THE BEST (AND EASIEST) ICE CREAM YOU'LL EVER MAKE from Barefeet in the Kitchen

This comes from Barefeet in the Kitchen. I turned it into an ice cream cake. The ice cream is very good, nice and creamy. I used far, far less vanilla extract than called for, just 1/2 t. and I think it could have used less. It's also very sweet and could have used more salt. Like the recipe stated, it made four cups. I reserved about 3/4 c. of it to spread on top of the cake like it was frosting. The ice cream took 25 minutes in my Hamilton Beach ice cream maker and the bowl was in the freezer beforehand for 26 hours but required about 20 hours for my particular brand.

I grade it an A- because it needs more salt to balance out the incredible sweetness and the amount of vanilla we're to use, one whole tablespoon, would have ruined this.

For the cake part I used half a box of Betty Crocker Devil's Food Cake and baked it in a standard 9"x5" 2 qt. loaf pan. I messed up the three layers because I was too impatient to chill the cake before slicing into layers and they crumbled badly in areas, especially the middle layer. I was so disgusted with myself that I omitted the fudge sauce and ground almonds that I was to drizzle on each layer of cake. When the cake cooled it shrunk away from the sides of the pan. When I spread the just-made/soft serve ice cream between the layers it went down between the cake and the pan so the finished cake looks like I frosted it, but I didn't, just the top.

The Food Lion (grocery store) brand  heavy whipping cream that I used cost just $1.65 for 2 cups and came from a 1 quart container. The half box of cake mix was just .75 cents. I don't know the cost of sugar and 1 c. milk but it couldn't have been much. The whole cake was probably around $3-$3.50 to make!

HOMEMADE COOKIES-AND-CREAM ICE CREAM from Southern Living

This is pretty good and comes from Southern Living. I did add 1/8 t. salt and used just 1/4 t. pure vanilla extract and 2% milk in place of whole. I used 10 Oreos but didn't add the 8 that were supposed to be left in bigger pieces. It took just 22 minutes in my Hamilton Beach ice cream maker and another 30 seconds or so to blend in the crushed Oreos at the end. It started to come out of the bowl some towards the end and filled my 5 c. glass container all the way.

To make, this cost $3.05 with tax plus whatever 1/4 t. vanilla and 1/8 t. salt cost.

I rate this 5 stars but with the full amount of vanilla I'd have to give it a lower rating.

HAMILTON BEACH® ICE CREAM MAKER (Model 68881Z)

PURCHASE: Official site, Amazon, Walmart

THINGS I'VE MADE

VANILLA ICE CREAM PIE

CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM

LEMON SORBET

PINEAPPLE SORBET

CHERRY ICE CREAM

ORANGE SHERBET

PEACH ICE CREAM

STRAWBERRY SORBET (recipe from booklet)

VANILLA ICE CREAM (from Barefeet in the Kitchen)

PEANUT BUTTER ICE CREAM (from Copy Kat)

ORANGE SHERBET (from The Kitchn)

COOKIES-AND-CREAM ICE CREAM (from Southern Living)

RICH, TART LEMON SORBET (from Serious Eats)

MY THOUGHTS: This is a basic electric ice cream maker. You have to freeze the metal bowl, which is filled with some type of liquid solution between the metal bowl and plastic outer part, for at least 12 hours before you use it. Whatever ice cream/sorbet mixture you use, you usually have to heat them in a pot on the stove to dissolve sugar and other ingredients then you have to chill that until it's very cold before you put it into the bowl, which takes hours. Do not use more than 4 cups of liquid so that it has room to expand as it's whipped up. You then place the bowl on the base, put the plastic paddle down into the mixture, then place the clear cover over the bowl, which locks the paddle into place, and turn the machine on. It's that simple. The base turns the bowl and the paddle stays stationary, mixing the liquid mixture and keeping the sides scraped. It will take about 20-40 minutes. If the machine turns off before it's ready simply turn it back on. I can't remember but it may turn off after 30 minutes. If you're adding things like fruit, nuts, cookie bits, add them at the end and let it mix in for about 10-15 seconds. The machine is very loud. When it's finished transfer ice cream to a lidded container since the bowl doesn't come with one.

MEASUREMENTS: The box it comes in is 10" x 14". Amazon says shipping weight is 8 lbs.

Base: 4.5"H x 9"W, 1 1b. 13 oz.

Canister/bowl- 6.5" x 7". Inside of bowl is 5.25"W. It's pretty heavy and is over 3 lbs. Doesn't come with lid.

Plastic Paddle- 6"H x 5.25"W, 2.3 oz

Clear cover- 7"L x 8"W, 12.7 oz.

This comes with a 31-page instructional booklet that's in English (11 pages long), Spanish and French.

This includes six recipes for: Old-Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream (contains egg), Easy Vanilla Ice Cream, Chocolate Ice Cream, Strawberry Sorbet, Peaches and Cream Ice Cream, and Cappuccino Gelato. I made a pie using the Easy Vanilla Ice Cream recipe, jarred fudge sauce and graham cracker crust, ground toasted almonds, and also made the chocolate recipe and both were great, especially the chocolate, which uses unsweetened cocoa powder and tastes just like a Wendy's Frosty but needs one less tablespoon of cocoa powder.

This has a 1-year warranty in the U.S. and a 5-year warranty in Canada.

One big tip I can give you is to make sure your house is cool if you're using this during warmer months or the mixture won't mix up right and you'll have to put the bowl with the paddle in it into the freezer for a short time to make it cold. I speak from experience when I say this.

I purchased this myself from Walmart in 2016.