Ice cream is a year round food for me.  This Kitchen Aid ice cream maker attachment was on my wish list for ages.  But at around $100, I considered it too pricey for an ice cream making gadget.  And then finally came a Black Friday deal, and I bagged my own ice cream freezing/churning bowl for under $50.  (Although still a little on the pricey side for this frugal cook.)  Lately the price seems to be holding at the $50 level.

[Link to item page]

The Kitchen Aid (or any frozen ice cream mixing bowl) is super convenient, because you don’t have to deal with the bags of ice and rock salt needed for a traditional ice cream machine.  The frozen mixing bowl works quicker, too.  But there’s a process to it.  So without further delay, here’s what works for me:

The Recipe — comes from this blogger:  https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/homemade-ice-cream-recipe/   Visit her page for excellent instructions and comments.

Everyone has their own target level for ice cream taste, texture and nutrition; and her ingredients are more rich than my preference.  So below is my version of the ingredients.  For my taste, this texture is still creamy enough to enjoy and not feel deprived of the decadence:

1 cup heavy cream
2 cups skim milk
¾ cup sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp sea salt

Quick Method (for eating soft ice cream asap):

• Mixer bowl must be frozen in advance.  There are no shortcuts for this step.
• Combine all of the ingredients and pour into frozen mixer bowl.
• Churn in frozen mixer bowl for 25-30 minutes.
• Serve.  It will have a light, soft-serve consistency, with a slight crystal-ly texture.  It will be a bit like eating frozen, sweetened whipped cream.
• Then store the leftovers in the freezer, and in a few hours, you should have perfect hard scoop ice cream.

Longer Method (for smooth hard scoop consistency):

• Freeze the mixer bowl in advance.
• Combine the ingredients and cook on the stovetop, just long enough to dissolve the sugar.  Stir while cooking.
• Chill the mixture in the fridge.
• Pour the chilled mixture into the frozen mixing bowl and churn for 25-30 minutes.
• Transfer to a tub with lid, and freeze for a few hours, or overnight.

When you start the churning process, it will look like this:

Then 10-15 minutes later, you’ll notice the mixture expanding and taking form:

After 25-30 minutes, the mixture will be at or close to the top of the bowl, and the motor will be working harder: 

That’s when I stop and scoop the soft-frozen mixture into a tub, and put the tub in the deep freeze for a few hours.  The batch fits perfectly in a 45 oz margarine tub:

A few hours later, it’s like this:

---

Serving:  My current favorite toppings are strawberries and homemade chocolate sauce.

Or, you can take it to another level and make Fried Ice Cream.  (And then top it with strawberries and chocolate sauce.)

One final tip:  After the churning process, the mixing bowl will still be partly frozen.  Immediately wash it and put it back in the freezer so it will soon be ready to make the next batch.

---

Start the process now, and by the time this video stops playing, you’ll have your own delicious homemade perfect hard scoop ice cream.