boring, I have some ideas for you today!
Ice cream shops certainly offer lots of specialty flavors –
along with a hefty price. Store-bought ice cream does offer lots of variety too, but you’re still sort of limited on flavor choices — and again, the fancier flavors come with hefty prices. Instead of being disappointed with the price or flavor choices, why not make your own ice cream at home! With a little imagination, you can create any flavor of ice cream your heart desires.
Here’s a few unique ice cream flavors & frozen treats to test out this summer:
Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter Ice Cream
3 large ripe bananas
2 tablespoons of cacao powder (not cocoa powder, there is a difference)
1 tablespoon cashew butter
1/2 tablespoon peanut butter
1 dash of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons vanilla rice milk
2 tablespoons raw hazelnuts or cashews
Add all ingredients except the nuts to a food processor or high speed blender and blend until smooth. Remove from the processor and place into a plastic container with a tight fitting lid. Stir in the nuts. Cover the container and freeze for about 2 hours. You may serve this recipe with fruit or alone. If you enjoy the recipe, you may want to experiment with making a larger batch.
Chocolate Cherry Pecan Velvet Ice Cream
2/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 2/3 cups heavy cream
1 cup frozen or fresh cherries (halved)
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans
In large bowl, stir together sugar and cocoa. Add egg yolks and blend with electric mixer. Add cream a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Chill mixture in refrigerator.
While cream mixture is chilling, grate chocolate chips in blender or food processor or using a rotary grater, until fine. Stir grated chocolate chips, pecans and cherry halves into cream mixture. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.
Lemon Ice Cream
2 large lemons
2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of water
2 cups of whipping cream
Wash the lemons and remove most of the rind. Cut the lemons in half to remove the seeds and place them into a food processor or blender. Chop the lemons until they are fine and then add the sugar and process until smooth. Add the water and allow the mixture to stand at least an hour or overnight in the refrigerator. Whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks. Fold in the lemon mixture to incorporate well. Place the mixture in your ice cream freezer and follow your ice cream maker’s instructions.
Strawberry Ice Cream with Guajillo Chile
8 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut in half
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon Guajillo Chile powder
3 cups well chilled light cream or half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Using a large bowl, add the strawberries brown sugar, cinnamon and Guajillo Chile powder. Set aside until soft and juicy, about 30 minutes Using a potato masher, carefully mash the strawberries.
While you’re waiting for the strawberries to juice, in a separate bowl stir together the cream, vanilla, granulated sugar, lime juice and salt. Pour into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Once the vanilla ice cream is done, gently stir in the strawberries.
Blood Orange Sorbet
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup sugar
2 2/3 cups fresh blood orange juice (about 10 oranges)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Garnish: fresh mint sprigs
In a small saucepan, add the water and sugar. Bring this to a boil and then reduce the heat. Allow the mixture to simmer for five minutes. Remove this from the heat and allow it to cool completely. Add the juice and stir completely.
If you have a 4-quart electric or hand-turned ice cream maker, pour the mixture in and freeze it according to the manufacturer’s directions. Use ice and rock salt periodically until the ice cream maker begins to “bog down.” Allow the mixture to stay in the freezer for at least an hour before serving it.
If you do not have an ice cream maker, pour the mixture into an airtight container and place it into the freezer. Once it has solidified, you may scoop it out and serve. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs if you desire.
Watermelon Sorbet
Tip: If you buy large melons and find you cannot eat it all, this is a great way to use up the excess melon. If your melon doesn’t have a lot of flavor, you can add flavored syrup or even a few teaspoons of watermelon flavored Jell-O to enhance the flavor.
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
8 cups cubed seedless watermelon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
In a small saucepan, bring water, lemon juice and sugar to a boil. Boil for 1-2 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool completely.
Using your blender, process watermelon until pureed.
Transfer the puree and sugar water to an ice cream maker. Follow the instructions that came with your ice cream maker for making sorbet.
Tip: If you don’t have an ice cream maker; pour mixture into a shallow dish, place dish in freezer, stir occasionally until sorbet reaches desired consistency. If sorbet over-freezes you can allow it to thaw slightly then process it in a blender to get the desired consistency.
Mixed Fruit Sorbet or Popsicles
While this recipe is for a fruit based sorbet, don’t be afraid to try out other flavors as well. You might enjoy coffee, hot chocolate, vanilla bean to name just a few.
3 cups frozen mixed berries
5 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
In a small saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil. Boil for 1-2 minutes or until sugar has disolved. Allow to cool completely.
Using your blender, blend sugar-water, lemon and lime juice and frozen mixed berries.
Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker. Follow the instructions that came with your ice cream maker for making sorbet.
If you don’t have an ice cream maker; pour mixture into a shallow dish, place dish in freezer, stir occasionally until sorbet reaches desired consistency.
Serve as sorbet or…
Make popsicles!
Before freezing, transfer equal amounts of mixture into popsicle molds. Freeze for 4 hours or overnight.
When ready to serve, run warm water over the molds for a few seconds to loosen popsicle from mold.
Mocha Milkshake
If you’re looking for a cool “pick me up” to get you through a hot afternoon, this recipe is sure to help. 🙂
1/2 – 1 cup cold espresso
2 cups chocolate ice cream (can substitute coffee or vanilla flavor)
1/4 cup milk
4 Tablespoons chocolate syrup
Optional ingredients:
More chocolate syrup for drizzle
Chocolate covered coffee beans
Whipped topping
Maraschino cherries
Chill glass before serving.
If you don’t have access to espresso, you can use strong coffee instead.
Using a blender, blend 1/2 cup espresso, ice cream, milk and 4 tbsp chocolate syrup until smooth. If too thick, add more espresso until you reach desired consistency.
Drizzle 1-2 tbsp chocolate syrup inside each glass.
Fill glass with milkshake.
Garnish with whipped topping, cherry and chocolate covered coffee beans
Enjoy!
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You need more summer treats, right?!? 🙂
Check out Susanne Myer’s Homemade Ice Cream & Frozen Treats recipes here:
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*Disclaimer: Affiliate links are used on HCH. Thank you for your support!
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