With the hot weather and copious amounts of fresh fruit, my ice cream maker was screaming my name. Yes, literally screaming. I couldn’t ignore it so I decided to churn up a fresh batch of raspberry ice cream.

I don’t think I know a single person who doesn’t like ice cream. Even the lactose intolerant folks I know wish they could eat it. OK, I’m sure some exist…I just don’t know any!  Ice cream makers are a fabulous investment for a number of reasons:

• Ice cream is expensive. You can purchase the ingredients for cheaper and whip it up yourself.
• There’s something appealing about knowing that your ice cream is made with wholesome, fresh ingredients. No preservatives, no strange ingredients you can’t pronounce.
• You can make it entirely organic without breaking the bank.
• You can customize it to your own quirky tastes. Chocolate cake-batter? No problem. Lime and peach? No problem.

There are loads of recipes out there for homemade ice creams. Some even involve creating a ‘custard’ ahead of time. Those ones are a little labor intensive for me, so check out this recipe that I find delivers great taste with only a minimal amount of effort:

Raspberry Vanilla Ice Cream

2 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups of heavy cream (whipping cream)

1 cup of homogenized milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1.5 cups raspberries

Directions: Beat the eggs in a mixmaster for approximately 3 minutes. Slowly add the sugar continuing to beat the eggs. Then add the cream, milk, and vanilla until it is well blended. Mash all the raspberries and then add them to the mixmaster as well. Pour mixture into your ice cream container and start the machine!

Really at its core, this is a vanilla ice cream recipe. So you can take out the raspberries and add pretty much anything to it. Oreo cookies, nuts, strawberries, the list goes on. If you’re adding crunchy ingredients like cookies or candy, you should add them right towards the end of the churning. Most makers have an opening on the top lid where you can dump in additives which will then be nicely mixed throughout the ice cream.

Some are not comfortable with the raw egg. If this is the case, we recommend you try a custard based recipe which involves cooking the ingredients before they are frozen. This exact recipe can also be replicated using a ‘cooked’ format.

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