Finally Dipping into Making Keto Ice Cream

(Central Florida Bob ) #1

I’ve mentioned before before that I’ve gotten several pints of Rebel ice cream but eventually decided I wanted to make my own.

Why? First was that $6/pint seemed a lot for a treat. Second was that there really wasn’t a flavor I went for. I liked their Cherry Chip except for the chocolate chips which felt like little slivers of ceramic. If it was cherry vanilla with a couple of diced cherries in there, I’d probably like it better.

After a lot of research on ice cream makers, after reading a half dozen reviews online, I went with the kind where you freeze the bowl and the machine just stirs it.

My first attempt was basically a recipe for plain vanilla out of the Cuisinart manual except as noted:

1 cup whole milk - I used half and half
2 cups heavy cream (both ingredients were organic)
3/4 cup sugar - I used the Splenda that measures like sugar.
pinch kosher salt
1-2 tsp vanilla extract

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In the machine.

It is hard straight from overnight in the freezer, but it softens quickly. Even the Rebel is hard when you first open the pint out of the freezer. When I bought sugared ice cream, I tended toward the brands with a few simple ingredients and I see no reason not to do that with my own recipes.

I think the next experiment will be to use the same recipe but replace Splenda with erythritol. Or a similar simple ice cream with erythritol.

(Susan) #2

That looks delicious, Bob. I have tried to make Keto icecream a few times and it hasn’t worked for me yet. I guess it is because I don’t have a good processor or an ice cream maker (even though the recipes I have tried tell me I don’t need one, they still have not turned out for me).

(Central Florida Bob ) #3

I used to have the hand cranked kind, it might have been my parents’ machine 50 years ago, where you layer ice and salt to drop the temperature of a container immersed in the icy saltwater. Very messy. I started out looking for one of the more modern kind that has a compressor built in. The most recommended one was also Cuisinart, but at $170 it’s more than 4x the price of this. A couple of reviewers said they’re good, but they don’t make ice cream that’s better than these. Add in that they’re bigger, and louder. For better ice cream, you have to go into the $700 price class.

These are really good considering how simple they are. If you buy the Rebel Creamery ice cream like I was, I think the savings on ingredients will pay for this in 10 weeks.

(Sheri Knauer) #4

Ive been making keto ice cream for a few years now and this cookbook is a great resource: https://carriebrown.com/keto-ice-cream-scoop-cookbook

This is also a great recipe. Easy and really good https://carriebrown.com/archives/25863

#5

If you’re not afraid of Xylitol it makes the best ice cream. I’ve never been able to get the perfect set and smooth creaminess (as well as correct flavor) with anything else. Second best I’ve pulled off is a granular splenda with a little erythritol but still wasn’t the same. Surprisingly even allulose didn’t perform as well as I’d like, though it was going to be just like sugar.

(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #6

I made my first keto icecream the other day with just frozen blueberries blended with HWC. It was awesome. I’m looking forward to raspberry season to see if that works. I could do strawberries now :thinking:

Of course flavors are far more limited than with the fancy recipes. But I bet I could throw in some unsweetened cocoa powder.

(Central Florida Bob ) #7

Thanks for the links @Sheri_Knauer. I’ve given some thought to Carrie’s book but haven’t bought it yet. Another thread here listed her recipes by what sort of (searching for a word) alternative milks they use, like hemp milk used in the peanut butter recipe. I’d rather avoid almond milk or those others. I’m going to get the most I can out of the least ingredients, like HWC and half and half in this one, before I go down that road. I’m sure her recipes must turn out good, since she’s a professional, but when I bought sugared ice creams (20 years ago?), I’d buy the ones with the fewest ingredients and that’s what I’m interested in recreating.

We finished the first batch of ice cream last night. I left it on the counter for 15 minutes before serving and it really was very easy to scoop and serve. Very much like the Bryer’s vanilla I used to buy way back when, except I’m sure it was higher fat.

@lfod14, I have a pound of xylitol to experiment with, although erythritol is my usual sweetener. I need to compare those. Maybe make two batches, side by side, and sweeten one with each.

I ordered some cherry extract and have some frozen cherries to try a cherry vanilla. So many experiments and so little time!

(Central Florida Bob ) #8

EASY COFFEE ICE CREAM
1 cup brewed coffee, brought to room temperature
1 pint heavy cream
1 cup Splenda powder “measures like sugar” or equivalent sweetener you prefer
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix in bowl or container capable of holding 1 quart. Refrigerate overnight or until 1/2 hour before
attempting to make the ice cream. 1/2 hour before starting, place mix in freezer to drop its
temperature further.

(Central Florida Bob ) #9

Now that it’s done, don’t do this one. The texture is too full of ice crystals, probably from the water in the coffee. Maybe less volume but stronger coffee. Or some sort of extract. More research!

Because, after all, even the failures aren’t just edible, they’re pretty good!

(Lisa Stevens) #10

I’ve seen ice crystals when I didn’t completely cool my custard before putting it in the ice cream freezer. Adding a little vodka helps the consistency as well.

(Lisa Stevens) #11

This is my favorite ice cream recipe.
I add a couple ounces of vodka and have played around with different sweeteners. It’s a good base recipe.
https://www.myketokitchen.com/keto-recipes/keto-ice-cream-low-carb-chocolate/

(Central Florida Bob ) #12

Thanks, Lisa.

I had the cream/coffee mix in the freezer for a half hour or 40 minutes and it was starting to develop ice on the top and the sides. It froze pretty fast in the ice cream maker, but I always heard faster freezing gives smaller crystals. I haven’t tried the vodka or other tricks, yet.

I think the next batch is going to be cherry vanilla. Maybe today, if I get the chance.

(Lisa Stevens) #13

Here’s another recipe I tried for pumpkin ice cream. https://www.atkins.com/recipes/pumpkin-ice-cream/2118

(Central Florida Bob ) #14

I finally got a chance to make something I can almost say I bought the ice cream maker for. Cherry Vanilla with diced Bing cherries in it. I searched online for a French vanilla and found a novel way of making it that didn’t require heating and tempering egg yolks. Yes, they’re raw, just like the eggs in the mayonnaise I make. Being frozen except when you eat it has to be safer than the mayo - which we toss if it gets to be a week old.

2 large eggs, whole
1 cup half and half
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup Swerve Confectioner’s Sugar (xylitol may be substituted 1:1)
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cherry extract

added after ice cream maker, before freezer
1/2 cup frozen cherries, no sugar, diced

In a 1-1/2 qt bowl whisk eggs for 2-3 minutes until as fluffy as they get.
Whisk in Swerve and 1/4 tsp xanthan gum until fully blended.
Add 1 cup half and half, 1 pint container of HWC, cherry and vanilla extract. Whisk
until well blended. Chill in freezer for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes before pouring into chilled
ice cream maker. When “soft serve” texture pour into freezing container, mixing in
chopped cherries. Freeze three hours or more before serving.

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(Between the ice cream maker and the freezer for the first time)

Note that while this adds up to a quart, it’s about the limit for what the 1-1/2 quart ice cream maker can freeze. My bag of frozen cherries said a serving was 140 grams or 1 cup and had 25 grams of carb, 3 grams fiber. I measured out half that (actually 72 grams) so the entire recipe has 12.5 grams of carb (from the cherries) in it.

Made this yesterday and tried it last night after 4 hours in my freezer. It tasted great, but was softer in some places and harder in others. It just hadn’t frozen completely. I had a few teaspoons and put it away until tonight. It seemed solid and hard right out of the freezer, but five minutes later served very easily and was a treat. Best texture of my three batches of ice cream. My wife and I both loved it.

EDIT 1/12 2:30PM

I made a second batch just like this except for a cup of frozen raspberries instead of cherries, and noticed I had written down the wrong amount of xanthan gum; 1/2 teaspoon when in reality it’s 1/4 or less. The xanthan gum dramatically affects texture; here with 1/4 teaspoon in close to 1-1/2 quarts of mix.

(Jessica Sullivan) #15

I would think an espresso shot would work better. Less water, same amount of coffee. I’m going to get into it

(Central Florida Bob ) #16

Exactly what we’ve been saying. That will be the experiment this week.

(PJ) #17

For some reason that makes it sound very difficult! :smiley: I have found that heavy cream with an appropriate sweetener, vanilla and optionally fruit or spice works great. I have no ice cream maker.

Note: a sweetener that includes allulose is good, for texture. But: a sweetener that will properly dissolve is most important as you don’t want it to be sandy in the result. This is a recipe where Xylitol would be good (I haven’t tried it personally) as its “cooling” effect would not do harm and might even do good.

I have a couple ice cream recipes with pictures on my journal thread –

Pumpkin Spice
https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/pjs-n-1-experiment-journal-and-ramblings/83825/242?u=rightnow

Raspberry
https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/pjs-n-1-experiment-journal-and-ramblings/83825/232?u=rightnow

This one was just cream, vanilla bean paste, and the HighKey that is a blend of erythritol, stevia, monkfruit, and allulose:

Hat tip: I got the simple mason jar recipe idea from this adorable young youtube vlogger:

Also PS: for the way I make the above, freezing the cream afterward for about 3-4 hours is best. Then let it thaw about 15 minutes before you start eating. But eat promptly because it melts fast. :slight_smile:

(Central Florida Bob ) #18

Thanks, PJ. I’ve seen people talk about making the mason jar ice cream before but never tried it.

I admit to being a gadget freak, and that includes kitchen gadgets. Someone here recommended an ice cream maker with a built in compressor and since that’s something that’s complex, heavy and expensive it appealed to me. :crazy_face: Then I did a bit more research which led me to the lowest cost level ice cream makers there are because - this is the important part - the big, heavy ones with the compressor don’t make ice cream any better than these $40 ones do according to the reviews online.

I haven’t tried allulose at all, but I find the Swerve confectioner’s sugar blend dissolved in the cold mix very well. The regular, granular erythritol I have here all the time leaves that sandy, gritty texture you describe. I’ve seen somebody say to throw the granular kind into the blender for a while and you reduce the grit to the powder like the confectioner’s sugar and save a bundle on costs. Swerve is 64 cents/oz in the package I’ve been getting, while the bulk erythritol I buy is about 27 cts/oz.

(Susan) #19

I’m not sure if I’m allowed to mention products, but since you mentioned the ice cream maker, here goes for the BEST flavors I’ve found. Torani has been around for a long time flavoring coffee and alcoholic drinks. They now make sugar free versions of everything. I’m from Hawaii and LOVE the coconut flavoring for ice cream that is mostly HWC, sweetener and flavoring. The recipe I use also calls for a little coconut oil. They also have mango and peach and raspberry and… I’ve started adding their cinnamon and brown sugar flavoring to my coconut flour chocolate chip cookies and they taste more like the ‘real thing’ with flour.

(Central Florida Bob ) #20

snip!

Thanks for that Susan! I don’t know the brand at all, and I’m a bit puzzled about extracts vs. syrups and how that would work out but this is all experimentation. Do you use similar amounts, like a teaspoon or two?

I’m a bit cautious about mentioning brands, too, but for example here’s the cherry extract I used. I bought this because my grocery store didn’t have this flavor in McCormack or their own brand.