OK all!
Well, many people have asked me for low-carb ice-cream recipes, and I haven't found the time to post any - until now! So apologies for that. This is a long post, but I hope you all enjoy the recipes and that it's been worth the wait
Types of ice-cream
OK, so there are two basic types of ice-cream; a simple uncooked version (with or without raw egg yolk) and a cooked version based on an egg custard which can be cooked on the hob or in the microwave. They can both be made low-carb and are both delicious. Most recipes can be made either way. The cooked custard method is richer, gives a smoother, creamier consistency and keeps better but is a bit of a faff, while the uncooked method is simpler, quicker and requires less advance planning, but can go a little powdery in the freezer. The choice is yours.
A few notes
Home-made ice-cream freezes harder than commercial ice-cream. As far as I know, there is no way around this as it is not possible to get the same amount of air into the mixture at home. You’ll have to get used to taking the ice-cream out of the freezer 10 minutes before you want to serve it. Sorry.
Fat content is really important in ice-cream making. Too much fat causes the ice-cream to go powdery; too little fat allows large ice crystals to develop and makes the ice-cream icy. UK whipping cream is around 36% fat content and this is perfect. UK double-cream is around 45-50% fat content and is a little high. If you’re going to use double-cream it is best to dilute it a bit by adding one part full-fat milk to two parts double-cream. (e.g 200ml double-cream mixed with 100ml full-fat milk to make 300ml whipping cream). Where a recipe calls for milk, you should use full-fat milk.
Alcohol can be added to ice-cream for flavour (e.g. liqueurs, rum etc), but it does not freeze so if you add more than a small amount, your ice-cream will not freeze. You have been warned!
Ice-cream is smoother if you add egg yolk which acts as an emulsifier. However, I don’t like eating raw egg, so I only use egg in the cooked custard version. If you’re happy to eat raw egg, try adding a couple of beaten egg yolks to the uncooked version.
I use Splenda to sweeten the ice-cream. You can probably use any sweetner, but I haven’t tried any others. Powdered splenda does impact my blood glucose, so I keep the quantities of it small and use daVinci sugar-free syrups for extra sweetness (which you can buy from the Low-carb Megastore).
I don’t like my ice-cream sickly-sweet, so you might find you need more sweetner than I use in the following recipes.
OK, enough waffle. Here goes:
Basic low-carb vanilla
Ingredients:
300ml whipping cream (7.8g carb)
150ml full-fat milk (6.8g carb)
5g Powdered Splenda (4.7g carb)
2Tbs daVinci sugar-free vanilla syrup (0g carb)
½ tsp vanilla extract (0g carb)
19.3g carb total. I divide into 6 portions at 3.2g carb per portion.
Method:
Stir all ingredients together and whisk with a stick blender or whisk to get as much air in the mixture as possible. Pour mixture into ice-cream maker and freeze according to your machine’s instructions.
Custard-style low-carb vanilla
Ingredients:
300ml whipping cream (7.8g carb)
150ml full-fat milk (6.8g carb)
3 large egg yolks (1.5g carb)
5g Powdered Splenda (4.7g carb)
2Tbs daVinci sugar-free vanilla syrup (0g carb)
½ tsp vanilla extract (0g carb)
20.8g carb total. I divide into 6 portions at 3.5g carb per portion.
Method:
In a medium saucepan, heat the milk, powdered splenda and half the cream until warm. Remove from heat. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks whisking constantly. Pour the whole lot back into the saucepan and heat, stirring constantly and scraping the mixture from the bottom of the pan, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Remove from heat. (Do not let the mixture boil – if it does, you will make scrambled eggs instead of custard!) Put the remaining half of the cream into a large bowl and pour the custard into it, stirring until smooth. Stir in the vanilla syrup and vanilla extract. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and allow to cool. When it is cool enough, put it in the fridge (preferable overnight) and allow to go completely cold. Once cold, pour the custard into your ice-cream maker and freeze according to your machine’s instructions.
Adding flavours:
The above recipes form the basis of many different flavour ice-creams. You can create fruit ripple ice-cream by pureeing fruit with a little splenda and using a skewer to ripple it through the vanilla ice-cream when it comes out of your machine, before putting it in the freezer. Raspberries, strawberries, blackberries all work well, as does stewed rhubarb. You’ll need to add in the carbs. For a mint ice-cream, replace the vanilla syrup with daVinci sugar-free sweetening syrup and replace the vanilla extract with peppermint extract. If you can tolerate the carbs, cut 30g of 85% dark chocolate into very small pieces and mix with the mint ice-cream when it comes out of your machine, before putting it in the freezer (Adds 6.3g carb to the total or 1.5g carb per portion if divided into 6 portions). The possibilities are endless!
Here’s another couple of recipes:
Wonderful low-carb lemon ice-cream
Ingredients:
300ml whipping cream (7.8g carb)
150ml full-fat milk (6.8g carb)
5g Powdered Splenda (4.7g carb)
2Tbs daVinci sugar-free sweetening syrup (0g carb)
Zest and juice of two lemons (about 2.5g carb)
Pinch of salt
21.8g carb total. I divide into 6 portions at 3.6g carb per portion.
Method:
Zest the lemons into a bowl. Add the lemon juice, Splenda and sweetening syrup whisk using a stick blender or whisk. Add the cream, milk and salt and whisk as much air in as you can. Pour mixture into ice-cream maker and freeze according to your machine’s instructions.
Amazing low-carb chocolate ice-cream
Ingredients:
300ml whipping cream (7.8g carb)
150ml full-fat milk (6.8g carb)
3 egg yolks (1.5g carb)
30g 85% dark chocolate cut into small pieces (6.3g carb)
12g cocoa powder (1.3g carb)
5g Powdered Splenda (4.7g carb)
1Tbs daVinci sugar-free sweetening syrup (0g carb)
1Tbs daVinci sugar-free chocolate syrup (0g carb)
½ tsp vanilla extract (0g carb)
Pinch of salt
28.4g carb total. I divide into 6 portions at 4.7g carb per portion.
Method:
In a medium pan, heat half the cream with the cocoa whisking constantly until smooth. Remove from heat when the cream is very hot but not boiling. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Stir in the remaining cream. Pour into a large bowl. Using the same saucepan, heat the milk, Splenda and salt until warm (not hot). Remove from heat. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Pour the warm milk into the egg yolks whisking constantly. Pour the milk/egg yolk mixture back into the pan and heat, stirring constantly and scraping the mixture from the bottom of the pan, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Remove from heat. (Do not let the mixture boil – if it does, you will make scrambled eggs instead of custard!) Pour the custard into the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Stir in the sweetening and chocolate syrups and the vanilla extract. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and allow to cool. When it is cool enough, put it in the fridge (preferable overnight) and allow to go completely cold. Once cold, pour the custard into your ice-cream maker and freeze according to your machine’s instructions.
Well, that's it for now. I'll add some more recipes another time.
Smidge
Well, many people have asked me for low-carb ice-cream recipes, and I haven't found the time to post any - until now! So apologies for that. This is a long post, but I hope you all enjoy the recipes and that it's been worth the wait
Types of ice-cream
OK, so there are two basic types of ice-cream; a simple uncooked version (with or without raw egg yolk) and a cooked version based on an egg custard which can be cooked on the hob or in the microwave. They can both be made low-carb and are both delicious. Most recipes can be made either way. The cooked custard method is richer, gives a smoother, creamier consistency and keeps better but is a bit of a faff, while the uncooked method is simpler, quicker and requires less advance planning, but can go a little powdery in the freezer. The choice is yours.
A few notes
Home-made ice-cream freezes harder than commercial ice-cream. As far as I know, there is no way around this as it is not possible to get the same amount of air into the mixture at home. You’ll have to get used to taking the ice-cream out of the freezer 10 minutes before you want to serve it. Sorry.
Fat content is really important in ice-cream making. Too much fat causes the ice-cream to go powdery; too little fat allows large ice crystals to develop and makes the ice-cream icy. UK whipping cream is around 36% fat content and this is perfect. UK double-cream is around 45-50% fat content and is a little high. If you’re going to use double-cream it is best to dilute it a bit by adding one part full-fat milk to two parts double-cream. (e.g 200ml double-cream mixed with 100ml full-fat milk to make 300ml whipping cream). Where a recipe calls for milk, you should use full-fat milk.
Alcohol can be added to ice-cream for flavour (e.g. liqueurs, rum etc), but it does not freeze so if you add more than a small amount, your ice-cream will not freeze. You have been warned!
Ice-cream is smoother if you add egg yolk which acts as an emulsifier. However, I don’t like eating raw egg, so I only use egg in the cooked custard version. If you’re happy to eat raw egg, try adding a couple of beaten egg yolks to the uncooked version.
I use Splenda to sweeten the ice-cream. You can probably use any sweetner, but I haven’t tried any others. Powdered splenda does impact my blood glucose, so I keep the quantities of it small and use daVinci sugar-free syrups for extra sweetness (which you can buy from the Low-carb Megastore).
I don’t like my ice-cream sickly-sweet, so you might find you need more sweetner than I use in the following recipes.
OK, enough waffle. Here goes:
Basic low-carb vanilla
Ingredients:
300ml whipping cream (7.8g carb)
150ml full-fat milk (6.8g carb)
5g Powdered Splenda (4.7g carb)
2Tbs daVinci sugar-free vanilla syrup (0g carb)
½ tsp vanilla extract (0g carb)
19.3g carb total. I divide into 6 portions at 3.2g carb per portion.
Method:
Stir all ingredients together and whisk with a stick blender or whisk to get as much air in the mixture as possible. Pour mixture into ice-cream maker and freeze according to your machine’s instructions.
Custard-style low-carb vanilla
Ingredients:
300ml whipping cream (7.8g carb)
150ml full-fat milk (6.8g carb)
3 large egg yolks (1.5g carb)
5g Powdered Splenda (4.7g carb)
2Tbs daVinci sugar-free vanilla syrup (0g carb)
½ tsp vanilla extract (0g carb)
20.8g carb total. I divide into 6 portions at 3.5g carb per portion.
Method:
In a medium saucepan, heat the milk, powdered splenda and half the cream until warm. Remove from heat. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks whisking constantly. Pour the whole lot back into the saucepan and heat, stirring constantly and scraping the mixture from the bottom of the pan, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Remove from heat. (Do not let the mixture boil – if it does, you will make scrambled eggs instead of custard!) Put the remaining half of the cream into a large bowl and pour the custard into it, stirring until smooth. Stir in the vanilla syrup and vanilla extract. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and allow to cool. When it is cool enough, put it in the fridge (preferable overnight) and allow to go completely cold. Once cold, pour the custard into your ice-cream maker and freeze according to your machine’s instructions.
Adding flavours:
The above recipes form the basis of many different flavour ice-creams. You can create fruit ripple ice-cream by pureeing fruit with a little splenda and using a skewer to ripple it through the vanilla ice-cream when it comes out of your machine, before putting it in the freezer. Raspberries, strawberries, blackberries all work well, as does stewed rhubarb. You’ll need to add in the carbs. For a mint ice-cream, replace the vanilla syrup with daVinci sugar-free sweetening syrup and replace the vanilla extract with peppermint extract. If you can tolerate the carbs, cut 30g of 85% dark chocolate into very small pieces and mix with the mint ice-cream when it comes out of your machine, before putting it in the freezer (Adds 6.3g carb to the total or 1.5g carb per portion if divided into 6 portions). The possibilities are endless!
Here’s another couple of recipes:
Wonderful low-carb lemon ice-cream
Ingredients:
300ml whipping cream (7.8g carb)
150ml full-fat milk (6.8g carb)
5g Powdered Splenda (4.7g carb)
2Tbs daVinci sugar-free sweetening syrup (0g carb)
Zest and juice of two lemons (about 2.5g carb)
Pinch of salt
21.8g carb total. I divide into 6 portions at 3.6g carb per portion.
Method:
Zest the lemons into a bowl. Add the lemon juice, Splenda and sweetening syrup whisk using a stick blender or whisk. Add the cream, milk and salt and whisk as much air in as you can. Pour mixture into ice-cream maker and freeze according to your machine’s instructions.
Amazing low-carb chocolate ice-cream
Ingredients:
300ml whipping cream (7.8g carb)
150ml full-fat milk (6.8g carb)
3 egg yolks (1.5g carb)
30g 85% dark chocolate cut into small pieces (6.3g carb)
12g cocoa powder (1.3g carb)
5g Powdered Splenda (4.7g carb)
1Tbs daVinci sugar-free sweetening syrup (0g carb)
1Tbs daVinci sugar-free chocolate syrup (0g carb)
½ tsp vanilla extract (0g carb)
Pinch of salt
28.4g carb total. I divide into 6 portions at 4.7g carb per portion.
Method:
In a medium pan, heat half the cream with the cocoa whisking constantly until smooth. Remove from heat when the cream is very hot but not boiling. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Stir in the remaining cream. Pour into a large bowl. Using the same saucepan, heat the milk, Splenda and salt until warm (not hot). Remove from heat. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Pour the warm milk into the egg yolks whisking constantly. Pour the milk/egg yolk mixture back into the pan and heat, stirring constantly and scraping the mixture from the bottom of the pan, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Remove from heat. (Do not let the mixture boil – if it does, you will make scrambled eggs instead of custard!) Pour the custard into the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Stir in the sweetening and chocolate syrups and the vanilla extract. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and allow to cool. When it is cool enough, put it in the fridge (preferable overnight) and allow to go completely cold. Once cold, pour the custard into your ice-cream maker and freeze according to your machine’s instructions.
Well, that's it for now. I'll add some more recipes another time.
Smidge
