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When I picked up a Chill Factor Ice Cream Maker for the ice cream kit we put together a couple of weekends ago, I secretly grabbed a second one to tuck away for Miss G. I didn’t know how it would work, but I was hoping that it would be a step up from the leaky, messy plastic baggie and ice method we’ve been using to date, and I’m happy to report that it is. A serious step up, in fact. Like we’re in love.
I surprised Grae with it this morning after our gazillionth camouflaged chameleon hunt, and boy, was she ever happy! Luckily, Brad had put the cone part of the contraption in the freezer the night before, so it was frozen and ready to use the moment it was unveiled. Grae wasted no time gathering our 3 usual sugar-free ice cream ingredients – cream {we used half & half}, pure maple syrup, and vanilla.
Making it was the easiest thing ever. We’re talking Gracen did everything herself, except for screwing the lid on. First, she measured out a 1/2 cup of cream and poured it into the ice cream maker.
Then she added a teaspoon of pure maple syrup…
And a quarter teaspoon of vanilla.
With a little help, she screwed the lid on securely…
And then it was time to squeeze. Now when we use the bag method, the shaking part gets old really fast, but you really have to shake for a solid 10 minutes before the ice cream is fully frozen, which means I inevitably end up shaking for a good chunk of the time. With this beautiful little contraption, however, you simply squeeze the cone for 2 or 3 minutes…
And voila! Hard ice cream in no time. {I really couldn’t believe my eyes when we opened it just to peek in and found that it was done. SO easy!}
Gracen was pretty impressed too.
The best part is that there was literally no mess {wait – no salty puddles to slip in afterwards?!} and Grae opted to eat it right out of the ice cream maker, so no additional dishes were needed either.
How was it? Absolutely delicious! And we’ll definitely be making more very soon – if not later today!
Note: If you enjoy your ice cream fairly sweet, I’d use 2 teaspoons of pure maple syrup. Just 1 makes it plenty sweet for us, but if you’re used to store-bought ice cream, you may not find it quite sweet enough.
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Sounds wonderful Jen! I think you might need to change the name though, maple syrup is sucrose, just made by a tree instead of from a beet or sugar cane.
Hah! Fair enough, Erin! “Sugar-free” is something I actually always contemplate before writing, but for the purposes of my blog, I’ve sort of decided that it means without traditional store-labelled sugar. :)
where can I buy this pls???
Hi Doreen! I’ve included links in the post above. :) You can find it on Amazon here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HA8I5S4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00HA8I5S4&linkCode=as2&tag=mamapapabubba-20&linkId=23H7CDVQ4C4F6C5Q
:)
I’m so torn about whether to purchase this…it sounds great in this post, but the reviews are terrible – many people say its a piece of junk and does not work at all. Has yours continued to work well? Thanks – love your blog!
Oh really, Mandy? I’m surprised! We’ve used ours at minimum 1 – 2 times a week and it still works great. I do think there are a few important things you need to do (i.e. make sure the ice cream maker is fully frozen, use cold ingredients, not overload it, etc.), but those things are stated in the instruction manual and make sense to me. That being said, we haven’t branched out much as far as recipes go. We’ve always used the one above (or a slight variation), and it turns out great every time. :)
I actually made it with oat milk and strawberries and it came out like a sobet icecream. it was icey. :-/
Hey Charl! I’m guessing your oat milk was very low in fat, which is probably why it turned out icy… I think there needs to be at least *some* fat for a creamy texture. Could you try coconut milk instead?
Half n Half works with this chill factor ice cream maker??? I bought the heavy whipping cream though. How long did you chill the cup???
Yes! Without any issues for us! I usually just keep the cup in the freezer when not in use, but I’d say overnight for sure.
we tried 2 ways and it still did not work.
i don’t think its worth it
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I just received mine. The instructions for vanilla ice cream are in metric and I had to look up the amount of half and half. You stating that half a cup of the liquid is much easier to understand!
I’m thinking of using Splenda and buying some extracts in various flavors. I’ll try the dollar store brand first and then upgrade if I love the flavor.