Ice Cream

Ok, so, ice cream isn't really baking, but it's something I enjoy making. It starts by making a custard, and bringing it to a temperature of 160 to kill any bacteria prior to freezing. The ice cream I make is not "light." I've made a few different flavors, but all follow a similar recipe: 3 cups half and half, 1 cup heavy cream, 8-9 egg yolks, 1 cup of white sugar. I've used several flavors, and it's a pretty easy recipe to use.

One thing that you would need to make ice cream is an ice cream machine. Some standing mixers can come with an "ice cream maker" attachment, like Kitchen Aid, but there are several machines that stand on their own. Most require that the bowl and paddle be placed in the freezer so the mixture can remain cold enough to become ice cream. Having done a lot of research, last year my boyfriend and I made a purchase, and this is the machine I've been using for ice cream!

It's the Cuisinart Ice 50Bc Supreme Ice Cream Maker. It has a built in air conditioner so there is no need to freeze the bowl and blade. This can turn your chilled custard/sherbet mixture into an iced dessert in as little as 45 min! This normally goes for $270.24 retail, but we got this last year off sellout.woot.com last year for $145! I prefer this machine because it is easy to use, there's no extra steps of freezing the machinery for better ice cream, and the parts come out easily.

Some things about this machine that I wish were better? Well, the paddle and bucket aren't dishwasher safe, and I have to clean them as soon as I put away the ice cream; the arm that holds the paddle likes to shift as the mixture gets harder, and sometimes it will pop out, so I've had to employ the use of cans full of beans or other heavy object to keep it in place. However, the resulting product is worth these minor inconveniences

Ice cream image is from dailycaller.com ,Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker is from amazon.com