How to Make Ice Cream with the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker

As promised, I now share with you the recipes for the home made ice cream I made last week.

1. Vanilla Ice Cream

And here's the recipe and instructions that I took from KitchenAid recipe book (that came with the ice cream maker)...

Well, that's just the recipe and the process to make the batter. The easy part unfortunately. First and foremost, you need to put the ice cream maker's freeze bowl for at least 15 hours in the very back of your freezer (I think I kept mine for more than that as I kept losing track of time...hehehe). This is a bit of a challenge as I can hardly find empty spaces in my fridge as I cook everyday and have to keep the fridge well stocked with all kinds of meat for my own convenience. Eager to make ice cream, I implemented a stock reduction plan and eventually found enough space in the freezer.

As soon as I was free, one morning last week, I made the batter. Trying to be clever and energy-efficient if I might add, I thought I could make 2 batches with the one freeze bowl (more on that later).

2. Caramel Pecan Ice Cream (as well!)

Here's the original recipe...

Being greedy and wanting more out of the seemingly plain recipe, I added my own ingredients to satisfy myself. More nuts (macadamias) and white chocolate was added to the mix. Mmmmm...yummy. You can imagine how nice it was when every single spoon that melted in our mouths were filled with those added nuts and chocolate without having to fight with your other half as to who gets the most chunks in their portion of the ice cream. With home made ice cream, every portion, scoop and spoonful of ice cream is equal. All of them equally nutty!

Oh, and don't forget the additional caramel and chocolate fudge syrup especially for me. Hehehehe.

OK, back to the process itself. When the batter is ready, you have to chill it in the fridge for at least 6 hours. As for my other clever thought, I assumed that since the weather here is cold enough and all the milk and cream came straight from the fridge anyway, why should I need to wait that long? So, after more or less 2 hours I was ready to assemble and use my new ice cream maker.

After about 15 to 20 minutes the batter gets thicker and creamier. Then, it goes back in the fridge for about another extra hour (6 in individual small plastic moulds and a portion in one big container). Long before the ice cream hardened properly, my kids kept screaming for it.

Tadaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..... and not surprisingly, it only lasted for the day as all of us had seconds.

Oh, I continued and repeated the same process next morning for my mmm...gorgeously yummy Caramel, pecan, macadamia andwhite chocolate ice cream.

Note: You can't make another batch of ice cream using only one freeze bowl at the one go. The frozen gel inside the bowl will melt away soon after finishing off on the first batch, no matter how quickly I tried. Wait patiently and you will be repaid generously!

My own version when eating ice cream, lot's of chocolate sprinkle and chocolate fudge sauce.....
Do you think it's worth it especally with all the expensive ingredients and the long process involved? Well it depends. For my own satisfaction, for fun and just to make your kids proud, it's Priceless. I'll definitely be doing it again...