Hello & happy Monday to you! As the months start to get warmer ice cream is a definite must but who wants to buy a ice cream maker just so you can use it once and then put it in the pantry never to be seen again??? Well thankfully, we have no churn ice cream. And this No-churn Blood orange ice cream comes together in just a few minutes and is ready for consumption in, oh…two hours. Couldn’t be easier.
I originally posted this recipe to my Instagram page, back when blood oranges were in full season, but I felt like I needed to have the continuity here and thus, this post was born!
So what makes no-churn ice cream, no-churn??
The act of making ice cream is actually quite simple. The “base” of most churn ice creams is heavy cream, half and half, sugar and vanilla. Of course you can get fancy with it and make a cooked egg custard and all that, but at its base, ice cream is fat and sugar mixed together in a frozen container until smooth and cold. The act of “churning” or mixing the ingredients together in a cold container, usually with a paddle, creates tiny ice crystals. The smaller the ice crystals, the smoother the ice cream.
We can achieve much the same texture in our no churn version by using sweetened condensed milk and whipping cream. This no-churn blood orange ice cream is good — I didn’t say it was low fat. 🙂 In fact, low fat ice cream tends to be less flavorful and contain larger ice crystals, making for a rough mouth-feel. This is why you will forever be disappointed with low-fat ice creams. Just buy the real stuff and eat less 🙂
So back to the no-churn part of this recipe. Really, all you need for this recipe is whipping cream, beaten to stiff peaks (you could also use coolwhip if you really wanted to but I would stay away from the canned whip cream) a can of sweetened condensed milk, orange zest, orange juice and vanilla. You dont even need sugar! The sweetened condensed milk is more than sweet enough.
The Mix-ins
I also added chocolate and crushed cinnamon cookies to the mix, because more is more. Plus, I can’t help myself. If you can’t help yourself either you can add whatever mix-ins you like or flavors you like. Don’t have oranges? Use a different fruit instead. Don’t like chocolate? Chunks of fruit or left over cake/brownies would be amazing! Skies the limit, once you have your base ready.
You can add your mix-ins straight to the base, but if you’re like me and want some in every bite, I suggest layering them in with the base. I poured half the base into my container then drizzled the chocolate ganache and the crushed cinnamon cookies over top. Continue with the layers until you are at the top of the container and then take a knife and swirl the ingredients together. Too easy.
I hope your summer is starting off well! and if it’s not, well ice cream makes everything better. Especially no churn ice cream 🙂
XO Danielle
No-Churn Blood Orange Ice Cream
No need for a fancy ice cream maker with this no-fail no-churn blood orange ice cream. Add in your favorite mix-ins and enjoy in the warm summer weather!
Ingredients
Ice cream base:
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 teaspoons blood orange zest
- 1/2 cup fresh squeezed blood orange juice
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups cold heavy cream
- Red food coloring as desired
For the chocolate glaze:
- 4 oz bittersweet chocolate chopped
- 4 oz 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Cup Cinnamon cookies (or graham crackers), crushed
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together condensed milk, orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla. In a large bowl of a standing mixer, beat cream on high until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. With a rubber spatula, gently fold whipped cream into condensed milk mixture.
For the glaze:
- Heat the heavy cream in a microwave safe container for about a minute. Pour over chocolate and allow to sit for a minute. Stir until smooth.
Assembly:
- Pour half the mixture into a regular sized loaf pan, add a layer of the chocolate glaze and cinnamon cookies then top with remaining ice cream base. Using a knife, swirl the two together and top with additional chocolate & cookies.
- Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, 6 hours (keep in the freezer for up to a week)
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