There is no reason why any of us should have to avoid enjoying the simple pleasures in life such as a creamy vanilla ice-cream on a hot summer’s day. For some, this seems impossible, as most bought ice-cream is full of artificial flavours, stabilizers and the likes. But actually, making your own creamy, sugar-free vanilla ice-cream at home is really easy.
Sugar-Free Options for Your Vanilla Ice-cream
I love stevia, and honestly, in this sugar-free vanilla ice-cream recipe one uses so little that the flavour doesn’t come through too much. Plus, the cream itself is generally quite sweet already. So if you dont have much of a sweet tooth, or if your tastebuds have adapted to a less sugary diet, you may not even need to add any sweetness.
It is also important to note that different brands of stevia powder have different intensities. 1/4 teaspoon of the one I use equals the sweetness of about 1.5 teaspoon of sugar. So you can adjust accordingly. Also remember, things do tend to become less sweet when they are cold. So once you have tried your first batch and tasted it after freezing, you can adjust the amount of sweetener you use from there.
On a different note, if you eat honey, it adds an entirely new and totally divine flavour option. Simply adding 2-3 teaspoons of honey in place of the stevia will work wonders. And if you want to play around with different tastes, try adding a little cinnamon to your mix. About 1 teaspoon does It for me.
Remember to Churn Your Ice-cream
Churning is definitely a necessary step in the process. Being me, the first time around I tried to skip out on churning. All that ended up happening was that my sugar-free vanilla ice-cream froze as a solid block. So I had to wait for it to melt a fair amount before being able to eat it. Which in turn meant that it had to be finished in one go because refreezing is not ideal. Luckily I had help! On that note, once served, this ice-cream does tend to melt a bit faster than the shop-bought stuff. So if serving in a cone, remind your diners not to dally too much with it.
Also, should you want to add any crunchy bits, such as chocolate chips or smarties, I advise chopping them up into relatively small pieces before adding. These goodies tend to go rock hard when frozen so are best in small bits.
All that could make this beautiful ice-cream even yummier is some custard! So here is an equally easy-to-make sugar-free custard recipe. The best part is that you need egg yolks for it, so you can get good use out of your eggs if you make them at the same time!
Homemade Sugar-Free Vanilla Ice-cream
Ingredients
- 1 litre Fresh Cream
- 2 Egg Whites
- 1/4 tsp Vanilla Essence
- 1/4 tsp Stevia Powder
Instructions
- Whip the egg whites until they are stiff and forming peaks. Be careful not to overwhip as they will flatten again.
- Whip the fresh cream until stiff.
- Fold the whipped eggs whites, vanilla and stevia into the cream.
- Place into a freezable container. Freeze, taking it out every half an hour or so to churn. You should only need to churn about three times.
- Leave to freeze for another 2-3 hours.