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homemadeicecream
homemadeicecream
Lifestyle

I Tried To Make Ice Cream At Home — Here’s How It Went

For years, my parents have had a white Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker sitting on top of a shelf in our basement collecting dust. And, as the baker and chef of the family, it felt like my duty to be the one to demonstrate its use, especially heading into the summer season. So, as July was fast approaching, I was curious how easy and cost efficient it would be to make my own ice cream with literally zero experience or knowledge.

Choosing an ice cream recipe

I knew that before attempting to figure out how the machine worked, I had to pick the kind of recipe I wanted to use. Since I had never made my own ice cream before, I knew I wanted to pick a flavor that was fun and creative but also not too complicated. I landed on a peanut butter cup ice cream flavor that I found through the Cuisinart website.

Making the ice cream

The biggest advice I have for anyone attempting to make their own ice cream at home and/or follow a new recipe in general is to read through all of the directions before starting. The first time I tried to make the ice cream, I didn’t realize that the bowl had to be in the freezer for 24 hours before beginning the recipe. This set me back an entire day. However, once I solved that issue, the rest was pretty simple. I had to mix all of my ingredients (which included heavy cream, milk, peanut butter, sugar, vanilla, and peanut butter cups) together using an electric mixer. From there, I simply poured the mixture into the ice cream maker, flipped the switch on, and then left it for 25 minutes.

Ice Cream At Home
Kelly Troop

One of the most fun parts I found while I was making ice cream at home was that you can be as creative as you want with it. You can play around with flavors, add-ins, and toppings. One of my favorite sweets of all time are the mini milk chocolate peanut butter cups from Trader Joe’s, so when I decided to make this ice cream flavor, I knew I had to add in a number of those to make the recipe a little more interesting and even more delicious. I added them about five minutes before the ice cream was finished churning.

The outcome

The outcome was delicious! The ice cream was soft, creamy, and light, and the peanut butter flavor was really potent. However, through this process I also realized that while my family happened to have an ice cream maker, you certainly don’t need one. There are a ton of recipes online that are no-churn, use a plastic bag, or even a food processor or blender. Plus, there are a variety of different ice cream flavor ideas to try, including things as simple as chocolate or vanilla or more complex mixtures including honey lavender, basil, blueberry swirl, and cheesecake. 

Kelly Troop is currently a National Writer for Spoon University and has written for them since January of 2023. Her article topics and interests range from restaurant guides and product reviews to interviews with food content creators and trending food news.

She is also in the process of taking over her university’s Spoon chapter at Bucknell. Outside of writing for Spoon University, Kelly is currently working toward her BA in Creative Writing from Bucknell, as well as a minor in Italian. She has worked in a number of different roles including a tour guide on her college campus, a content writer for MoneyLion, a financial technology company, and is currently working in the alumni and development department at the Horace Mann School in Riverdale, N.Y.

In her free time, Kelly loves to read, cook, and play tennis with her friends and family. Her favorite genre is murder mystery, and she just finished reading The Da Vinci Code. Additionally, her favorite dish to make is homemade pasta with fresh pesto sauce. She is hardworking and diligent and is interested in a career of publishing, advertising, editorial, and/or marketing after she graduates college.