I have fallen hard for this no-churn method for making ice cream. No churn means no ice cream maker, and living in a small apartment with a kitchen the size of a bathroom, I've never sprung on an ice cream maker in fear of where I'd store it during the colder months. But I love ice cream.
This is a dessert made for anyone who lives for a good workaround in the kitchen. Prepping these ice creams literally takes 10 minutes–max. For each batch (the size of a 9-x-5" loaf pan), all you need to do is whip 2 cups heavy cream on high for about 3 minutes, then stir in 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk (the key to these shortcut scoops) and 1 tsp. vanilla extract.
That's your base for vanilla—unbelievable, I know—but if you want to play with flavors, now's the time. You have so much freedom here: Crushed cookies, cookie dough, chopped chocolate, your favorite gummy candy, fresh or frozen fruit (I tried both and they worked equally great), nuts, sprinkles, leftover cupcakes, and more.
I experimented with Oreos, Heath, fresh strawberries, frozen peaches, Nutella, yellow cake mix, sprinkles, nuts, and pound cake (highly recommend this one). After you stir in your mix-ins, pour the mixture into a loaf pan and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours. Do keep in mind that no churn also means no stabilization, so this isn't the kind of ice cream you can let sit out for 15 minutes to soften. It melts quickly, so scoop yourself some and put it back in the freezer stat.
For the following ice creams, use the base recipe above, then stir in these mix-ins before freezing:
No-Churn Ice Cream 6 Ways
(Note: You can also chop strawberries and stir them in, but if you want the pink color of strawberry ice cream, puree the fruit.)
Base recipe + 1 cup roughly chopped Oreos
Base recipe + 1 cup Nutella
Base recipe + 1 cup toasted almonds + 3 chopped Heath Bars
Base recipe + 1/2 cup yellow cake mix + 1 cup rainbow sprinkles
