Egg-less Ice Cream (Pistachio or Hazelnut)

Recipe Exclusively for WhyNut by Littleloaf

Custard based ice creams are delicious, but if you’re looking for a cleaner, creamier flavour, this eggless recipe might just be the one for you. Egg-free ice creams can come out a little icy, so here we’ve used corn flour (or starch) to thicken the mixture and absorb any extra water, resulting in soft, smooth ice cream where the nut flavour really shines through.

Ingredients:

500ml full fat milk, divided
250ml double cream
125g caster sugar
15g corn flour (starch)
50g full fat cream cheese

Pinch salt
70 - 85g Why Nut pistachio or hazelnut paste

Method:

• Create an ice bath by adding ice cubes to a shallow dish of water or sink big enough to accommodate the bowl containing the cream cheese, below.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the corn flour and 2 tbsp milk until smooth.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the cream cheese and salt.
• In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining milk, double cream and caster sugar and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat once boiled and whisk in the corn flour mixture.
• Return the saucepan to the heat and cook over a medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture starts to thicken, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Pour the warm mixture into your cream cheese, a little at a time to avoid any lumps. Whisk in the Why Nut pistachio or hazelnut paste until thoroughly combined, adding between 70 – 85g to taste.
• Place the large bowl containing your ice cream mixture into the ice bath, stir until cool then chill the mixture in the fridge for a minimum of three hours, preferably overnight.
• Churn the ice cream according to your manufacturer’s instructions.

Tips:

• Corn flour (or starch) is a natural thickener which absorbs the water in the ice cream base, preventing ice crystals from forming. Make sure to mix it with a little milk s instructed before adding to the wet ingredients to prevent any lumps.
• The addition of cream cheese is a technique borrowed from ice cream expert Jeni Britton Bauer. If you’re looking for more egg-free ice cream ideas, make sure to check out her book Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams.
• To make a ‘stracciatella’ version of this ice cream, melt 150g milk or dark chocolate with one tablespoon of vegetable or coconut oil and drizzle slowly through the opening at the top of your ice cream maker when the ice cream has almost finished churning. Allow to churn for a couple of minutes longer so the chocolate breaks up then transfer to a container and freeze.