Need for some vanilla stuff

Right then. The story goes so.

I had made to make a batch of brownies, for a round-up/contest/dunnohowtocallit. Anyway, since i’ve become the kind of person i didn’t want to become (the kind that sees the picture in their mind before even taking it), i already knew how (i hoped) i was going to serve (and shoot) my brownies. Served with ice cream on top. Well, ice cream is always ice cream, it’s delicious no matter what the taste is. But you all know (don’t you?) that vanilla ice cream and brownies are the perfect match (ok, right, each to his own taste, but…). Anyway, i wanted, needed vanilla ice cream, but didn’t happen to have some in the freezer (how could this have been possible????). So the night before, without working too much on it (i didn’t really want to spend too much time on ice cream-making, that wasn’t the purpose of the whole thing), i tried this.

I also had some yogurt that needed to be used, so i killed two birds with one stone.

Oh and yes, i almost forgot to mention it. No ice cream machine needed. Not even a mixer. You’ll see. This is super easy, i mean it.

 

No-churn vanilla ice cream (eggless)

 

Ingredients

serves 6

 

3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar

3 tbsp vodka

9 oz (250 g) plain or vanilla yogurt (no fat free or any other light version) – divided into two

seeds of a vanilla pod

1 scant cup (200 ml) whipping cream

6 oz (170 g) condensed milk (kept in the refrigerator until the moment it is used)

 

Method

place into a casserole on low heat half of the yogurt with the sugar and the vanilla seeds, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved into the yogurt;

allow to cool completely, then whisk in the rest of the yogurt and vodka;

make sure this mix is very cold (chill it if necessary. If it’s winter, and you don’t live in California, or anywhere else where it’s 120°F {50°C} also in winter, you can put it on your windowsill, covered with aluminum foil) before moving to the next step;

whip cream while adding condensed milk to it (do it very gingerly, almost by pouring it over cream very gingerly)

when it’s stiff and well whipped, fold this into the yogurt mixture, very gently;

very gently scraper this whipped, fluffy mixture into a freezer safe container (i used a 32 oz. emptied yogurt container)

Cover with the lid, allow to set in your freezer for a minimum of 6 hours. All you need to to at this point is scooping into a bowl and eating it.

It keeps always creamy, no matter how long you keep it in the freezer (but i’m sure it won’t last even a week).

 

enjoy it plain

 

or topped with caramel sauce, fruit topping, or chocolate syrup

Here’s the scientific evidence of what i was saying before

you do not have to own an ice cream machine to make a wonderful, yummy ice cream

 

here is the most amazing, creamy, chocolate ice cream, made w/o any ice cream machine! don’t believe me? try it!

Ingredients:

it makes a huge batch, of course you can halve or quarter (as in the original) the recipe

 

adapted from here

 

1 quart (4 cups) of milk (better whole milk)

8 egg yolks

400 g  (14 oz.) dark chocolate (chopped up very finely) – i used one with 74% cocoa solids

1 1/2 cups + 1 tbsp granulated sugar

50 g (1/3 cup + 2 tbsp) unsweetened cocoa powder

vanilla extract

---

2 egg whites

4 heaping tbsp granulated sugar

 

Method:

beat egg yolks and sugar until fluffy and pale;

meanwhile bring milk to a boil, with the chopped chocolate and cocoa (stirring every now and then, so you allow chocolate to melt evenly);

gradually pour milk onto the beaten yolks and sugar, whisking constantly, until you get a nice and smooth mixture;

place over heat again, and allow to cook on low heat stirring constantly until the mixture coats the back of a spoon; do not allow it to boil or it will scrumble;

remove from heat and allow to cool completely (best overnight);

add the vanilla to the base;

start whipping the egg whites en bain marie (that’s a way to pasteurize them); gradually add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form;

after about 10-15 minutes, when the bain marie water is hot, remove the bowl with the meringue from heat and continue beating egg whites until the bowl (and the meringue) has cooled down;

fold this into the base;

pour this mixture into a shallow, freezer safe container (better if it’s a steel bowl or so), and mix using a hand mixer every 45 minutes for the following 3 hours or so; (i personally “churn” it 2 times on the first day, and one last time after 24 hours after the second “churning”, and allow to set completely in the freezer – see also my notes here).

i know, i’m getting boring

 

probably you’ll get the impression that i’m obsessed with only one thing

and i am, in some ways :D but i promise, i won’t be posting only ice cream recipes ;) though there will be a lot of those around here ;)

 

one of the most frequently asked questions whenever i post an ice cream recipe is: wonderful! must be yummy, but i don’t have an ice cream maker :( what can i do? ;(

beside the fact that all ice cream recipes can be made w/o an ice cream maker (there’s way more work to do, but one can make it), i have “invented” – it’s all a matter of playing around and adapting already existing stuff actually - (and will be inventing more) recipes which do not require an ice cream machine. Like the following. I do have an ice cream machine, but it’s not of the compressor freezer kind, mine has the bowl that has to be put in the freezer at least 13 hours or so before you churn your ice cream (see here, here, here, here), so either you basically plan when you’ll be making ice cream, or you have a huge freezer, and always keep the bowl there, so that it’s ready to use and well frozen any time you need it. When my parents complain because i have stuffed the freezer of anything that could possibly be use to stuff a freezer, i sometimes take the bowl of the ice cream machine out of the freezer. And here comes the necessity to have “No-churn” or “no ice cream machine” ice cream recipes.

Ingredients:

serves 6

 

300 g nutella (hazelnut-cocoa spread)

220 g condensed milk

200 ml cream

2-4 tbsp milk

 

Method:

place en bain marie the nutella, just to get it softened;

remove from heat and fold in the condensed milk and as much milk as you’ll need to get a nice and smooth mixture (neither too thick or too runny);

put it in the MW for 30 secs, stirr well, get a nice and smooth and homogeneous mixture, and see if it needs another 15-30 secs in the MW; if it’s fine, allow to cool at room temperature (if it gets too thick add some other milk, but not too much);

once it has cooled down, fold in the whipped cream, gently, and then pour the mixture very gently into a proper box/container (that can be put in the freezer) – the layer of mixture shouldn’t be thicker than 2.5 inch;

place into the freeer for no less than 6 hours;

DONE. Don’t have to do anything more than this. Just go get a scoop and a bowl. It’s ready to be eaten. And it will always stay creamy.

 

;)