Unbelievably Easy Ice Cream

By now, I am pretty sure most people have at least heard of No-Churn Ice Cream. My understanding is that it was invented by British chef Nigella Lawson, but I could be wrong on that. All I can say is, whoever invented it, it is pure genius. I'm embarrassed to say it took me nearly 2 years to get around to trying it out.
 

Salted Dulce de Leche No-Churn Ice Cream (served over Best Peach Crisp Ever)

My idea came about when my sister-in-law was having her house moved. Yes, they moved her house to a new lot! I'd never heard of such a thing until I came up to South Dakota, and as a matter of fact, the same house had been moved once before! But back to my sister-in-law... She had a couple of cans of sweetened condensed milk that were a couple of months past their expiration date. Since the cans were not puffed or distended, I said, "How about making Dulce de Leche?" This question got a resounding YES! And then, I got thinking about what I could make with it.  

Dulce de Leche Turtle Cheesecake

I have a most amazing cheesecake recipe, called Dulce de Leche Turtle Cheesecake. I made it when I first tried out making dulce de leche of my own, back in 2013. It was so good I nearly cried! And, while I could certainly have made that cheesecake again with complaints from no one, I thought about it some more and got wondering about ice cream. And in particular, that "no-churn" kind I had read about, so simple, yet never tried. 

Since the recipe, such as it is, calls for a base mix of one 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk and 2 cups of whipping cream, whipped . . . I wondered if it could possibly make any difference if the sweetened condensed milk was substituted with a can of sweetened condensed milk that was first turned into dulce de leche? I wanted to try it out. 

Also, since I am a huge fan of Talenti brand's Salted Caramel Gelato, I planned to make this ice cream salted. Not too salted, as my sister-in-law does not like to actually taste salt in her sweets, but just enough to make it interesting. 

Making Dulce de Leche

Dulce de Leche

If you haven't made dulce de leche before, it is simplicity itself. I make it in my slow cooker on low. First, remove labels from one or two cans of sweetened condensed milk. Lay them on their sides in a slow cooker and cover with water. Turn on low and leave it for 8 to 9 hours. Eight hours yields a slightly lighter caramel and nine hours a slightly darker caramel. This process can be started before going to bed, allowing it to slowly cook into amazing caramel-ly goodness overnight, or start it early in the morning, to be done by dinner. Either way, once the time is up, turn off the slow cooker, but leave the cans in the water to cool completely. Once cooled, write on the cans with an indelible pen the date and what is in the can(s). Voila. 

While there are other ways to accomplish this process, this method allows the dulce de leche, still sealed in its can, to be stored for a bit longer, until needed for your recipe, without pressure to have to use it up right away.  

The Salted Dulce de Leche No-Churn Ice Cream I made was just superb. 

Salted Dulce de Leche No-Churn Ice Cream

Makes one 9 x 5-inch pan worth

Salted Dulce de Leche No-Churn Ice Cream

1 can dulce de leche (above), cooled
2 teaspoons caramel flavor, or vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons Kosher salt
2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped

Pour the dulce de leche into a large bowl. Add in the caramel flavoring or vanilla extract and the salt and stir in. In a separate bowl, beat the whipping cream until just stiff. Fold the whipped cream into the dulce de leche until completely blended with no streaks remaining. Pour into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and set in the freezer to chill for at least 5 hours. If adding any flavoring pieces, such as chocolate or caramel chips or other add-ins, do this after two hours. The ice cream will have started setting but still be soft enough to fold.

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Once I tasted this ice cream, all sorts of possibilities came to mind. Mint Chocolate Chip has traditionally been my favorite ice cream (until I discovered the Talenti Salted Caramel Gelato), so for sure that will be one I must try. Our friend Rich, who loves all things chocolate, would be one to try out chocolate no-churn ice cream for. I love coffee flavor also, so that will be another I want to try, but not while my sister-in-law is in residence, as she does not drink coffee or eat anything coffee flavored.  So I have a list of ideas for future flavors of this amazingly creamy ice cream. The fact that it is so easy to make makes it doubly (or triply) dangerous 😀.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.