by Georgina Hayes

Created on: May 11, 2010

Ice cream is one of the nicest summer time treats and, with the arrival of the ice cream maker, it has become one of the easiest treats to make at home. However, people were making ice cream for many years before these machines were invented so, if you aren't lucky enough to own one, don't despair, it really is almost as easy for you to make ice cream at home without one.

Basic Principals

Of course there are hundreds of books and websites full of recipes for making ice cream but you will probably find that most of these recipes end by instructing you to transfer your mixture to your ice cream maker. This doesn't mean, however, that you can't use these recipes if you don't have an ice cream maker. It just means you need to know what to do next because, although some recipes may give slightly different instructions, the method for making home-made ice cream remains basically the same every time.

Universal method for hand-made ice cream;

(To adapt a recipe intended for use with an ice-cream maker)

1) Follow the recipe provided until you have made up your mixture.

2) Transfer it to a shallow, lidded plastic box (the shallower it is the more quickly it will freeze)

3) Freeze for 1-2 hours, or until the mixture gets firm at the edges.

4) Remove from the freezer & empty the mixture into a large mixing bowl.

5) Whisk the ice cream to break down the ice crystals. (an electric whisk is ideal for this)

6) Return the mixture to the box and freeze for another 1-2 hours.

7) Repeat the whisking process.

8) Refreeze the ice-cream until 30-45 minutes before you want to serve it then transfer it into the fridge to allow it to soften.

Top Tips

When choosing a recipe to adapt the simplest recipes are generally the most suitable. Look for recipes which are based primarily on cream, sugar and puréed fruit, and always whisk the cream into soft peaks before adding the fruit puree. As a general rule of thumb, allow for approximately 70 % double cream and fruit purée to roughly 30% sugar and, for a softer texture, try recipes that include alcohol.

Following these general rules will enable you to adapt any recipe to suit the hand-made method of making ice cream and make it easy for you to make ice cream at home without an ice cream maker.

That said, although they aren't as readily available, it is still possible to find recipes that are specifically written to be made without the aid of a machine. So, if all that adapting seems a bit hit and miss to you and you'd rather not take any chances with your ice cream, here is one such recipe to get you started;

Strawberry ice cream without the aid of a machine; (Fills 1 x 500g tub)

Ingredients:

150g caster sugar

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp lemon juice

350g strawberries or raspberries

150g redcurrants

300ml whipping cream

Method:

1) Put the sugar, water and lemon juice into a medium sized saucepan and stir constantly over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.

2) Purée the fruit and pass it through a sieve into the sugar water. Leave to cool.

3) Whip the cream until it holds soft peaks.

4) Fold the fruit purée into the cream.

5) Turn into a shallow plastic container and freeze for about an hour until half-frozen.

6) Turn into a bowl and beat with a whisk or fork until smooth and creamy.

7) Return to the container and freeze for 1-2 hours.

8) Repeat the whisking process.

9) Refreeze the ice-cream until 30-45 minutes before you want to serve it then transfer it into the fridge to allow it to soften.

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