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.

Quick and Easy No Bake Pie

In general, I am not known for "quick and easy" recipes. I like unusual ingredients, new spices most have never heard of, and unusual combinations. For these reasons I really get into Indian cooking.

Still, on occasion, I just want something quick and easy. I also get tired of cooking at times, or just lack inspiration. 

No-Bake Cheesecake Pie

Long, long ago, when I lived in Guatemala, I did not have the sheer volume of spices (though I did have quite a few, plus herbs growing in the garden), or the availability of foods as they are today. When you come down to it, we didn't have internet, nor even a phone, much less a cell phone or gasp! a Smart Phone. We still played 45 or LP records or cassette tapes. We never even owned an 8-track. And for all you youngsters out there who have never known life without internet or cell phones, believe me, there was a time! And during that time, I also did a lot of cooking and baking, but far more simply.

So on occasion, and since I had a lime tree in the backyard, I would make this mixture. It is very simple:

My Dad & my Father-in-Law with a whole cluster of bananas

• a can of sweetened condensed milk
• a can of evaporated milk
• lime juice

Originally, I made it to serve with bananas, which were very plentiful. My father in law brought us a whole hanging cluster of the fruits, which would stand in the kitchen, ripening slowly. The kids ate them as they ripened. Just placing the two milks into a blender and adding in lime juice until the mixture thickened, was a great topping for fruit, and bananas in particular. Later on, back in the US, I thought it might be great to add in a block of cream cheese. And, voila! a pie was born.
 

Graham Cracker Crust and Simple Ingredients

All that said, I have never been terribly fond of bananas, though with so many around, I occasionally ate one. This thickened creamy mixture made them more palatable. With the addition of cream cheese, it would solidify enough to actually cut into sections, and logically, a graham cracker crust was the last needed ingredient. So I have actually been making the first mixture for 40 years at least, and for 35 of them, I have gone the extra step of using cream cheese. But, I never took a photo!

I made this again in October last year and finally got the photos I needed, but had been busy with many other things and just wasn't blogging as steadily as usual. Here I am, finally, with the recipe for this delicious pie. I would imaging that one could conceivably lay banana slices into the bottom of the crust, before pouring the creamy mixture in, and then this would be a No-Bake Banana Cream Pie! For another variation, use chocolate graham crackers. I am sure lemon juice would work just as well, but I have only used lime juice.

No-Bake Cheesecake Pie

No-Bake Cheesecake Pie

Makes one 9-inch pie 

1½ cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
⅓ cup melted butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
½ cup lime juice 
1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Mix the crumbs, butter and sugar together and press into bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake the crust for about 8 to 10 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling.

Place the condensed and evaporated milks into a blender container. Blend briefly to combine. With blender running, add the lime juice and soon the mixture will begin to thicken. Add in the block of cream cheese and blend until completely combined. Pour this mixture into the pie shell and chill until completely set, at least 1 hour. 

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.