By Ann Cipperly
When the temperature soars, the perfect dessert is one that is cold and refreshing. Whether you make ice cream at home in an electric churn, your refrigerator freezer or enhance store-purchased with a special sauce, your family will welcome a chilly treat when they come in from an outing.
All ages enjoy making their own sundaes. Set out an ice cream bar with assorted toppings, such as chocolate sauce, toffee sauce, assorted fruit, nuts and whipped cream.
For a simple ice cream dessert to keep in the freezer, shape softened ice cream into balls and roll in chopped nuts, grated chocolate, coconut, crushed cookies or sweetened cereal. Store several in the freezer for a quick snack after school or swimming.
Homemade ice cream is a special treat. I have fond memories as a child of sitting under the shade of a towering chinaberry tree watching my father making ice cream. He would fill the sides around the ice cream container with crushed ice and rock salt. We would sit and watch as he turned the handle until it became difficult to turn. We could hardly wait to dig into the icy goodness on a hot summer afternoon.
Now, making ice cream is a much easier process with an electric ice cream maker. If you do not have one of those, you can make homemade ice cream in the refrigerator freezer. Check out the following recipes. The mixture is frozen in loaf pans or other containers.
While ice cream has an interesting history, no one person has been credited with its creation. According to historians, ice cream was not invented, but “perfected” over time. It evolved from flavored ices that were popular with nobility in the fourth century, beginning with Emperor Nero, who sent runners to the Alps for snow, which was flavored with fruit and honey.
Marco Polo returned to Europe from China in the 13 century with recipes for water and milk ices. They were improved by the Italians who developed a cooling process for water by using saltpeter.
Ice cream gained tremendous popularity in Europe throughout the 18 century. Books were written with prized recipes. Most of the ice creams were naturally flavored with fruits and berries.
The first advertisement in America for ice cream was in the “New York Gazette” by confectioner Philip Lenzi on May 12, 1777, announcing ice cream was available “almost every day.”
Records kept by a Chatham Street New York merchant showed that President George Washington spent about $200 for ice cream during the summer of 1790. Inventory taken at Mount Vernon after his death revealed “two pewter ice cream pots.”
Thomas Jefferson also treasured various ice cream recipes for their preparations, including one with an 18-step process. Jefferson introduced vanilla beans to America after bringing them back from France.
Ice cream continued to be popular at the White House. Dolly Madison was known for serving ice cream at grand state dinners. President Madison’s second inaugural banquet in 1812 featured a strawberry ice cream finale.
The freezing process for ice cream was simplified when a freezer with rotary paddles was invented.
Approximately 1845, Nancy Johnson of New Jersey invented the hand-cranked freezer. Soon the market was flooded with similar inventions, allowing the public to enjoy ice cream in their homes.
Five years later, the first wholesale ice cream was manufactured in Pennsylvania when a milkman discovered ice cream would be a profitable way to utilize surplus cream.
The cone for serving ice cream was developed at the 1904 World’s Fair in St Louis when all the dishes for serving were used. A wafer-like waffle was rolled into a cone to hold the ice cream. It became an instant hit.
Today, over a billion gallons of ice cream are served in this country every year. Ice cream is popular year-round, but especially in the summer.
Following are recipes for making ice cream in a churn and in the refrigerator freezer, along with an assortment of toppings for embellishing store-bought ice cream. Cool off on a hot August day with a dessert that was centuries in being created.
Ann Cipperly can be reached at recipes@cipperly.com.
Easy Butterscotch Sauce and Cappuccino Parfait
When Carol York lived in Opelika, she would make parfaits to serve as a refreshing dessert after a heavy meal. She enjoyed entertaining and would make parfaits ahead and freeze. She removed the parfaits from the freezer 10 minutes before serving. This is one of her favorites.
Easy Butterscotch Sauce
½ cup butter
1 ½ cups light brown sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. corn syrup
½ cup heavy cream
Melt butter in saucepan; add brown sugar, salt, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Gradually add heavy cream and bring to a boil again. Cool.
Cappuccino Parfait
Stir ½ tsp. ground cinnamon and 1 tsp. grated orange rind into 1 ½ cups of the butterscotch sauce. Alternate coffee ice cream and butterscotch sauce in 10 parfait glasses. Freeze until ready to serve. Remove from freeze 10 minutes before serving.
Top with whipped cream and grated orange rind, if desired.
Chocolate Marshmallow Sauce
32 marshmallows
2 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened chocolate
½ cup evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Combine marshmallows and chocolate in the upper part of a double boiler over hot water. Heat and stir until mixture is melted and smooth. Stir in milk gradually. Add vanilla. Serve over ice cream.
Toffee Sauce
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup half and half or milk
1 tsp. instant coffee
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, continue boiling, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Sauce will thicken as it cools. Good over vanilla, chocolate, or butter pecan ice cream.
Chocolate Caramel Sauce
1 Tbsp. butter
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cup half and half or milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
In a small saucepan, over low heat, melt butter with chocolate chips. Stir in brown sugar, cream, and vanilla. Cook and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Makes 1 ½ cups.
Hot Fudge Peanut Sauce
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk
½ cup sugar
½ cup crunchy peanut butter
In small saucepan, combine chocolate, milk, and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Gradually stir chocolate mixture into peanut butter. Serve warm over ice cream. Makes 2 cups.
Caramel Pecan Sauce
½ lb. (28) Kraft caramels
½ cup light cream
¼ cup or more chopped pecans
Combine caramels and cream in upper part of double boiler over hot water (or carefully melt in microwave). Stir and heat until caramels are melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in pecans. Serve over ice cream.
Chocolate Fudge Sauce
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
1 small can evaporated milk
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Melt chocolate in top of double boiler; add sugar and gradually stir in evaporated milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil for 1 minute. Add butter and vanilla.
Vanilla Ice Cream Custard
Debra Whatley
9 cups milk
¼ tsp. salt
9 eggs
2 Tbsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cups sugar
Scald milk in double boiler. Beat eggs. Add sugar, salt, and milk; blend and return to double boiler. Cook over hot water until mixture coats wooden spoon (5 to 10 minutes), stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Cool. Freeze in electric ice cream freezer.
Refrigerator Freezer Vanilla Yogurt Ice Cream
See recipe below for making this in an electric ice cream freezer.
1 pint (2 cups) whipping cream
Two 8 oz. containers vanilla yogurt
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
Whip cream. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, condensed milk, and vanilla. Fold in whipping cream.
Pour into a loaf pan or other 2-quart container. Cover. Freeze 6 hours or until firm.
Electric Freezer Method
Do not whip cream. Pour all ingredients into freezer container and process according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Chocolate Cheesecake Ice Cream
This can also be prepared in the refrigerator freezer. See recipe below.
3 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
4 (1 oz.) squares semi-sweet or unsweetened chocolate squares, melted
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 pint (2 cups) whipping cream
1 pint half and half
In a mixer bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in condensed milk until smooth. Add chocolate and vanilla; mix well. Add remaining ingredients.
Pour into ice cream freezer container and freezer according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Refrigerator Freezer Method
Omit half and half. Reduce chocolate to 3 (1 oz.) squares. Whip cream.
In a larger mixer bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add condensed milk until smooth. Add chocolate and vanilla. Fold in whipped cream.
Pour mixture into loaf pan or another 2-quart container. Freeze in refrigerator freezer for 6 hours or until firm.
Chocolate Ice Cream Dessert
Jennifer Jones
1 pkg. Oreo cookies
1 ½ sticks butter, divided
1 ¾ cup powdered sugar
1 can evaporated milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla
½ gallon vanilla ice cream
Crush cookies and mix with ½ stick softened butter. Press into a greased 9 by 13 inch dish. Chill for one hour.
On medium heat, mix powdered sugar, evaporated milk, chocolate chips, vanilla and 1 stick butter. Bring to a boil for eight minutes, stirring constantly. Cool completely.
Scoop ice cream into small pieces and pat over cookie mixture. Pour cooled sauce over ice cream. Return to the freezer.
Remove dessert from freezer about 15 minutes before serving. Cut in squares. Garnish with a strawberry or cherry. Makes 10 to 12 servings.
Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches
Martha Hicks
Small homemade Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies with a dash of cinnamon
Good vanilla ice cream
Make into sandwiches with ice cream. Wrap individually in plastic wrap; freeze. Can keep for weeks. Serve on a platter with napkins.
Homemade Peach Ice cream
Ann Renfro Smith’s grandmother’s recipe for delicious homemade ice cream.
2 qt. milk
3 cups peaches, blended
½ pint half and half
1 can Eagle Brand Milk
3 cups sugar
Mix ingredients in large bowl and pour into ice cream freezer. Process according to directions on freezer.
Famous Mud Pie
From the Mills Hyatt House in Charleston, South Carolina
1 pkg. Oreo cookies
1 stick butter, melted
1 qt. coffee ice cream
Chocolate Sauce
Crumble cookies into pie pan and pour melted butter over top. Soften ice cream and fill pie shell. Freeze.
Top with chocolate sauce.
Butter Pecan Ice Cream
1 pint (2 cups) heavy cream
1 pint light cream or half and half
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
½ tsp. butter extract
1/8 tsp. salt
½ cup or more pecans
Combine all ingredients except pecans in ice cream container. Stir with wooden spoon or plastic spatula. Process according to manufacturer’s directions on ice cream freezer.
Stir in pecans before mixture hardens.
Refrigerator Freezer Vanilla Ice Cream with Oreo Cookies
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks
4 tsp. vanilla extract
10 Oreo chocolate sandwich cookies, coarsely crushed (about 1 cup crumbs)
2 cups (1 pint) whipping cream, whipped
In large bowl beat together sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks and vanilla. Fold in cookies and whipped cream and pour into aluminum foil-lined 9×5-inch loaf pan or other 2 quart container. Cover.
Freeze 6 hours or until firm. Before serving, let stand 5 minutes. Return leftovers to freezer.
Refrigerator Freezer Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Oreo Cookies:
In large bowl beat together sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, one-third cup creamy peanut butter and vanilla. Stir in 1 cup coarsely chopped peanuts. Fold in 1¼ cups coarsely crushed Oreo chocolate sandwich cookies (14 cookies) and whipped cream. Proceed as above. Makes about 2 quarts.
Note: Do not consume raw eggs if you have health issues. Use pasteurized eggs.
Dairy Free Vanilla Ice Cream
Michelle Key
5 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
2 small cans of coconut cream (I use 5.5 ounce cans)
2 cups of favorite non-dairy milk substitute (I prefer cashew milk)
Pinch of salt
2 Tbsp of vanilla extract
Whisk the egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar until the yolks are creamy and light in color.
Mix the coconut cream, non-dairy milk and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a large pan and place on medium heat. Stirring often, heat until sugar is fully dissolved, and it is just starting to boil. Remove from heat.
Starting in small increments, slowly add about 1 cup of the hot milk into the egg mixture, stirring well to temper the egg mixture.
Add the now hot egg mixture to the rest of milk, whisking well.
Place back on the stove, over low to medium heat. Stir constantly until mixture begins to thicken and will coat the back of a spoon.
Stir in the 2 Tbsp. of vanilla extract
Remove from heat and put in the refrigerator and cool completely.
Once cool, churn mixture in ice cream freezer according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Spoon into a freezer safe container for storage.
Dairy Free Chocolate Ice Cream
Michelle Key
1 box of JELL-O brand chocolate pudding
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 carton of SILK dairy-free whipping cream
2 cups of dairy-free milk substitute (I use cashew milk)
Combine pudding and sugar together and add in the whipping cream and cashew milk. Whisk (or blend) until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth.
Churn mixture in ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s direction then spoon into a freezer safe container and freeze until firm.