newsletter and ironically I have been scoring the internet and cook books for over a week in search of a good sugar free recipe (after my first attempt with frozen yogurt and tons of honey turned out an icy, mediocre frozen treat). Do you have any recommendations for using yogurt to make frozen yogurt too by chance? Also, congrats on the book deal!
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Amy Reply:
June 24th, 2010 at 9:34 pm
@Dina, I have two recipes for frozen yogurt – one is a quick and simple “I want a treat now” Cherry Banana Frozen Yogurt and then there’s my Lemon Meringue Frozen Yogurt that you actually stir freeze. That post has tips about using yogurt to make ice cream. Thanks for the congrats!
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Anna@Green Talk
posted on June 24, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Amy, what are your thoughts about how to make your recipe dairy free?
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Amy Reply:
June 24th, 2010 at 9:29 pm
@Anna@Green Talk, Try coconut milk – you can use an equal amount of full fat or half light and half regular; or 3/4 full fat and 1/4 light. It would be fun to play with the different proportions and see what you like the best.
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Chelsey
posted on June 24, 2010 at 9:59 pm
I just bought an ice cream maker yesterday! I am definetly giving your recipe a try tomorrow. It sounds fantastic
. I’ll let you know how it goes.
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cindy
posted on June 25, 2010 at 8:49 pm
I’ll try this with coconut cream. yes, it has a higher fat content but your post indicates that fat helps with the consistency. yeah!
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Cara
posted on June 28, 2010 at 10:36 am
Thanks Amy, you’re a doll! Love the tips, I’m gonna have to work on this
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Cara
posted on June 28, 2010 at 10:37 am
ps – any difference between using honey and agave? I happen to be out of agave at the moment but I do have honey.
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Amy Reply:
June 30th, 2010 at 10:21 am
@Cara, Good question – I haven’t tried honey. Of course the honey is going to change the flavor of the ice cream but I think it should still be scoopable. No guarantee, just my best guess. Would love to hear the results.
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Cara Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 11:15 am
@Amy, Hi Amy! Just wanted to share… I used the method from your lemon merengue frozen yogurt recipe to make a mojito-flavored frozen yogurt. I churned it late last night, and checked it this morning – I was excited that it was scoopable, not hard as a rock yet! We’ll see how it is tonight. Crossing my fingers!
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Amy Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 10:02 pm
@Cara, I’m going to bet that if it wasn’t hard as a rock thing morning, it’ll be absolutely fine.
I’m crossing my fingers too.
cdecocina
posted on July 1, 2010 at 9:22 am
Thanks very much for your tips. I have been looking for an icecream recipe that doesn´t freeze too hard for a long time. Now I have made chocolate icecream, and I love it. With some changes, as I don´t eat dairy. Buy coconut milk is perfect, too.
Thanks a lot, I love your site.
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Anna
posted on July 3, 2010 at 12:37 am
Hi Amy…Just to let you know I made this ice cream with all coconut milk and it turned out beautiful. LOVED the *scoopability*! Look forward to experimenting with different flavours
Thanks for all you do.
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Amy Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 11:58 am
@Anna, I’m so happy to hear it turned out well!! I think that coming up with new flavors is the fun part of ice cream.
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Bettie@Wineablegifts
posted on August 19, 2010 at 9:59 pm
Thank you-finally an ice-cream that isn’t as hard as a rock! My son shattered a tupperware bowl trying to get out a scoop of the last home-made ice-cream I made. Love your recipes!! This recipe rocks!!
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Tammy
posted on November 3, 2010 at 3:01 pm
I have made this ice cream twice and love the flavor, but ours does freeze “hard as a rock” after being in the freezer for 24 hours.
We are a raw milk family, so the difference from your recipe is that we used whole raw milk and the cream was from one of our gallons of whole milk. I also only had blue agave. I would think the higher fat content would actually improve the scoopability, not lessen it. any suggestions?
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Amy Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 7:41 pm
@Tammy, I don’t think it’s the milk. Did you follow the recipe exactly? Look back over the ingredients & instructions and think through what you did. Also – what kind of ice cream maker do you use?
Hugs,
Amy
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Tammy Reply:
November 23rd, 2010 at 9:49 am
Amy,
I can’t see where we made any changes to the recipe. The ice cream maker we use is a Sunbeam Hand Crank. Maybe it is taking to long to freeze?
Tammy
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Lisa
posted on November 14, 2010 at 7:17 pm
Just wanted to tell you that I tried this recipe and added 3t. of cinnamon to make cinnamon ice cream and it was fabulous! I’ve loved all of your ice cream recipes so far. Thanks so much for sharing them!!
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Amy Reply:
November 15th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
@Lisa, I love making ice cream, Lisa. It’s at the top of my list. I add cinnamon sometimes, too. It’s yummy.
Once you can make vanilla ice cream, you can make about anything.
Hugs!
Amy
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victoria
posted on March 28, 2011 at 9:29 pm
Vanilla Ice Cream: strain with a fine what? What do you use to strain? Also could you specify the Kitchen Aid model you like the best? I need to purchase an ice cream maker and said you think Kitchen Aid is a good one. Thanks!
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Kris Fox
posted on April 16, 2011 at 2:54 pm
Sooo glad I found your website. I have been GF for two years and have recently concluded that I need to go off refined sugar completely. These recipes will help!
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donna
posted on July 18, 2011 at 12:05 am
Hi Amy, so excited to find this recipe! I also had the question of what to “strain” with?? I want to make ASAP, so excited and don’t want to miss anything. Thx so much for sharing!
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Amy Reply:
July 18th, 2011 at 10:42 am
@donna, I use a fine mesh strainer.
Have fun Donna – this is one of our favorites.
Hugs,
Amy
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Scott
posted on April 3, 2012 at 3:56 am
Umm, I hate to tell you this but Agave nectar is one of the worst types of sugar you can put into your body. It spikes your blood sugar level higher and faster than most things.
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Robbie
posted on May 27, 2012 at 3:33 pm
I am lookint for a recipe for home made ice cream using either stevia or splenda.
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Amy Reply:
May 28th, 2012 at 11:07 pm
@Robbie, I use some stevia and some agave or honey because it gives the best result as far as scoopability. Otherwise it freezes as hard as a rock.
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Jennifer
posted on August 5, 2012 at 1:59 pm
Hi, I have a couple of questions if anyone is still reading this ice cream thread! Somewhere else I read that you can’t make it with stevia because it freezes too hard and breaks the ice cream machine gears, but obviously it does work here. I’m thinking the problem someone else had might have been not enough fat or something rather than the stevia. I have the powdered rather than liquid stevia and I’m wondering if I can use that instead? Or is it possible that using the powder really would break my machine and I should go get the liquid? Has anyone made it with xylitol, erythritol or Splenda and if so how are the comparative tastes? Thank you!!
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Amy Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 10:23 pm
@Jennifer, I use agave and stevia, which makes it scoopable and it doesn’t break my ice cream machine, either. Yes, you can use powdered instead but the amount could be different. I haven’t tried the other sweeteners you mentioned.
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