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.
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.