In this house, the consumption of ice cream stays pretty steady throughout the entire year. Although it is probably more common to make your own ice cream in the summer, the kids all screamed in excitement when I suggested that our cooking project for the day be homemade ice cream. I love making new things with apples in the fall so we decided to try to make some Apple Pie Ice Cream. It was not too hard and it came out absolutely delicious!
To make the ice cream, I have a Krups Ice Cream Maker (model 337 – they don’t make it anymore – I stole it from my mom!) which is so incredibly simple to use – freeze the canister for a few hours – pour the custard in and turn it on. Seriously – that is it. Recently, there was a great little review of ice cream makers out there and the one that did the best was the $50 model from Cuisinart. No need to get anything fancy or expensive to make your own ice cream!
How To Make Apple Pie Ice Cream
PART 1: Prepare your custard.
3 eggs
2 cups cream
1 cup sugar
2 cups milk
2 Tablespoons vanilla
Combine 3 eggs and 2 cups of heavy cream or half and half in a medium saucepan. Beat them together well.
Add 1 cup of sugar and cook over low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes until thickened.
You really need to keep an eye of the pan because I walked away to break up a toddler wrestling match, I came back and my custard had curdled. Don’t let that happen to you! You want your custard to be smooth and thick.
After the eggs, cream, and sugar have thickened, set the pan aside and allow it to cool down. After it has cooled, add 2 cups of milk and 2 Tablespoons vanilla. Set aside. (This basic custard recipe can be used for any flavor ice cream you desire – or just leave it plain vanilla.)
PART 2: Prepare your apples.
1 Tablespoon butter
2 large apples, peeled, sliced, and then cut in half to make medium chunks
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
In a frying pan, melt 1 tablespoon butter, add the apples, sugar and cinnamon. Cook until the apples get soft and brown and the sugar begins to caramelize – it should start to look like the inside of an apple pie. This should take about 10 minutes. After they are cooked, cool completely before adding to the custard.
PART 3: Make the ice cream.
I like to let my custard cool overnight – partly because I never keep my ice cream canister in the freezer and that needs a few hours to get really cold. This batter made a little too much for one batch of ice cream in my 1 1/2 quart ice cream maker. Pour the custard into the canister and turn it on.
If you would like, you can add in crumbled cookies (perhaps Ginger Snaps from Trader Joes) or pour a little caramel sundae sauce in as the ice cream begins to churn to add a little extra flavor.
ENJOY! I think that homemade ice cream tastes the best right away. Don’t plan to make this ahead of time for a party and keep it in the freezer. If you have the custard prepared, all you need to do is turn on the ice cream maker while you guests are there and within 30 minutes you will all be enjoying delicious homemade ice cream!
Other favorite apple recipes …
