Ice Cream Without Eggs

I've been meaning to get back to this blog for a while, and a recent purchase is the catalyst.

Despite the lousy reviews, I bought an ice cream maker to go with my Kitchen Aid mixer. Yes, there are several complaints of leaking, but I decided to give it a try.

I'm doing it right -- I'm following their instructions to the letter. They say to wait until the frozen bowl thaws before washing. I'm waiting until it's room temperature to the touch. No metal objects in or around it. I'm not immersing it in water, and I'm hand-drying it, then letting it air dry an hour or so before putting it back in the freezer.

We'll see how long it lasts.

In the meantime, I'm loving every minute of using it. It's an absolute breeze for making ice cream. And it gives me the perfect opportunity to experiment with flavors and textures.

I've made ice cream with it twice now. The first recipe was good -- not the 4 1/2 stars worth of good the reviewers gave it, but edible. Light, though the corn starch was obvious in the recipe. That got me to thinking -- what if I use that xanthum gum I bought? Would that be better?

Oh my, it was. I found a recipe online, then tweaked it to make it my own. The result -- creamy, softer ice cream that uses no eggs (and if you want it to be vegan, no whipping cream). I can't get enough of it.

Vegan-ish Ice Cream

1 15-oz. can of light coconut milk (2 of these if you want to make it vegan)
1 cup whipping cream (skip it entirely if you're going vegan)

1/2 cup sugar

pinch salt

¾ tsp. xanthum gum (I used Bob's Red Mill)

First, reserve some of the coconut milk or whipping cream so you can mix your xanthum gum in it (avoids lumps).

Next, mix the rest of your ingredients, minus the reserved liquid and xanthum gum, in a large saucepan. 

Now, mix the xanthum gum into the reserved liquid, then when it's no longer lumpy, mix it into the saucepan.

Cook just below a boil, stirring constantly until slightly thickened (should coat the spoon but not be too thick).

Remove from heat. Pour into a large bowl, let it cool for a few minutes, then pop it into the refrigerator for about 3-4 hours (make sure it's cold in the center before removing it from the fridge).

Put it in your prepared ice cream maker. Mix according to their directions.

If you're using a Kitchen Aid ice cream maker, you can expect it to look like ice cream within 15-25 minutes. Mine took about 15 minutes.

Eat!