I'm all about finding fun new ways to eat dessert, and one of my favorites of all time is ice cream. While a store-bought tub almost always hits the spot, I've been feeling a little more creative lately, and went in search for a recipe I could make at home. I don't have an ice cream maker, so I looked specifically for one I could whip up with a food processor or blender. After discovering this berry ice cream that's made with condensed milk and frozen berries, I may never go back to eating store-bought ice cream again (maybe).
Growing up my family made classic Indian desserts like ladoo and rice kheer, and condensed milk is a staple ingredient, so I always have an extra can or two in my pantry. It's canned milk that's been "condensed" or evaporated and reduced, then sweetened with sugar. Since much of the water content is removed during the condensing process, condensed milk has a thick, molasses-like texture, and its sweet, creamy taste makes it the perfect addition to so many dessert recipes.
I saw several recipes for ice cream made with condensed milk and frozen fruit online and decided to give it a try with some frozen berries, which I usually throw into smoothies, that I had in my freezer. The results of this little experiment honestly knocked my socks off.
I first added half a cup of sweetened condensed milk to my blender, then added a half cup of frozen berries (blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries) and blended them together. The mixture was rather thin, so I added another half cup of berries. Again - still too thin. I added yet another half cup of berries, and finally, the perfect consistency (for me, at least) was achieved. In total, I blended together half a cup of condensed milk with 1 ½ cups berries. Then I poured it into a small pan and popped it into the freezer until set. This made two servings.
This frozen dessert had more of a soft-serve texture than a scoopable, hard ice cream. That's personally my favorite way to eat it, but for a more firm texture, you could simply add more berries to the recipe. Just as well, it's important to mention that this ice cream will melt fast, so the faster you get it scooped into a bowl, the better. What I really need to highlight, though, is the absolutely heavenly taste.
The blend of berries and sweet cream was a combination to remember. The tart taste of the berries married with the decadence of the condensed milk made the perfect chilly snack for a summer afternoon. So refreshing and satisfying!
And of course, you're absolutely not limited to using just these two ingredients in your homemade ice cream. I just used what I had in the freezer, but I think making this recipe with just frozen strawberries, adding a half a banana, or even swapping out half a cup of berries with half a cup of frozen mango chunks are some additional fun ways to give this recipe even more zing!
We love easy and delicious recipes that satisfy our sweet tooth while helping us use up ingredients that we've already got lying around the house. We hope you'll take advantage of this berry ice cream recipe for the rest of the warm season and beyond?