Ice Cream & Yogurt Makers

To begin making ice cream, one must know your base is your foundation. It's the support and sole element that provides structure to your frozen treat. It's easy to go down a rocky road when making ice cream, so we went to the experts. A few successful ice cream bloggers shared their expertise on what base ingredient yields the best homemade ice cream. Here are our top seven ice cream bases (including some for those with dietary restrictions)!

Almond Milk; Cheryl from 40 Aprons

Almond milk is a dairy-free base perfect for those who are aiming for a vegan approach to ice cream making. Don't be deceived! While you may think you'll get a watery experience when using a less fattening substitute, Cheryl's Salted Caramel Ice Cream recipe is just as enjoyable as the fatty and milky alternatives. The benefit of almond milk is that it has a neutral flavor, which doesn't overpower the ice cream in a nutty flavor. In the end, you will have a smooth and creamy consistency!

Cashews; Amrita from Crazy Vegan Kitchen

Cashews are neutral in flavor, similar to almonds. But unlike almonds, using cashews as your base gives off an amazing chew. When working with cashews, there is no need to strain anything because you purée the cashews into a milk (usually paired well with coconut milk). Amrita says the balance of cashews and coconut cream in the recipe makes the coconut taste barely visible. The formula becomes an ultra-thick and creamy ice cream, like in her Creamiest Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream recipe.

Cornstarch; Lindsay from Scoop Adventures

Texture, texture, texture! Speaking of switching things up a bit, how about incorporating cornstarch and corn syrup into your recipe to substitute eggs and sugar? Cornstarch is a thickener that helps the base improve texture by absorbing the water. Instead of thickening her ice cream with egg yolks, Lindsay boils down the cream and gradually whisks in cornstarch. To sweeten things up, she uses corn syrup. Not only does it improve texture by increasing viscosity without adding water, it's also less sweet than sugar. This means you can use higher quantities to make your ice cream viscous and chewy without adding too much sweetness. Want your ice cream extra scoop-able? Lindsay recommends adding cream cheese.

Eggs; Quantum Chef from Molecular Recipes

The French method is prepared with a custard base, which is made with eggs. The vital step when creating ice cream "à la carte" is properly heating up the egg and sugar mixture, which can take some practice. But not to worry, the Quantum Chefs over at Molecular Recipes believe they've got the flawless formula to a custard base with their Perfect Ice Cream Base recipe.

Heavy Cream; Abby from Style Me Pretty

Also known as the "American ice cream method," the "Philadelphia method" doesn't require making a custard like the French style. The superstar ingredient here is heavy cream and the keyword is fat content. Lots of it. The fat in the cream prevents ice cream from freezing too hard, leading to a creamier finished product. Heavy cream whips very well and holds its shape, which is why it's perfect for piping, toppings, pasty fillings, and of course, ice cream. Whip-it, whip-it!

Coconut Milk; Sonja & Alex from A Couple Cooks

It's no wonder why coconut milk is one of the more popular dairy-free ice cream bases. It's full of beautiful healthy fats and fiber, and for many people it's also known to be a little lighter on the stomach. When you try Alex and Sonja's Salted Chocolate Pistachio Creamy Vegan Ice Cream, you won't be able to tell there isn't any dairy in it. The coconut milk yields a silky smooth, perfectly scoop-able batch of ice cream.

Goat Milk; Janet from One Acre Farm and Christy from Gardenerd

Goat milk versus cow milk; what's the difference? The answer is taste and preference. Some people are sensitive to cow's milk or choose not to consume it. Others just happen to raise goats, and use what they have! One interesting benefit to goat milk is that it's naturally homogenized, which many believe to be healthier than the artificial homogenization of cow's milk—ultimately making it easier to digest. Feel like you have to travel to Mars to find goat milk? Well you don't, because it's likely to be found at your local farm. Take a look at Janet's Goat Milk Ice Cream recipes at One Acre Farm, or Christy's Caramel Blackberry Goat Milk Ice Cream on the Gardenerd, and see just how simple it can be to switch up where your milk comes from!

Best Ice Cream Flavors from Local Ice Cream Shoppes

Authentic ice cream flavors are hard to come by—so, don't blow this popsicle stand just yet, because we're about to introduce to you the next level of ice cream making. There are tons of wildly popular ice cream flavors produced by brick and mortar ice cream businesses that are so unique, it's likely you won't find them anywhere else. Unless, of course, you make them yourself! Here are some delicious and fun ice cream flavors inspired by popular ice cream shops you can make at home with your ice cream maker.

Brigadeiro; from Mt. Desert Ice Cream

Ingredients: (makes 2 quarts)

• 1 ¾ cup whole milk, divided
• 2 ½ cups heavy cream
• 1 – 12 oz can evaporated milk
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 – 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 5 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tbsp butter
• ¼ tsp salt

Instructions:

• Fill a large bowl with ice and water; set aside.
• Mix 1 ½ cup milk, cream, evaporated milk and sugar in a medium saucepan and warm over medium heat and bring base to a boil; boil for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
• Combine condensed milk, cocoa, butter, salt, and remaining ¼ cup milk in a medium saucepan. Warm over medium-low heat and cook until ingredients are combined. Raise heat to medium and continue cooking until thickened, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into ice cream base. Return entire ice cream base to medium heat, whisking to combine ingredients. Remove from heat and pour into a medium bowl. If lumps of cocoa powder remain in the base, use an immersion blender to completely incorporate ingredients.
• Set bowl in the ice water bath until cool to the touch, about 20 minutes. Refrigerate for at least two hours or until completely cool, preferably overnight.
• When the base is thoroughly chilled, pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 4 hours.

Salty Caramel Ice Cream; from Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream

Ingredients: (makes 1 gallon)

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 1/2 oz (3 tbsp) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp light corn syrup
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped smoked almonds (optional)

Instructions:

• Mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Mix the cream with the corn syrup in a measuring cup with a spout. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.
• Heat the sugar in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat until it is melted and golden amber in color. Remove from the heat and, stirring constantly, slowly add a bit of the cream and corn syrup mixture to the caramel: it will fizzle, pop, and spurt. Stir until well combined then add a little more and stir. Keep adding the cream a little at a time until all of it incorporated. Return the pan to medium-high heat and add the milk. Bring to a rolling boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk the cornstarch slurry. Bring back to boil over medium-high and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. If any caramel flecks remain, pour the mixture through a sieve.
• Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and whisk. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon ice cream maker and submerge with ice. Let stand adding ice if necessary.
• Pour the mixture into frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy. Pack the ice cream into a storage container, and press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

Mimosa Ice Cream; from Lu.lu Ice Cream

Ingredients: (makes 1 quart)

• 3 oranges
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 1 ½ cup heavy cream
• Pinch of salt
• 5 egg yolks
• ½ cup champagne

Instructions:

• Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside. Zest oranges directly into a food processor or blender. Add sugar and blend until orange zest is very fine and sugar is fragrant.
• In a medium saucepan, warm the milk, orange-scented sugar, heavy cream, and salt, stirring occasionally. When the mixture just begins to bubble around the edges, remove from the heat. Cover and let the mixture steep for 1 hour. Strain out the orange-infused mixture into a saucepan over medium heat and warm until its hot to the touch.
• Lightly whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Temper the eggs by slowly pouring ½ cup of warmed cream mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly, until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Set the bowl in the ice water bath to cool (about 20 minutes), whisking occasionally. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Once the base is thoroughly chilled, add the champagne, stirring well to combine. Churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 4 hours.

Fat Elvis; from The Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Company

Ingredients: (makes 1 quart)

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 bananas
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter topping

Instructions:

• In a mixing bowl beat together cream, milk, sugar, egg, and bananas until smooth and airy. Cool mixture in refrigerator for an hour, or until chilled through. Add mixture to your ice cream maker and use the manufacturer's directions to freeze the ice cream.
• While the ice cream maker is running, melt the chocolate in a double boiler.
• When the ice cream is the consistency of soft serve, scoop it into a container and swirl in melted chocolate and peanut butter topping with every scoop.
• Store in the coldest part of your freezer until completely solid.

Sour Cherry; from Sweet Action Ice Cream

Ingredients: (makes 1 quart)

• 3 cups sour cherries
• 1 3/4 cup sugar, divided
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk

Instructions:

• Macerate the cherries with 3/4 cup of sugar and lemon juice into a bowl. Allow the cherries to sit in the refrigerator for approximately 6 hours, stirring every hour. Puree the cherry mixture using a blender and strain the cherries. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of the cherry skins that were strained.
• Over low heat, melt the remaining 1 cup of sugar into heavy cream and whole milk. Allow this to cool overnight.
• In the ice cream machine, mix your base and cherries. With about 1 minute left of blending, add in cherry skins based on personal preference. Place in freezer until solid.

'Scout' Mint; from Molly Moon's

Ingredients: (makes 1 to 1.5 quarts)

• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 2 tsp peppermint extract
• 1 1/2 cup crushed Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies (about 15 cookies)

Instructions:

• Put the milk, cream, sugar, and salt into a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Before the mixture has come to a boil, remove from the heat. Pour the mixture into a shallow pan or bowl and place in the refrigerator to chill thoroughly, 1 to 2 hours.
• When the mixture is cold, stir in the peppermint extract. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and process. During the last few minutes of processing, add the cookies. The cookies can be crushed into pieces as big or small as you want them to be in your ice cream. We shoot for pea-sized pieces and leave a cookie or two mostly intact.
• Using a rubber spatula, transfer the ice cream into an airtight glass or plastic freezer container. Cover tightly and freeze until the ice cream is firm, at least 4 hours.

Peach Pie Ice Cream (with Raspberry Sauce); from Ice Cream Jubilee

Ingredients:

Peach Pie Filling

• 1½ to 2 pounds very ripe fresh peaches, pitted and diced
• ½ cup white sugar
• 4 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp almond extract
• 1 dash cinnamon
• 1 cup crushed piecrust, crumbed into ½-inch pieces (use your favorite recipe)

Ice Cream Custard

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• ⅔ cup sugar
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 4 large egg yolks

Raspberry Sauce

• 1 pint raspberries
• 2 tbsp sugar
• ½ tbsp lemon juice

Instructions:

• In a saucepan over medium heat, gently simmer peaches with ½ cup sugar and cinnamon until fruit is tender, about 10 minutes. Let cool.
• Purée peaches in a blender until mostly smooth but small chunks remain. Add almond extract and cool to room temperature. Whisk egg yolks with sugar until thick and light yellow. Combine cream, milk, and salt in a small pot. Heat to a simmer, for about 5 minutes, then remove from heat.
• Whisking constantly, slowly pour about a quarter of the hot cream into the yolks until the liquids are combined and the egg yolks are warmed. Pour the warm egg mixture back into the pot with the cream and whisk to combine. Return pot to medium-low heat and gently cook until mixture reaches 170 degrees. Strain liquid custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl.
• Cool mixture to room temperature, then add peach pie filling. Cover ice cream mixture and chill at least 4 hours or overnight. Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions. After churning is complete, pour ice cream into a container and stir in piecrust crumbles with a spatula.
• Raspberry sauce: Combine the raspberries and sugar in a saucepan on low heat. Cook until fruit is broken down, about 8 minutes. Remove the heat and remove seeds, if desired. Let cool and serve over ice cream.

Which City Has the Best Ice Cream?

Does the thought of making ice cream give you a brain freeze? Well, we've got you covered! While your ice cream machine is getting some rest, how about visiting a few popular ice cream shops in some of the best summertime cities? We've broken these parlors out based on where they are in the U.S.; from the West Coast, to the Midwest, to the East Coast.

West Coast

San Francisco:

Seattle:

Midwest

Chicago:

Minneapolis:

East Coast

Boston:

New York City:

Portland, ME: