Easy Homemade Ice Cream

This ice cream couldn't be easier. In 5 minutes, you will have a base ready to be frozen. You can add your favorite add-ins to this base. Keep the basics on hand, and you can have homemade ice creams whenever you want.

Ingredients:

1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk (14 oz)

1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste (optional)

Method:

Put the ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer or in a bowl to use a hand mixer.

Whip the cream to soft peaks. Be careful not to overmix. If you do, you will have butter.

Spoon into freezer containers and freeze for at least 2 hours. For firmer ice cream, freeze overnight.

Notes:

I like to put my mixing bowl in the fridge for an hour or so before I make the ice cream. It isn't necessary but keeps things cold.

I mention using Vanilla Bean Paste because it has the best flavor. You can use certainly use Vanilla extract. What I found with my homemade vanilla extract was the alcohol and that flavor carried into the ice cream. Of course, you could also use a vanilla bean scraping out the inside of the pod instead of either.

For other extracts, you would also want to consider using a bit less if you don't want it too overpowering.

I also found when adding things like strawberries, I didn't need extract at all.

If you haven't made homemade ice cream with real heavy whipped cream, you will find it is very rich. Commercial ice cream has a combination of milk and cream or just milk with stabilizers. If you want to make less rich ice cream, here is an alternative recipe:

• 1/2 cup cold Milk

• 1 pt cold Heavy Cream

• 1 can of Sweetened Condensed Milk

• 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste (or alternative as mentioned in the notes)

For this recipe, beat everything in a cold bowl until stiff peaks rather than soft peaks, and you may want to give it a stir after about an hour of freezing to avoid ice crystals. Milk has more water, and there can be a chance of ice crystals.

Variations:

Add in whatever you like to make it your own.

• Frozen berries or fresh berries (I like to use frozen again to keep things cold)

• Chocolate Chips

• Smashed-up cookies (Oreos, NutterButter, Chocolate Chip, or even...wait for it...Brownies!)

• 1/2 cup Cocoa - makes Chocolate Ice Cream

• Mashed up Peaches

• Your favorite Jam

• Peppermint extract, 10 drops of green food coloring, and chocolate chips - makes Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

• Caramel sauce

• Instant Espresso Powder