ICE CREAM!!!
We’re going there.
Anyone who knows me knows that ice cream is my ultimate summertime splurge — soft served, hard packed, a cone, a cup, sprinkles, no sprinkles? I am ON IT like the fattest kid at camp. So when I figured out that I could make my own ice cream at home, without a machine, and that it would be some of the best ice cream I’ve ever had, I practically had a meltdown.
A good one, obviously. Like a puppy on Christmas.
Making this does require a food processor or an electric hand mixer, but the basic vanilla recipe that it builds on requires just THREE ingredients, so things really couldn’t be easier. All you need is the magic combination of sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, and heavy cream — From there you can mix, match, and totally rock out with the ice cream mashup of your dreams, today’s version being classic mint chocolate chip.
I’m unusually proud of this recipe for three distinct reasons.
1 – I did not eat it all by myself.
2 – There is NO mint extract OR food coloring!!!! It’s 100% all-natural.
3 – The fresh mint leaves are from my very own urban garden! Très exciting.
Let’s break it down.
It’s a little hard to quantify how many ounces of mint you’ll need to buy since I culled mine from my garden. But a safe estimate is about 2oz worth, which should render the 2/3 of very tightly packed leaves that you need. Give your mint a rinse, then transfer to your food processor and combine with a few tablespoons of water + sugar before puréeing into a moshy mess — It won’t look pretty, but you’re on the right track.
Next, strain the puréed mint through a fine mesh sieve to extract all the mint juices. In the end you’ll be left with a mostly dark green liquid and a touch of foam on top — SKIM THAT FOAM. You do not want this in your ice cream. Once you bid adieu to the foam, whisk your mint liquid into the sweetened condensed milk + vanilla, then gently fold in the heavy cream after it’s been whipped. Stir in chocolate chunks, freeze for at least 8 hours, die of anticipation, and voilà! You’re eating the best ice cream ever.
After making my own ice cream I began to notice just how processed the store-brought stuff tastes. The flavor here is pronounced, refreshing, and crisp, it’s truly unlike any other ice cream I’ve ever tasted. The texture is wonderful too — creamy and smooth, without being too heavy — and the chocolate chunks add the final, perfecting touch.
And like a broken record, I’ll say it once more – NO mint extract, NO green food coloring!!
Just pure, natural, 100% organic mint leaves. Pretty cool, huh? xo
No-Churn, Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Ingredients:
- 1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk (14 oz)
- 1 1/2 tsps Vanilla
- 2/3 cup Fresh Mint Leaves, tightly packed (4 – 6oz worth)
- 6 tbsps Water
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1 pint Heavy Cream
- 1 cup Chocolate Chips (or more!)
Directions:
- In large mixing bowl combine the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla, whisking until smooth. Set aside.
- In food processor combine the mint leaves, water, and sugar, then pulse until mixture is as puréed as possible (I let mine spin for 3-5 minutes). Next, strain through fine mesh sieve (a few flakes of mint leaf might still come through, but that’s okay!), then skim the foam off the top of the strained liquid so that all you are left with are the mint juices. Lastly, whisk the liquid mint into the sweetened condensed milk, combining well.
- Clean out your food processor. Line a standard sized loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In food processor gently pulse the heavy cream for ~30 seconds until a whipped texture forms. Fold the whipped cream into the mint milk mixture until combined, then lastly stir in the chocolate chips. Transfer to parchment-lined loaf pan, then freeze for 8 hours/overnight. Devour!
>> chocolate mint is my favorite choice for this recipe, but peppermint and spearmint are both great choices! it all depends on which you prefer best
