Homemade ice cream

Preparing delicious ice creams and sorbets without artificial colours and preservatives is easier than you may think. Read on for some frozen inspiration…

Traditional ice cream

Ice cream in under 15 minutes

Tip of the month: Seasonal fruit

When fresh fruit is in season, it tastes better and offers more health benefits. Seasonal fruit that is allowed to ripen naturally is exposed to the sun longer, which makes it sweeter (so you need to add less sugar), and richer in antioxidants. Buy fruit at its best and freeze it in batches to use in a quick ice cream or sorbet when you fancy it. For more information about the benefits of summer berries and cherries, and some suggestions of how to use them, take a look at our article.

Berries and cherries

Fruity ice cream

Top tips for perfect ice cream

Freeze fruit in separate pieces: Cut fruit in pieces (if needed), spread out on a tray in a single layer and freeze. Use frozen fruit in a recipe, or transfer to a freezer bag for later use.

Reduce calories: Switch to sorbets! For fruit ice creams, use ripe fruit and reduce or omit the sugar. Replace the cream with yoghurt or milk, and the whole milk with low-fat milk.

Go dairy-free: Replace dairy ingredients with nut milk, rice milk, coconut milk, soya drink or soya yoghurt.

Make it smoother: Add an egg white or a ripe banana for a smoother texture, or insert the butterfly whisk and whip for a few seconds on speed 4.

Reduce ice crystals: For a softer consistency add sugar syrup, glucose, honey, golden syrup or alcohol. These are stabiliser ingredients, and they help to reduce ice crystals.

Store it well: Store ice cream or sorbet in shallow, freezer-proof containers and cover the surface with cling film. Place in the coldest part of the freezer as quickly as possible.

Alternative ice cream flavours

Create your own flavours

Try adding fresh fruit, chocolate, nuts, honeycomb, brittle, cookies or granola, or add different spices and herbs. You can also experiment with the way you serve your homemade ice cream; enjoy scoops in a cone, softly swirled into a sundae, or sandwiched between chocolate chip cookies to make an ice cream sandwich.

Ice cream toppings

Even better with ice cream...