[Funnington]

I was given a Cuisinart ice-cream maker for Christmas. Immediately I thought 'uh oh, another appliance for the cupboard' but, I'm seriously in love with it (Vanilla ice-cream with a couple of crushed Flakes churned through, oh my!)

So far I've just followed the recipe booklet that came with it and if anyone has one - I have a question. I've mostly made vanilla ice-cream and the recipe says 'granulated sugar'. You mix the milk and sugar on low speed with a hand mixer until combined. What would be wrong with using caster sugar? It's finer and would take less time to dissolve than the granulated stuff.

Also, the recipes in the booklet belong in the 'that's not a recipe' section - the vanilla ice-cream is just milk, vanilla extract, sugar and cream. I haven't ventured in to 'real' ice-cream yet. Isn't 'real' ice-cream made from egg yolks? Can I use a proper ice-cream recipe in the Cuisinart?

(For those who have one, please share any tried-and-tested recipes).

Thank you

[Klj1]

Sorry, don't have a cuisinart but I do know that icecream can be either a custard made with egg yolk or just with milk and cream or gelatin as the thickener. The egg version is euro and the milk / gelatin is American because they invented the larger processing machines and therefore could make cheap bulk icecream. I guess with egg will be healthier due to less fat. Btw I found this awesome vanilla bean paste in Coles, would be great for icecream.
Also I tried making almond icecream in our vitamix, just almond and honey, tasted awesome. And I recommend getting frozen berries too...
Does the cuisinart one cool or do you have to put the container in the freezer?

[Funnington]

Does the cuisinart one cool or do you have to put the container in the freezer?

I have the bowl that is kept in the freezer - so, basically mix the ingredients, take the clean bowl from the freezer and churn using the base.

There's recipes for sorbet's and frozen yoghurt too. I'm hanging out for strawberries to be ultra cheap so I can give a sorbet a go.

On the weekend I'm going to make vanilla with a crushed packet of Oreo's!

This post has been edited by Funnington: 07/02/2013, 08:42 PM

[kerrie23]

I have a cusineart - the top line one (mother in law purchased it), it is very flash and fantastic. It freezes as it churns no need to keep a bowl in the freezer. We use 600ml cream, tin of condensed milk and vanilla extract for our vanilla ice cream, have also used the recipes from the book that came with it and they are all great. The coffee ice cream is to die for. We have alway used caster sugar in our recipes.

The book that came with ours has the traditional ice cream recipe with the egg base in it, doesn't yours? We have made that and it came out beautifully also.

I made lovely sorbets this summer and even a couple of the sherbert recipes in the book.

We get an awful lot of use out of our machine - I recently made a berry frozen yoghurt with homemade greek yoghurt and mixed berries that I had blitzed and strained - no sugar added and it was lovely.

The machine is bloody noisy though.

[ednaboo]

The recipe book that comes with it sucks. Buy this: The Perfect Scoop and you will thank me later!

[Funnington]

The machine is bloody noisy though.

I was surprised how quiet it was??? I don't think it was an overly expensive one - and certainly not the rolls royce model.

The recipe book that comes with it sucks. Buy this: The Perfect Scoop and you will thank me later!

Thanks for the tip!

[Klj1]

Mmm yum! Oreos sound awesome!

I would be feelin jealous except I been mild cramps on and off so avoiding cold food.

Frozen berries are usually the best value, and convenient too.

Have fun

[-HungryWoman-]

I use mine maybe once a month. My favourite is Baileys and choc chip, using a custard base....YUMMOOO

[*LucyE*]

I think granulated sugar is caster sugar. Just different terminology for different countries.

I adore David Lebovitz's work. His recipes have always turned out well for me and they are just so delicious to boot!

Ice cream with an eggy custard base is just a bit richer than one without the egg. I like both but I know my MIL finds the eggy one too much.

Sorbets are dead easy and I find they keep better than ice cream in a domestic freezer. I like having some citrus sorbets on hand for a really refreshing way to finish a meal (usually after the kids have gone to bed). If I'm feeling decadent, a scoop of sorbet in a martini glass and I top it up with whatever sparkling booze I have on hand. Yum.

[amabanana]

I make my custard base in the thermochef. So easy that it's actually not a good thing.