I had no idea until J told me on Sunday that you could make ice cream without an ice cream maker and all the fancy schmancy ingredients. He said,”Search for it on YouTube. You only need milk and sugar and all you have to do is jiggle it in a bag.” Being the lazy cook that I am – I was ITCHING to make it and I finally have!!!

Here’s how to make Ice Cream in 5 steps and 15 minutes flat from Howcast.com and my own variation:

For Real Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients
200ml/1 cup of milk
200ml/ 1 cup of whipping cream
3 tbsp caster sugar
2 large strawberries (cubed)
1 tsp vanilla essence

For the make-shift ice cream maker:
2 trays of ice cubes
6 tbsp salt
1 large plastic microwaveable container
1 medium resealable bag
Dishtowel

Method

1. Place all of the ingredients in the resealable bag.
2. Place the resealable bag in the container and place the ice cubes all around the sides of the bag.
3. Sprinkle the salt over the ice.
4. Place the dishtowel underneath the container and SHAKEITLIKEAPOLAROIDPICTURE! Actually just jiggle it around such that the bag in the container starts to swirl around for about 7 – 10 mins. It will start to harden when you see that the bag maintains its ‘crumpled’ shape.
5. Spoon the ice crea am out of the bag and either eat it all straight away or stash it in a freezer-friendly container and keep it for later. Strawberry goes really well with a little sprig of mint. Enjoy!

Other Flavours:
Vanilla – omit the strawberries
Chocolate – omit the strawberries and vanilla essence and mix in 2 tbsp of cocoa powder.
Single Chocolate Chip – Vanilla + ½ cup of chocolate chips
Double Chocolate Chip – Chocolate + ½ cup of chocolate chips
Honey Lavender – Zap milk in microwave for 10 seconds and infuse milk with 1½tsp of dried Lavender flowers and stir in 1tbsp honey (reduce sugar by 1tbsp). Strain from milk and proceed with Step 1.
Jaffa Chocolate – Chocolate + 1 tsp orange essence + 1 tsp orange zest
Lemon – Vanilla + 1 tsp lemon essence + 1 tsp lemon zest
Caramel – Vanilla + 1 tsp caramel essence
Strawberry Mint – For Real Strawberry + 1 tsp finely chopped mint leaves
Cookies & Cream – Vanilla + 2 tbsp Crushed Oreos
Alternative Cookies & Cream – Vanilla + 2 tbsp Choc Chip Cookies
BCCC (Bailey’s Crushed Choco Chip) – Vanilla + ½ cup chocolate chips + 2tbsp Bailey’s Irish Cream
Earl Grey Tea – Zap milk in microwave for 10 seconds and infuse milk with 1½tsp of Earl Grey Tea leaves. Strain leaves from milk and proceed with Step 1
Milo – Mix about 2½tbsp milo (or as much as you want I know how some of you are milo dinosaur junkies) in the milk and proceed with Step 1.
Green Tea – Vanilla omit vanilla essence + Reduce sugar by 1tbsp and add 3 tsp of matcha (green tea) powder. Garnish with Azuki Red Bean and/or Condensed Milk OR Pop Rocks!

I am trying to think of other flavours to put together, any other flavours you guys might like? Leave me a comment and we could think about how to make it. In any case, I guarantee you will be as surprised as I was when you see the finished product! Wow, I think it took me longer to write this post than to make the ice cream! And I’m gonna have a spoonful of me ice cream now!

Note: Flavour updates are in dark green 🙂

Taste and texture update: the ice cream tastes just divine! And the fact that it took that little effort makes it even yummier! Texture wise its in between icy and creamy so a bit sorbet-y and a bit haagen dazs-y 🙂