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...

Ice Cream Maker by KitchenAid

Remember when I got my KitchenAid stand mixer in early December, long before the Christmas sales? Well, on top of the voucher my husband got, I managed to get an extra 10% off the original retail price by signing-up for the store loyalty card. Eager to try out the machine, within just weeks after buying the mixer, I made lots of buns and all sorts of bread non-stop. After a while, I began to think there was a problem with my KitchenAid mixer.

I was starting to get awfully worried as my mixer was making lots of funny clicking noises. The mixer's head also kept on moving weirdly. I Googled and asked a few people including TTM (who has one herself) regarding the problem. Thankfully, it's quite normal and maybe because of all the heavy duty jobs that I've been working on the mixer. But, just to completely satisfy myself, (after all my husband did spend quite a large amount of money on the thing) I went back to the store after Christmas, dragging all 15 kilos of pink cast iron with me.

While waiting for the KA representative, something caught my attention. A KA sign at the store read: Buy a Mixer and get an Ice Cream Maker for FREE (worth €100) + 10% off the retail price. The deal applied to everyone and was not just exclusive to members of the store (hardcore shoppers that lot).

What?

I was devastated. Not that I wanted the ice cream maker so much but it was free. Who wouldn't want that especially since it originally costs €100. If only my husband and I had waited a couple of weeks to buy the mixer. My husband did try to console me with the fact that had we waited, I could have easily missed out on the opportunity to get the mixer in the colour I want - pink, naturally.

Not one to be daunted by silly department store "rules", after talking about my problem with the KA rep (which turned to be OK, as expected), I tried my luck and mentioned that I had just bought my mixer a few weeks earlier and should have waited (with a very disappointed face...awww), blaaa...blaaa...blaaa... To my surprise the lady simply said,

Emmm...don't worry. To make it worth your trip to the store today, I'll sort you with something...

And, as soon as she finished her sentence, she had a KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker packed away for me...for FREE. Yay!!! Well, she definitely just made my day.

Now, to be honest,  I just managed to open the box and use the ice cream maker this week. Bear in mind though, I needed a very big, spacious and empty space in the freezer plus some long hours for the process to even start (I'll let you know all the details in my next post). But for now, I'll just share with you the pictures of  what I made this week.

Very Creamy Plain Vanilla Ice Cream for the kids (Ameera's favourite):

and... 

Caramel, Pecan, Macadamia and White Chocolate Ice Cream

for the two of us...

Goodies from Aussie

What a nice bright morning today but, temperatures are still cold. Anyway, I almost missed hearing the door bell ring as I was in the kitchen. I took a peek out the window and saw the post van right outside the house and was right on time to catch Mr. Postman just as he was about to slip in the "I was here but you weren't" note into the mail slot. My efforts were rewarded as I was handed a big parcel. This time, the package was from Oz. No mystery as to who this one was from. Thank You Mak Cik Jat!

I just couldn't wait for the kids to come back from school so I took a peek...hehehe. Yay! And there was something for me too...I didn't take a pic of my present as it was quickly placed in the kitchen already, ready to be put into action.

The kids were so excited and very happy to get pressies especially from their beloved auntie. Husayn just doesn't want to share his with anyone and kept on screaming as soon as his brother got anywhere near him and his presents.

Thanks again Makcik Jat. We ♥ you so much. Please go ahead with your plans to visit us here again!!!

The NDMNS Impromptu Cake Sale: A Great Success

It was raining that morning. But that didn't stop all the participating mothers (especially all the mak-mak Arab) to bring all sorts of food for the sale that day.

As always, Ameera requested that I make chocolate cupcakes for the project so, I baked some for the school the night before. I can safely say that it was a hit for the kids. I probably had an unfair advantage because the cuppies had such colourful decoration. I should have made more.

Anyway, the kids enjoyed the whole buying experience. The funny part was, some of them (the younger kids) would ask me how much the cost of the cakes or cookies were and when I mentioned the price (let's say 50 cents), they replied that it was OK and that they didn't have enough money just because she/he didn't have the exact amount e.g. they had one €1 coin instead. Being eager to sell all the food, I called them back and said that it was OK. They took the cakes straight away and didn't even think twice when I handed them their change. It's quite hard to explain to 20 kids at the same time but it worked! Hehehe...

To conclude, despite being a last-minute thing and the fact that it was raining, the cake sale was a great success. We managed to earn €365.78 for the school that day alone. We need that kind of money for the benefit of the children and the school. Thank you to everyone that contributed and helped. I think we should definitely do it again as soon as we can. Yay!