How to Make Low Carb Ice Cream for Memorial Day

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This guest post comes to us courtesy of Carolyn from All Day I Dream About Food.

When the good folks at FaveHealthyRecipes asked me to do a guest post in honor of Memorial Day, my mind drifted instantly to ice cream as a way to kick of the warm weather season.   I love making my own ice cream, and it’s even more important to me now that I am a diabetic.  This way, I can control the amount of carbs and still enjoy the best treat of the summer.  I’ve made a lot of varieties of low carb ice cream for my blog All Day I Dream About Food, and I’ve learned a lot along the way.  I thought I would share some low carb ice cream making tips with you, as well as a new recipe for Peanut Butter Ice Cream.

Because sugar has anti-freezing properties, low carb ice cream recipes have a tendency to get icy and freeze very hard when in the freezer for longer than a few hours.  But there are ways to offset the iciness and get a dreamy, creamy consistency:

• The higher the fat content, the more creamy the ice cream.   I lean towards using full cream, which makes it so rich that a small portion is enough to satisfy.

• You can use non-dairy substitutes for milk and cream, but be aware of their fat content.  Regular coconut milk has a high enough fat content to reduce iciness, but almond milk is low in fat.  If I use almond milk, I typically combine it with something higher in fat.

•  A custard base with lots of egg yolks makes for a creamier consistency, but too many egg yolks and your ice cream may taste “eggy”.  I typically use 4 egg yolks, but sometimes up to 6.

• A little alcohol never hurts.    Alcohol has anti-freezing properties which help keep your ice cream softer in the freezer, and just a few tablespoons will suffice.  Vodka is a good choice if you don’t want to taste the alcohol in your ice cream.  This trick is useful for sorbets as well, as anything with fruit tends to get very icy.

• Xanthan or Guar Gum will help thicken the base before churning, and a thicker base means a softer end result.   I tried this for the first time in my new Peanut Butter Ice Cream and it really worked.

• The addition of chocolate and cocoa powder make a thicker base than plain vanilla, and help keep the ice cream smooth.  One of my best recipes to date had a rich, dark chocolate base that stayed relatively soft in the fridge.

• Be sure to store any leftover ice cream in an airtight container with plastic wrap pressed flush to the surface, to keep ice and freezer burn at bay.

So please check out my latest ice cream recipe.  This was one was definitely a winner!

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