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Magic Vanilla Ice Cream

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 14, 2013

Time

20 minutes, plus 6 hours freezing

Yield

Serves 8 (Makes 1 quart)

Magic Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients

½ cup sweetened condensed milk 1 ounce (28 grams) white chocolate chips (see note)1 tablespoon vanilla extract Pinch salt ¼ cup sour cream 1 ¼ cups cold heavy cream

Before You Begin

Shop carefully: White chocolate varies greatly in quality. We like Guittard Choc-O-Lait Chips or Ghirardelli Classic White Chips. If you use a bar instead of chips, chop it fine before melting it in step 1. If you plan to store ice cream for more than a few days, place plastic wrap directly on its surface before you freeze it.

Instructions

  1. MAKE BASE Microwave sweetened condensed milk and white chocolate in large bowl until chocolate melts, stirring halfway, about 30 seconds. Let cool. Stir in vanilla, salt, and sour cream.
  2. WHIP CREAM With electric mixer on medium-high speed, whip heavy cream to soft peaks, about 2 minutes. Whisk one-third of whipped cream into white chocolate mixture. Fold remaining whipped cream into white chocolate mixture until incorporated.
  3. FREEZE Place in airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 2 weeks. Serve.
Magic Vanilla Ice Cream

Magic Vanilla Ice Cream

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

20 minutes, plus 6 hours freezing

Yield

Serves 8 (Makes 1 quart)

Ingredients

½ cup sweetened condensed milk
1 ounce (28 grams) white chocolate chips (see note)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
¼ cup sour cream
1 ¼ cups cold heavy cream

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

½ cup sweetened condensed milk
1 ounce (28 grams) white chocolate chips (see note)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
¼ cup sour cream
1 ¼ cups cold heavy cream

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

½ cup sweetened condensed milk
1 ounce (28 grams) white chocolate chips (see note)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
¼ cup sour cream
1 ¼ cups cold heavy cream

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

After developing a recipe for Easy Chocolate Ice Cream that didn’t require a machine, we figured Magic Vanilla Ice Cream would be a snap. But without the chocolate, the ice cream lacked structure and silkiness. We replaced the chocolate binder from our Easy Chocolate Ice Cream recipe with white chocolate, but instead of tasting like vanilla ice cream, it tasted too much like white chocolate. Adding just a little sour cream lent enough tartness to both balance and mask the white chocolate. Our tasters preferred vanilla extract to vanilla bean for its more assertive flavor.

Before You Begin

Shop carefully: White chocolate varies greatly in quality. We like Guittard Choc-O-Lait Chips or Ghirardelli Classic White Chips. If you use a bar instead of chips, chop it fine before melting it in step 1. If you plan to store ice cream for more than a few days, place plastic wrap directly on its surface before you freeze it.

Instructions

  1. MAKE BASE Microwave sweetened condensed milk and white chocolate in large bowl until chocolate melts, stirring halfway, about 30 seconds. Let cool. Stir in vanilla, salt, and sour cream.
  2. WHIP CREAM With electric mixer on medium-high speed, whip heavy cream to soft peaks, about 2 minutes. Whisk one-third of whipped cream into white chocolate mixture. Fold remaining whipped cream into white chocolate mixture until incorporated.
  3. FREEZE Place in airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 2 weeks. Serve.

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