Ice cream recipe with sweetened condensed milk

Le sigh. It’s summer time, and all I want is creamy, sweet dairy desserts all up in my face. But do you know how impossible it is to find ice cream that doesn’t contain allergens in its processing? Trying to avoid corn and soy in ice cream is like trying to find an albino cow. There’s probably one out there, but I sure ’nuff don’t know where it is!

I know I shouldn’t have expected anything else, but I was still very disappointed that there were no ice creams out there for poor ol’ me! So, I did as I’ve learned to do while navigating life with these allergies, I decided to try to figure out how I could make my own. My disappointment turned to dismay when I realized that most recipes to make homemade simple vanilla ice cream require an ice cream maker, which I don’t own and don’t have the kitchen space to accommodate! ! Nothing against canned sweetened condensed milk, but I know the stuff contains a ton of ingredients I surely can’t eat!

Why was this such a problem? Well, once upon a time, I was an ice cream ADDICT. It was a serious problem. I’d always loved ice cream as a child, but in college, it became an addiction. I ate ice cream because it was rainy, ice cream because it was sunny, and ice cream because it was winter. I ate ice cream when I had a late night studying at the library, ice cream because I had a Saturday to myself, or ice cream because I needed a balanced meal in between extracurricular activities. Yes, you guys, chocolate covered waffle cone pieces + caramel swirl + vanilla ice cream totally = a balanced meal.

I looooved me some ice cream pints. My sophomore and junior years of college I lived right across the street from the local Wawa, and I must have gone there 3 or 4 (…or 5) times a week to get a pint. I could down those babies in 15 minutes, no regrets. I might have even been caught by my roommate double fisting it once.

Yes, those were the wild college days…

Well, my dear, dear friends, I am pleased to share with you that I can now have that all back! Okay, maybe not exactly because I’ve learned moderation (and also waistline restriction). But, joy of all joys, I have found an ice cream recipe that needs no ice cream maker and asks for no sweetened condensed milk! Oh blessed is the day! And it’s actually crazy easy to make. Make a meringue, whip up some cream, and fold the two together with egg yolks and vanilla bean. But actually; it’s that easy.

And what you get is a creamy, fluffy, 4-ingredient ice cream that is just beautiful and wonderful and makes the world a sunny, sweet, better place. It’s perfect enjoyed alone, but I plan to experiment with a slew of recipes featuring this ice cream and a few variations!

In the meantime, howsabout that surprise topping…

Yep! That’s what you think it is! Extra-virgin olive oil drizzled on top of vanilla ice cream. Top it off with a generous sprinkle of sea salt and you have a surprisingly perfect dessert!

It’s not wildly surprising, what with all the salty-sweet desserts lately in the culinary world. So don’t you look at me like I’m cray-cray! You try it, and see if it doesn’t blow your mind too!

Easy, No-Churn Vanilla Bean Ice Cream without Sweetened Condensed Milk

Ingredients

• 4 eggs from pastured hens (or best possible quality of eggs you can get), separated
• 1/3 heaping cup sugar
• 1 cup + 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon heavy cream
• scrapings of one vanilla bean + 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (if you don't have vanilla beans, increase vanilla to 1 teaspoon)

Instructions

1. Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer. Whip on medium-high speed until thick and peaks form when the whisk attachment is removed.
2. Add the sugar to the beaten egg whites and continue to whip until well combined.
3. In a large bowl, whip the cream until it's thick and peaks form when the beaters (or whisk) are removed from the cream.
4. With a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream, egg yolks, and vanilla beans and extract into the meringue (egg whites and sugar) mixture until no steaks of any color can be seen.
5. Pour the ice cream mixture into a plastic container and freeze for at least 4 hours.