National Ice Cream Month inspires people to search for grandma’s old ice cream machine and get cranking. But not Helen S. Fletcher.
She’s ditched the churn after cracking the secret of making creamy, scoopable full-flavored ice cream without churning. Fletcher’s easy-peasy method of no-churn ice cream is featured on Pastries Like a Pro, her teaching blog famous for its step-by-step instructional photos that make her recipes a snap to follow. No-churn ice cream can be counted among Fletcher’s best non-baking recipes. And why not? Ice cream is a perfect accompaniment to cake and cookies and the key addition that makes pie à la mode possible.
“No-churn ice cream is so easy. The base is whipped cream and condensed milk. That’s it. You don’t need sugar or egg stuff like other recipes. And you don’t need a machine. But you have to know the secret,” Fletcher said. “The big secret people don’t tell you about is if you whip the cream too stiff and fold in the condensed milk, it freezes so hard that it has to set out for 10 or 15 minutes before you can scoop it. Of course, there are ways around that. Don’t over whip the cream.”
In regard to whipping the cream, Fletcher explained it’s a bit of a fine line between over whipping and under whipping.
“If you whip the cream to the Chantilly stage or just to the soft peak stage, it can make your ice cream melt too fast. So what you want to do is just whip the cream to a little beyond the soft peak stage, then fold in the condensed milk. This will make your ice cream scoopable from the freezer,” she said.
After folding the cream and condensed milk together, flavor it with anything you like. A few of the flavors Fletcher features on her blog’s recipes page range from simple classics, like Vanilla Bean and Double Chocolate, to delightfully decadent flavors, such as Caramel Brickle and Nutella.
“It’s so easy to do. If you want coffee ice cream, fine. Just add some instant coffee or espresso. Peaches are in season now, so make peach ice cream. When I make my Peach Swirl ice cream I use my homemade peach jam,” she said.
The real secret of no-churn ice cream is the use of condensed milk, also called sweetened condensed milk. Most people will know this by such brands as Eagle Brand Milk. It’s a term that Fletcher admits can be confusing but is quick to note there is no such thing as unsweetened condensed milk because they’re all sweetened.
“The biggest thing to understand is it’s not evaporated milk. There’s a huge difference. Evaporated milk isn’t sweetened, and it’s thinner. Both kinds of milk are the result of reductions. Condensed milk has sugar and there’s a difference,” Fletcher said.
Varieties of frozen creams are defined by such differences, which to name a few includes ice cream, ice milk, gelato and frozen custard. Fletcher was never a fan of custard-based ice creams.
“I felt the custard base masked all the flavors you added to it,” she said. “I was just never fond of it. Lots of people swear by the custard base. Then there is the non-custard base, which require churning, and a lot of times, these homemade ice creams get icy, and that makes the texture off. Then there’s the no-churn new version of ice cream that really tastes like ice cream. It’s creamy and not icy. There’s really nothing to it. And the neat thing is you can make it with children.”
When asked what the best thing is to serve with ice cream, Fletcher said, “Cookies, of course. Shortbread cookies are perfect. They are what I call a pure cookie because they won’t clash with whatever ice cream you have.”
Fletcher has generously shared a few of her no-churn ice cream recipes and her Very Lemon Butter Crisps with Gazelle readers. For more recipes, follow her blog at pastrieslikeapro.com, which features countless recipes with step-by-step instructions for cookies, pies and pastries that will pair wonderfully with ice cream.
PEACH SWIRL NO-CHURN ICE CREAM WITH VERY LEMON BUTTER CRISPS
Yield: About 6 cups
1 cup peach jam or 1 cup peeled, pitted, pureed peaches
2 cups heavy cream
1 14-ounce can condensed milk (1 1/4 cups)
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Note: To make your own jam, follow the peach jam recipe on pastrieslIkeapro.com. It needs to be made the day ahead and refrigerated.
Whip the cream and vanilla to very firm peaks. Do not over whip. Pour the condensed milk over the cream and fold in. Pour half of the mixture into a 2-quart pan. Randomly spoon the jam over the cream. Top with the remainder of the cream. Turn the pan 90 degrees, and again, randomly spoon the jam over top. With a small spatula or knife, swirl the mixture briefly. Freeze for 6 hours or longer. Serve with Very Lemon Butter Crisps.
VERY LEMON BUTTER CRISPS
3 cups all-purpose flour (420 grams or 15 ounces)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened (225 grams or 8 ounces)
1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams or 7 ounces)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line baking sheets with parchment.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Cream the butter and sugar until light. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until completely combined. Add the lemon zest and lemon extract. Add the flour mixture until combined. Refrigerate for several hours to firm up the dough.
For Cut-Out Cookies: Divide the cold dough into 4 pieces. Working with one piece of dough at a time, and keeping the others refrigerated, place it between sheets of waxed paper and roll to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out cookies as desired. Refrigerate or better yet, freeze the cookies until hard. The cookies can easily be lifted off with a spatula. The edges will be clean and sharp. Top with sanding sugar, if desired. Double pan (simply put one cookie sheet on top of another) and bake 22 to 25 minutes until browned around the edges and the cookies are lightly browned.
For Roll Cookies: Roll the dough into several logs about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Chill or freeze until hard. Slice about 1/4-inch thick, sprinkle with sanding sugar, if desired. Bake as above.
Yield: The number of cookies depends upon how you shape them. The cut outs depend on the size and shape of the cutters. Storage: Kept in an airtight tin, these will keep for weeks. The logs for the roll cookies are easily frozen, thawed in the refrigerator, sliced and baked.
NO-CHURN NUTELLA ICE CREAM
Yield: 1 quart
1 cup Nutella
1/2 cup condensed milk
1/4 cup vodka or other liquor
1 1/4 cup heavy or 40% cream
Combine the Nutella, condensed milk and vodka. Stir together at first, then whisk until smooth. At first it will be very thick, but it will come together after whisking. Beat the cream to the soft peak or soft set stage. Stir 1/3 of the cream into Nutella mixture to loosen it. Fold in the remainder. Pour into a freezer-proof container and freeze overnight.
Recipes are copyright of Helen S. Fletcher. All rights reserved.
