If “we all scream for ice cream,” why is there gluten in it? Really, ice cream should be inherently gluten free but some brands aren’t and others may be cross contaminated. If you make it yourself, you KNOW it’s gf (and you can control the fat content). Besides, it’s fun to do and this recipe is soooo easy, your kids will want to do it. It makes about 5 cups of premium flavoured vanilla ice cream but can be used as a base for other flavours. See below for some suggestions, but the only limit is your imagination!

You will need an ice cream maker of some sort. We use a Cuisinart model and it works great, but if you don’t want to buy an expensive electronic model, try one of these ice cream balls from LL Bean instead.

What you’ll need:

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

TIP: If you don’t like the idea of eating raw eggs, use 2 egg’s worth of an egg replacer like Ener-G (directions for reconstitution are on the egg replacer package)

2 cups heavy cream

1 ¾ cups whole milk

TIP: To reduce the fat content use a lighter cream and/or milk. The texture may be slightly “icy” but the flavour is close to the same.

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

TIP: This makes a premium vanilla flavoured ice cream. You may want to use less vanilla if you want a lighter taste, or you may want to replace half the vanilla with another flavouring such as 1. maple extract and adding some walnuts 2. some crushed peppermint 3. a tablespoon of instant coffee dissolved in a tablespoon of coffee liqueur.  Stir in any hard bits at the end to avoid stalling your ice cream maker.

What you’ll do:

In large mixing bowl, beat the sugar and eggs with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy (3 minutes).

Add cream, milk and vanilla and mix again another 2 minutes or so.

Using a strainer, pour the cream mixture into your ice cream maker and follow the ice cream maker’s instructions for ice cream. The Cuisinart model takes about 25 minutes until the ice cream thickens. At this point you will have a very thick milkshake or soft ice cream. If you want hard ice cream, pour the mixture into an airtight container and freeze for two hours.

Like this? You might also like gf and me’s iced coffee or mango sorbet. They’re just as refreshing and even easier to make!

Photo Credit gfandme 2013