I Scream for Ice Cream

So, you may have caught on to the fact that I like to cook, bake, and just do things with food in general. Especially the eating part. For Christmas last year I got an ice cream maker. It's the most amazing thing ever, and it's so easy. I don't have to worry about ice and salt and the mess that comes along with all that. This ice cream maker has a bowl that you freeze in the freezer and then when you add the ice cream mixture the machine just mixes it and the cold bowl freezes the ice cream. It's clean, simple, and it only takes about 20-30 minutes. This is the one I have. The only draw back is that it is small, 2 quarts, so for a large family, or a big lover of ice cream, this one might not make enough. I've had a lot of fun experimenting with different recipes. So far I've made Chocolate, Vanilla, Cherry Garcia, Strawberry Cheesecake, and Cake Batter ice cream. I've also made Red Raspberry gellato. And there are still so many I want to try. I think my favorite have been the Strawberry Cheesecake and the Cake Batter, (very close to Coldstone's), so I thought I'd put the recipes on here for anyone that wants to try. You can make these with any ice cream maker you want, mine is just better.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream:

• 8 ounces cream cheese


• 1/2 cup sugar


• 1 tablespoon lemon juice


• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla


• 1-2 cup fresh chopped strawberries


• 1 cup half-and-half

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Chill ingredients for about an hour, (I usually skip this step and it turns out just fine). Pour into ice cream maker and turn it on. If you're using an ice cream maker like mine it only takes 25-30 minutes.

Cake Batter Ice Cream

• 1 cup whole milk, well chilled


• 1/2 cup sugar


• 2 cups heavy cream, well chilled


• 1 teaspoon vanilla


• 1 cup cake mix, (I used butter recipe yellow, but I'm sure you could use any cake mix, I might try the rainbow sprinkles one.)

Mix the milk, sugar, vanilla, and cake mix in a bowl. Once the sugar is dissolved and there are no lumps from the cake mix, add the heavy cream and stir. Pour mixture into ice cream maker. Again, it only takes 25-30 minutes for me.

Enjoy!