Anyone make Carrie Brown's ice creams?

(m) #1

This is going to include some ice cream related questions and maybe some ranting.

I bought her newest book (digital download, rather), and replaced my ice cream maker with a Cuisinart that she recommends after several failures with my Hamilton Beach one. (I don’t think the problem with the machine was the recipe I was using, but rather my ice cream seizing up the machine so it couldn’t finish churning)

I made the butter pecan ice cream recipe, cause it seemed just about the simplest, and I had (or could easily procure) all the ingredients. I also wanted to try that recipe because it was the same flavour I had been trying to make and failing with in my old machine. I think I shouldn’t have made that flavour cause I think it just brought up old angry feelings from all my failed batches and maybe that’s why I’m being overly critical of it! Haha

Anyways… I guess the flavour is good, but there seems to be a sliminess to it. (ie: you lift up your spoon and get a trail of what looks like a spit-string). I’m wondering why that might be. The only “different” thing I used that I’m not used to (as per her demands for specific ingredients) was guar gum.

Another question: she’s quite adament that you use xylitol and NOTHING else. I’m wondering what really could go wrong there. It’s pretty soft right out of the freeezer, and I wouldn’t be opposed to it being a little harder.

There’s a recipe which is supposed to be a knock-off Cherry Garcia, but it calls for a “can of sour cherries”. I have no idea what these are and I’m 99% sure I’ve never seen such a thing. (Canada… maybe that’s the problem). Think I could just use some real fresh cherries or even frozen black cherries?!

Does it drive anyone else nuts how many recipes you need to make at least 1 or 2 other recipes just to use as “mix-ins” into your ice cream?! I mean, they all look amazing, but … geesh!

Also: no nutritional info at all?! I always enter recipes from websites into MFP on my own, using the particular brands, etc that I use, but it would be nice to know if ice cream I’m looking at and dreaming of is gonna be around 3 carbs per serving… or 10!

rant over!

Best Keto Ice Cream -- please post recipes / links
(Brad) #2

I too have the ice cream book. I also didn’t have all the ingredients on my first batch, which was edible but not a success.
Follow the recipe to the letter, letting it sit in the freezer overnight really helps with the consistency and flavor.
If you use a thickener besides guar gum it can get slimy. Also any other sugar substitute will make it set like a rock…trust me.
The peanut butter is awesome. I make an additional strawberry and xylitol sauce…taste like a PB&J

(m) #3

Yeah leaving it in the freezer after churning definitely helped. I was surprised how soft it was after that long in the freezer! I did use the guar gum and found I got the sliminess :frowning:

(Retta Stephenson) #4

I’ve been trying to get the hang of a truly good sugar free ice cream for years. So after reading all the glowing reviews about Carrie Brown’s book, I bought it. I rounded up all the ingredients, since like you said, she insisted you NOT substitute. And I was slightly annoyed, also, at all the steps: make this before you can make that… and then after all that, it has to sit overnight in the fridge…

I finally made my first one. It was… weird. Followed her recipe exactly. To. The. Letter. And yes, I did notice the slightly goo effect, and how it never truly set to the right consistency. But the most disappointing part, after all the time and expense put in, was the flavor and texture. Not that great, in my opinion.

Bottomline:

  1. I wasted money buying the book
  2. Didn’t taste all that great
  3. Too complicated, with many “pre” steps
  4. Wrong final consistency

I’m back to my old recipes gathered off the internet over the years. Found a couple that work better, with better flavor and silky mouthfeel. I also invested in a new ice cream machine, since I found that making sugar free ice cream just takes longer, and my little Cuisinart would not stay cold enough, long enough. I really like it, and just today made a Pistachio Nut ice cream that actually turned out terrific, but took almost 50 minutes before the magic happened. So, yay for my new machine. :smiley:

(I want abs... olutely all the bacon) #5

@obeybacon Carrie Brown is very responsive in the Ketovangelist Kitchen FB group when people post they are struggling with recipes, she may help you troubleshoot.

The sour cherries are lower in carbs, and available in the states, at least in the Midwest.They are in most grocery stores in WI, in the baking section with pie filling cans.

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Carrie Brown goes through in detail in her podcasts why she’s specific on when to use guar, xantham, and glucomannan… and other ingredients. I respect her view on not providing macros, but it’s a long podcast to get through on the topic.

(m) #6

Do you recall which podcast that was?

I suppose some day I’ll get past it and know that it is nice to not have nutritionals in there and just being able to trust that the recipes are all keto.

And yeah, as much as I try to avoid FB, I just joined that group to try to get some insight.

(Sheri Knauer) #7

Ive been making ice creams from both of the ice cream cookbooks for a few months and have had great results with every one. You don’t have to make the mix ins or get creative and put in some of your own mix ins. Like I made one of the coffee flavored ice creams from her first book and mixed in some toasted, buttered walnuts. I turned the vanilla into maple walnut by adding some maple extract and, again toasted buttered walnuts. I had some of the fudge ripple in the fridge and layered it in the container (after churning) with the peanut butter flavor.
She is very responsive and wants to help if someone is having an issue making the ice cream.

(m) #8

You better share that pistachio recipe, lady! :slight_smile:

(m) #9

Good to hear you’re having success with them! Do you ever find that sliminess to the final product?

What’s your fav recipe from her so far?

(Allie) #10

I bought the book (ebook like you) but haven’t made any of the recipes yet as they’re all way too involved for me. My cooking style is just not that complicated.

(Retta Stephenson) #11

Here ya go, @obeybacon.

I don’t have the link to the original recipe; my notes say “Briana’s ice cream”. I made some changes, but I’ll write the original, then note my changes.

Pistachio Low Carb Ice Cream
Makes 4 cups

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups pistachios
1 cup half and half
3 egg yolks
1 cup almond milk
2 cups heavy cream
½ cup sweetener (combination of xylitol, erythritol and stevia powder), adjust to taste
1 tsp glycerin (keeps the ice cream from getting rock hard)

My changes:
I didn’t have any almond milk, so used a 7.6 oz can of Nestle Table Cream instead.
I added 1 Tablespoon Pistachio Nut flavoring, from LorAnn’s Flavor Fountain. Bought on Amazon.

In a medium saucepan toast the pistachios over medium heat for about 5 minutes until they smell fragrant, stirring with a wooden spoon. Reduce the heat to low. Set aside ½ cup of the nuts.

Add the half and half. Heat until bubbles form around the edge of pan. Remove from heat, cover and steep for 30 minutes.

If you want to temper the egg yolks you can do that now by removing the rest of the nuts from the pan and then whisking the yolks into the warm half and half. Reheat over low, whisking frequently, until it thickens slightly. (I didn’t bother, just used the raw yolks.)

In a blender combine the 1 cup pistachios, half and half and rest of liquids, egg yolks, glycerin, any flavorings using, and sweetener. Blend until smooth.

Refrigerate until very cold.

Freeze in an ice cream machine according to manufacturers instructions. (It was a little thin, and in my machine took around 50 minutes).

During the last couple of minutes of churning, add the ½ cup toasted pistachios, or can just sprinkle on top when serving.
Enjoy!

https://smile.amazon.com/LorAnn-Oils-Raspberry-Blueberry-Fruit-Peach/dp/B00XT9HL24/ref=sr_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1502521494&sr=8-2&keywords=lorann's+flavor+fountain+flavorings+pistachio+nut

https://smile.amazon.com/Maggi-Media-Crema-Table-Cream/dp/B01M8O63ZP/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1502521570&sr=1-1&keywords=nestle+table+cream

(Rebecca) #12

I just bought the ebook today. I will have to gather all the ingredients, hopefully it won’t be to hard to get them in Australia.

(I want abs... olutely all the bacon) #13

It’s Episode 7 when Carrie talks about how she develops her recipes. I respect the point of view, but I’m not 100% in that macro camp

(Carey) #14

I literally just listened to the ice cream podcast last night and bought the ebook immediately after. I haven’t tried anything yet but, based on your input, will start with a mix-in-free recipe. She says that the science gets trickier with each ingredient and I am too lazy to do 3 recipes to complete 1 recipe (as you rant about). I will share my results once experiment 1.0 is complete. I know she is all about the xylitol but I guess you could experiment with another sweetener since you are already not thrilled with the consistency. Also, my exchange xantham gum for guar gum or visa versa? This is advice coming from someone who does NOT know the science of ice cream so I will be trying her strict advice first and then experimenting myself

(Roxanne) #15

I found the texture not quite right, either…a little slippery. I followed her receipt to the letter (made the vanilla bean one), procuring guar gum and xylitol. It still got very hard in the freezer, and i think I reacted to the xylitol (sudden increase in inflammation and a 3 pound weight gain), and hubby hasn’t finished eating it yet.

(Sheri Knauer) #16

I’ve never had the sliminess. So far my favorites are the butter pecan (from the first ice cream cookbook. I haven’t tried the one in the second book), and the last flavor I made which was the Ballistic Coffee but I layered in the fudge ripple sauce instead of the chocolate covered macadamia nuts

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(Michelle) #17

I did buy her first book. Finally got all the ingredients and made the cinnamon ice cream, since that seems pretty easy. It was delicious, but yes, was kind of goopy. I like goopy ice cream, so that worked for me. I ate the whole batch in like 3 sittings, so never made it again. Too much of a cheat for me, and I couldn’t portion it out.

Plus, I think xylitol has the most carbs in it, so I didn’t want to keep eating something too carby.

(Brad) #18

xylitol is all sugar alcohol just like erythritol. There is almost no difference.

#20

Allegedly erythritol-based custards will freeze harder than xylitol-based ones. I compensate for the freezing by adding a tbsp of vegetable glycerin to my bases. Seems to help a lot. I use powdered erythritol as my sweetener and didn’t want to buy any xylitol.

#21

I usually did quick ice cream recipes I found on alldayidreamaboutfood and ruled.me and had great success. Usually I used eggs as emulsifier and never heated my bases to dissolve the sweetener - too lazy. I would use equal parts heavy cream and almond milk, then add any other flavors and mix-ins from the standard base. I would also include xanthan gum and vegetable glycerin. I’ve had great success making these, but I wanted to try Carrie’s recipes as well.

I bought her book and tried the maple bacon crack first. Thought the bacon ripple was gross. The thick custard was also a bit weird but it turned out well after churning and letting freeze for a bit. I then tried the root beer float and thought it was just okay.

But then I got crazy with some of the mix-ins and tried the moose tracks, and the triple X zone. Thought these ice creams were awesome. Will definitely make them again, maybe even just the chocolate base the triple X zone had if I don’t want to make all the mix-ins. I think most recipes will be pretty good, some better than others. It was only they bacon ripple that I found to be gross. And I looove bacon. It was just that acv, gooey glaze the bacon sat in that was bleh.