How to Make a Simple Ice Cream at Home

Would you believe that the recipe for ice cream was one of the most guarded secrets by Charles I of England? It is said that he was so impressed by the frozen snow that he offered his personal ice cream maker a lifetime pension with a promise that he would keep the formula secret. 

Ice creams are frozen desserts made from dairy products, like milk and cream that are blended with flavourings and sweeteners, which is then mixed slowly while cooling to prevent large ice crystals from forming. This eventually leads to a smooth ice cream consistency.

It is said that in 1953, when the Italian duchess Catherine de’ Medici married the duc d’Orléans, she had brought her Italian chefs along with her, who knew the recipes for flavoured ices or sorbets and introduced them in France.

Before the invention of refrigeration, ice cream was a luxury that was especially reserved for special events. In fact, the entire process of preparing ice creams was quite toilsome. The ice would be cut from the lakes and ponds during winter and stored in large batches, in underground pits, or in ice houses that were wooden rooms, insulated by straw.

Several farmers and plantation owners, including U.S. Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, cut and stored ice in the winter to be used in summers. Frederic Tudor of Boston converted ice harvesting and shipping into a big business, where he cut ice in New England and shipped it all over the globe.

Surabhi Goyal, a teacher at a kindergarten school who regularly conducts ice-cream making classes, shares a delightful ice cream recipe and a badam kulfi recipe.

Basic Ice Cream

Ingredients

• Fresh un-boiled milk – 450 ml
• Sugar – 8 tsp or 210 gms
• Corn flour – 4 ½ tsp dissolved in 50 ml milk
• CMC – ¾ tsp (anti-crystallization)
• GMS – 4 ½ tsp (for rising froth)
• Fresh Malai/ Cream – 200 ml
• Large bowl

Method

• Mix sugar and milk together on a burner and stir continuously till the sugar completely dissolves.
• Then add CMC, GMC and corn flour and lower the flame.
• Keep stirring for 2-3 minutes; ensure that no lumps should form in the milk. Make sure that the milk should not boil, but it should just reach the boiling point.
• Now add the malai/ cream, mix well and cool it.
• Pour the contents in a large bowl, cover it with an aluminium foil, like an air tight container and freeze it.
• Next day, take out the bowl, place it in a bed of ice and whip the mixture for about 35-40 minutes, the entire mixture will rise to 2 litres. At this time ensure that you don’t change the bowl and that is why it is important to use a large bowl right from the start.
• Once it is beaten, add essence and food colour of your choice and freeze the ice cream.
• Let it set for a few hours, to be served later.

Ice Cream Flavours

• Vanilla – You only need to add vanilla essence, there is no need to add colour.
• Strawberry – Add rose pink colour, about 2-3 drops, if you want darker add 4-5 drops and strawberry essence.
• Choco-chip – Grate one bar of chocolate into the vanilla ice cream, mix it well and freeze it.
• Mango – For There is no need to add colour or essence as fresh mango has a beautiful colour and an aroma itself. Make a puree out of fresh mangoes, add it in the final mixture, whisk well and freeze.
• Pistachio – Add 3 drops of vanilla essence, green colour and serve garnished with chopped pistachios.
• Butterscotch – Add 2-3 drops of lemon colour and mix praline.
• Fresh fruit – when the vanilla ice cream is half set, add lots of chopped fruits like grape, banana, apple, pomegranate and orange. Mix it well in a bowl and freeze. Your fresh fruit ice cream is ready to be served.

“Usually, I make four portions of a 2 litre ice cream and add four different colours and essence to get four different flavours,” says Surabhi. “But, if you want the entire ice cream as one flavour, then add 1 teaspoon of essence and 4-5 drops of food colour,” she adds.

Badam Kulfi

Ingredients

• Milk – 3 cups
• Plain khoya – 6 tbsp
• Sugar – 6 tbsp
• Cashew – 8 – 10 nos.
• Almonds – 4-5 nos.
• Cardamom – 2-3 nos.
• Malai/ Cream – 3 tbsp
• Saffron threads

Method

• Boil milk for 3 – 4 minutes and add the khoya.
• Add powdered cashew, cardamom and sugar.
• Keep stirring till the quantity becomes half.
• Once cool, pour the contents in a blender and mix well.
• Pour in a bowl and freeze.
• In about an hour, when the mixture will be half set, remove it from the freezer, add malai, almonds and mix well.
• Now pour the contents in kulfi moulds.
• Once set, garnish with chopped almonds, saffron threads and serve.

For the in-flight magazine ‘Symplifly’ of Kingfisher Deccan, May 2008 issue.