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Homemade ice cream

If it isn’t obvious yet, I have a thing for homemade anything and everything — homemade broth (using scrap bones, including fish bones), homemade tomato sauce (from fresh tomatoes, herbs and spices), homemade pesto (using basil from my own garden), spring roll wrappers, barbecue sauce… We extract tamarind juice and coconut milk at home… Call it an obsession, if you like, but if it weren’t for the penchant for homemade anything and everything, this blog wouldn’t exist.

So, now, I start a new chapter in my self-imposed career as a cook and foodie — I am learning to make ice cream at home. I read and heard that it’s just a matter of dumping everything into the ice cream maker but nothing can be more misleading than that.

casaveneracion.com Cuisinart ice cream and frozen yogurt maker

Of course, I have a very reliable and highly-recommended ice cream maker — the Cuisinart Pure Indulgence™ 2 Qt. Frozen Yogurt-Sorbet & Ice Cream Maker. I bought it at Gourdo’s and it didn’t come cheap. But, hey, if I’m going to invest in something, it might as well be a good investment, right? I wasn’t about to order one of those ice cream makers from the Home TV Shopping channels which, I read in various online forums, suck like anything. So, I chose Cuisinart.

casaveneracion.com homemade ice cream

And I have all the basic ingredients too.

But is it really a matter of dumping everything down the funnel of the ice cream maker?

casaveneracion.com Cuisinart ice cream and frozen yogurt maker

No, it is not. Apparently, there is an ice cream 101. Ice cream is either cream/milk based or custard based. And the richest, creamiest, most drool-worthy ice cream is custard based. Yes, egg yolks tempered in scalded milk and cream then chilled before the mixture is poured into the ice cream maker.

Does that mean that the chocolate and pecan ice cream that you see in the photo was a failure? No, it wasn’t that bad. It tasted delicious, actually, but I have issues with the texture. I’ll have to study, experiment and learn some more. When I’m finally happy with the result, there will be ice cream recipes in this blog.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I’ve been wanting to buy a cuisinart ice cream maker. It was Cheap from US but it’s 110V. Not sure if it’s the same model, but the onr looking at is only $60.

    • I think that was the older model. According to reviews, that was very good too.

  2. C, I have a Cuisinart ice cream maker, too! :) My favorite to make is butter pecan. Gulat sila dito kasi walang mantecado ice cream dito haha guusto ko nga gumawa ng chocolate with chili or matcha ice cream… pero wag na ngayon hehe winter na dito eh… sa summer ulit!

          • Mabilis rin naman maka adapt. Husband and I were talking about it the other day –one day raw we should take a year off and travel and blog about A Year of Summer. Start the year with summer in Australia, then go to the Philippines for summer in March/April/May, then go to the US to summer June/July/August — di ko lang alam kung saan banda may summer ng Sep/Oct/Nov haha

          • Well, I’m glad you didn’t do it this year. Summer here was terrible. It’s a bit cooler now that the rains have started. But in April and May — penitence.

  4. I’m sure your next purchase will be juicer and breadmachine. Since you like homemade, hehe.

    • We used to have a juicer but we weren’t really into it. Bread machine is on the list hehe and a pasta machine.

      • At the recent MAFBEX at the World Trade Center I was able to buy a Pasta machine(Marcato Ompia 150) at only P900!It says Model Italy but I guess made in China. :( Nevertheless, it was still a good bargain. Now, I only have to find the time and a good recipe to try fresh homemade pasta!

    • The best thing really is how much I enjoy all of it. PLUS, my husband and kids get to eat well. :)

  6. I got mine in the US last December for $49.95. Sadly, summer is gone and it’s still in the box! I’ve been wanting to have one for a long time but somehow, the task of chilling the bowl a day ahead makes ice-cream making a two-day effort :-( But I’m sure I won’t stop once I start hehe.

    • I keep re-arranging the contents of the freezer to accommodate the bowl but, heck, it’s so much fun making ice cream! :grin:

  7. S&R carries the Cuisinart Supreme Ice Cream Maker. No need to freeze, just plug it in. Already in 220V

  8. Hi Ms. Connie! I saw this same machine featured at the SnR great savings catalogue and will be sold at a discounted price of P8299.95 from July 26- Aug 8. 2010.
    Regarding the texture of your ice cream, the culprit might have been curdled yolks?Why not omit and make a sherbet or gelato instead? healthier too! :) I also read somewhere that the drop of temperature also affects the consistency of the ice cream.I have a small Cuisinetec ice cream maker and a bigger older crank type model(automatic not manual) that uses ice and salt. I find the ice/salt contraption made a smoother ice cream( in my case, probably because I never really made its maximum 2 gallons but only half of it and yet I fill the tub with ice to the brim!)but it’s messy and extra work as you have to keep adding ice and salt to maintain temperature.Actually, I myself never really achieved that smooth commercial consistency on both.Anyway,it doesn’t matter as the end product was always better tasting than the one available in supermarket shelves! :)

    • The first ice cream I made had no egg yolks. Just milk and cream. One factor may be the heat and humidity. The frozen bowl may have thawed too fast before the ice cream was ready.

      • If what I see at the back of the 2nd pic is low or non-fat milk it may affect the ice cream texture, higher fat content=smoother ice cream

        • It’s half cream and half skim milk. I am hoping that, next time, the custard base would make up for the low fat milk.

    • Hi Connie. Great blog! Have you tried using an egg substitute? My daughter is allergic to eggs so I have a box of “No Egg” handy. I’ve tried making avocado ice cream using a bowl mixer. The addition of no egg improved the texture a lot.
      Anyway I came upon your blog because I’m looking for this model too. Thanks and more power!

      • No. At any rate, the allergy seems to be a passing thing. I can eat ice cream and cakes again but only in very moderate amounts — just in case. :wink:

  9. Congratulations Ms Connie.. Hope you get to use it a lot.(it looks so sleek)

    I, have given up on kitchen gadgets(except the basics ).. All kitchen cabinets are packed . And they hardly get used..Everytime we go to shop, i ask myself a million times if i really need them, Haay naku..

    • Hehehe I ask myself the same thing. 90% of the time, I turn my back but 10% of the time, I end up buying something. But the ice cream maker, I’ve been hunting for this for about 3 months already.

  10. I’m intrigue by what other people
    says that home-made ice cream taste better.
    Ayyy…if I only got time.
    I recommend “The Perfect Scoop”
    by David Lebovitz if your making
    ice cream or gelato.

  11. i have the older Cuisinart model and tried making avocado ice cream and frozen strawberry yogurt a few months back. i tried these coz you could just dump everything in the maker. no patience to cook custard :) in the sweltering heat

    i liked the avocado since you could really taste the avocado — realized how little there was on the commercial kind. the fro-yo was good too, but could be better if i used better yogurt. I checked out the Lebovitz recipes online too :)

  12. Ms. Connie, I have a Cuisinart ICE-50BC Supreme Ice Cream maker. I love it, but it is so noisy when making ice cream (the churning is too loud) and it takes about an hour to make a quart and a half. The only good thing about it is that it does not require freezing the bowl. But I am almost ready to give it away and get another model. Do you recommend the Pure Indulgence? Pros and Cons? Thanks!