How to Make Quick and Easy No-Churn Ice Cream – 10 Greek-Themed Flavours

 

 

I was never crazy about ice cream, I could take it or leave it, that is, until four years ago I discovered no-churn ice cream, the quick and easy way to make perfect homemade ice cream and all without the aid of an expesive ice cream making machine.

An Ice cream maker has been number five on my Christmas wish list for years but the one I yearned for cost an arm and a leg and there was invariably something more pressing which I needed spend my money on, so when I read about no-churn ice cream, without further ado, I gave it a go.

I was impressed, this is so easy, takes only three ingredients, about ten minutes or less to prepare, five hours or so to freeze and the results are amazing, rich creamy, out-of-this-world, spoon-licking ice cream.

And the flavours, well, anything your imagination can conceive, it really is a case of anything goes, and the more decadent, the better.

The first flavours I concocted, four years ago, were Limoncello, rum and raisin, and strawberry with grappa.

 

 

Four years on from my first introduction to no-churn ice cream, homemade ice cream has become one of my ‘obsessions’, other obsessions include eating Capri salad everyday for a whole summer, then there was the summer of limoncello, I simply adore lemons, a summer of prosecco followed and here we are, the summer of ice cream!

Ideas were coming at me from left, right and centre, whilst sitting in my garden looking at my plum tree and my fig tree, or upon catching  a whiff of garden mint on the morning air, or when opening a kitchen cupboard and spotting a jar of tahini, a packet of Corinthian raisins, a bag of  Aegina fistiki (pistachio nuts), pure Greek sea salt, and a box of forgotten Turkish delight, and in a flash, I had it, this would be the summer of Greek flavoured ice cream.

For the past week I have picked plums and figs, whipped up litres of cream, licked spoons and my fingers, and eaten more ice cream than I care to think about, I’m sure, that before long, I shall be asking all and sundry ‘Does my bum look big in this?’ !

 

10 Greek-themed no-churn ice cream flavours

 

Below are the recipes for the flavours I came up with, mostly Greek-themed, the cookies and cream, I had to add, my granddaughter Mel’s favourite and anyway, it has a touch of Greekness; made in Greece by Greeker!

The tiramisu, okay, it’s Italian but you know what they say about Greeks and Italians; Una fatsa…Una ratsa.

 

Tips

 

The ice cream base is double cream and sweetened condensed milk to which are added whatever ingredients are needed for the flavourings.

I’m not sure what double cream actually is in Greece, I use full fat (35%), crema galaktos, it works perfectly.

 

 

 

Have all bowls and utensils as cold as possible before starting, popping everything into the freezer for ten minutes will do the trick.

Have the cream in one bowl and the sweetened condensed milk in another before starting.

Whip the cream until soft peaks appear, don’t whip too much, whipping to a buttercream stage, will leave a greasy film in your mouth after eating the ice cream, (actually, I don’t mind this, but maybe I’m just slutty!).

Any freezer- proof container can be used, I use metal loaf tins, but I have used plastic containers, they are good too.

Freeze for at least five hours.

Homemade ice cream can be rather hard after freezing, (that’s because there are no additives, preservatives or chemical softeners), if that’s the case, remove from freezer ten minutes before serving.

The good news is, adding any sort of alcohol will make the ice cream softer, as alcohol doesn’t freeze.

This ice cream will keep well for up to a month in the freezer, but trust me, it will not last that long!

 

1. Drunken Fig No-Churn Ice Cream

 

 

 

 Ingredients

 

500 ml double cream

 1 tin (Approx 400g) sweetened condensed milk

About 1 kilo figs (unpeeled)

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons water

I shot tsipouro (or any Greek liqueur)

 

Made with figs from my own tree.

 

 

Cut the unpeeled figs into quarters, place into a saucepan with the lemon juice and zest , the brown sugar and water, bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until you have a jam consistency.

Remove from heat, either blend with a hand blender, or place in a blender, blend until there are no lumps, pass the mixture through a sieve, to remove most of the seeds and pieces of skin, add the tsipouro, leave to cool.

When cool, place in fridge for thirty minutes before using.

Add the fig mixture to the sweetened condensed milk, mix well together, using mixer.

Whip the double cream to soft peaks, and slowly, bit by bit, fold into the sweetened condensed milk, making sure the two are well combined.

Pour into container and freeze for at least five hours.

Serve with fresh figs and Petimezi, the world’s oldest natural sweetener, created in ancient Greece thousands of years ago!

 

2. Turkish Delight No-Churn Ice Cream

 

 

 

 Ingredients

 

500 ml double cream

 1 tin (Approx 400g) sweetened condensed milk

200g Rose flavoured Turkish delight

2 tablespoons rose water

2 drops red food colouring (optional)

 

Cut the turkish delight into small pieces.

Whip the double cream to soft peaks, and slowly, bit by bit, fold into the sweetened condensed milk, making sure the two are well combined.

Add rose water and turkish delight, (and food colouring if using) mix well.

Pour into container and freeze for at least five hours.

 

3. Salted Caramel No-Churn Ice Cream

 

 

 

 Ingredients

 

500 ml double cream

 1 tin ( Approx 400g) Dulce de Leche

1/2 teaspoon Greek sea salt

Few flakes of Greek Floros fleur de sel to serve

 

 

Whip the double cream to soft peaks and slowly, bit by bit, fold into the dulce de Leche, making sure the two are well combined.

Add the salt, mix well.

Pour into container and freeze for at least five hours.

To serve, sprinkle with a few flakes of Greek fleur de sel.

 

4. Rum and Raisin No-Churn Ice Cream

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

500 ml double cream

 1 tin ( Approx 400g) sweetened condensed milk

200g Corinthian raisins

1 shot rum

 

Soak the raisins in the rum overnight to soften them and to give a more intense rum flavour.

Whip the double cream to soft peaks and slowly, bit by bit, fold into the sweetened condensed milk, making sure the two are well combined.

Add raisins and rum, mix well.

Pour into container and freeze for at least five hours.

 

5. Oreo Cookies and Cream No-Churn Ice Cream

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

500 ml double cream

 1 tin ( Approx 400g) sweetened condensed milk

1 packet (150g) original Oreo cookies, broken into small pieces

 

Whip the double cream to soft peaks and slowly, bit by bit, fold into the sweetened condensed milk, making sure the two are well combined.

Add broken Oreo cookies, mix well.

Pour into container and freeze for at least five hours.

 

6. Lemon Curd No-Churn Ice Cream

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

500 ml double cream

 1 tin ( Approx 400g) sweetened condensed milk

200g Lemon curd, see here for recipe for homemade lemon curd

1 shot Limoncello (Optional)

 

 

Whip the double cream to soft peaks and then,  slowly, bit by bit, fold into the sweetened condensed milk, making sure the two are well combined.

Add lemon curd, and limoncello if using, mix well.

Pour into container and freeze for at least five hours.

 

7. Tahini and Aegina Fistiki (Pistachio) No-Churn Ice Cream

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

500 ml double cream

 1 tin ( Approx 400g) sweetened condensed milk

200g unsweetened tahini

100g Aegina fistiki (Pistachio nuts)

 

Whip the double cream to soft peaks and slowly, bit by bit, fold into the sweetened condensed milk, making sure the two are well combined.

Add the tahini and nuts, mix well.

Pour into container and freeze for at least five hours.

 

8. Vanilla and Plum Ripple No-Churn Ice Cream

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

500 ml double cream

 1 tin ( Approx 400g) sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons vanilla essence

200g Plum syrup  plum syrup recipe

 

Made with plums from my own tree.

 

 

Whip the double cream to soft peaks and slowly, bit by bit, fold into the sweetened condensed milk, making sure the two are well combined.

Add vanilla essence and mix well.

swirl plum syrup into ice cream mixture.

Pour into container and freeze for at least five hours.

 

9. Fresh Mint Stracciatella No-Churn Ice Cream

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

500 ml double cream

 1 tin ( Approx 400g) sweetened condensed milk

200g dark chocolate

large handful of fresh mint (about 1 cup lightly packed )

2 tsp olive oil

 

Made with my own homegrown mint (Spearmint).

 

 

Make mint tea, steep the mint in a cup of boiling water for about 2 hours, or overnight, leave to cool and leave in fridge for about 30 minutes.

Whip the double cream to soft peaks and slowly, bit by bit, fold into the sweetened condensed milk, making sure the two are well combined.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave and stir in olive oil.

Strain the mint leaves from the water.

Add 2 tablespoons of the mint tea to ice cream mixture, stir and combine well.

Drizzle the melted chocolate into mixture and swirl around evenly.

Pour into container and freeze for at least five hours.

 

10. Tiramisu No-Churn Ice Cream

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

500 ml double cream

 1 tin ( Approx 400g) sweetened condensed milk

250g Mascarpone cheese

3 tablespoons powdered espresso coffee

150g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

5-6 Savoiardi- trifle biscuits, broken into small pieces.

 

Put 1 tablespoon of the coffee in a cup of boiling water, brew 5 minutes, leave to completely cool.

Whip mascarpone, add to sweetened condensed milk, and whip together.

Whip the double cream to soft peaks and slowly, bit by bit, fold into the sweetened condensed milk and mascarpone mixture, making sure the two are well combined.

Divide the mixture in half, into two bowls.

Into half the mixture, add remaining 2 tablespoons of powdered espresso, along with the prepared espresso and mix well.

Put one layer of plain ice cream mixture into container, cover with a layer of coffee flavoured mixture, sprinkle evenly with chocolate and biscuit pieces, give the mixture a swirl.

Repeat the process, 2 or 3 times and  sprinkle the surface of the final layer with chocolate and biscuit pieces.

Place into container and freeze for at least five hours.

 

Tahini wins by a nose

 

After this Ice cream making marathon, I’m not sure I shall be be whipping up any more this summer but I have seen a yummy sounding recipe for raspberry and white chocolate, so, it’s possible!

For now, I have a freezer full (and belly full, well I couldn’t throw the ice cream I used for the photos away, could I?), enough to feed half of Greece I shouldn’t wonder but my taste buds, what a party they have had!

Do I have a favourite flavour?

It’s between the salted caramel and the tahini and pistachio and tahini wins by a nose.