Ice Ice Baby: Homemade Ice Cream Recipes

Who else remembers Jedward’s um, ‘interesting’ cover of Ice Ice Baby? Yes, it really was a thing that happened. And sadly not one that we can categorise as a classic … unlike these excellent ice cream recipes that we’ve compiled especially for you (now, that Kylie and Jason banger was a classic).

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Before you get started whipping up your own ice cream at home, you’ll need to get yourself a Tefal high-speed blender so you can literally just shove all of your ingredients in there, whizz them up, then put them in the freezer to chill. Minimum effort, maximum taste, satisfaction and smugness #notfromatub.

We felt it was only right to erase the memory of Jedward’s crooning from our minds by starting with something that is an absolute classic: good old mint choc chip. Yes, it’s startlingly green, and yes, it’s slightly reminiscent of toothpaste, but it’s also magical, with just one lick instantly transporting you right back to your childhood.

Chocolate Covered Katie’s recipe for this age-old favourite can be made from any kind of milk you like, so bear in mind that you’ll get slightly different tastes from almond or coconut milk, for example, but they’re all equally scrummy.

Our next scoop (see what we did there?) is this gorgeous salted caramel ice cream from The Crazy Kitchen, which is made from just three ingredients: double cream, tinned caramel and sea salt.

You could make the caramel yourself if you’re feeling brave, but it’s notoriously tricky to get right, and it’d increase your ingredients list by precisely one-third, so we reckon this cheat’s okay for easiness’ sake. Whizz it all up in your blender and freeze – easy peasy.

Ice cream doesn’t have to be a naughty treat, it can actually be pretty healthy and even vegan-friendly. Frozen bananas make a brilliant base for homemade ice cream – they just need blitzing (with a little help from Tefal, of course) – and mixing with some maple syrup for added sweetness.

This recipe from Lazy Cat Kitchen talks you through what you need to do, and suggests topping your uber-healthy ice cream with homemade peanut brittle for extra sophistication and crunch.

Sorbet is a bit like posh ice cream, isn’t it? And prosecco-flavoured sorbet is about as posh as you can get in our eyes – yep, even posher than your mum felt when she served you Vienetta for pudding for the first time.

Hannah Bakes has an excellent recipe for strawberry and prosecco sorbet that uses just eight tablespoons of fizz, meaning there’ll be plenty leftover to glug your way through as you wait for the sorbet to freeze.

What do you reckon is the best way to eat ice cream? Just in a bowl? In a cornet, topped with flake, wafer and raspberry sauce? Or sandwiched in between two cookies? Yep, we thought we might get you with that last one.

And who remembers mixing the strawberry, vanilla and chocolate blocks of a tub of Neapolitan ice cream together to create their own special creation, feeling like an absolute genius and surely the only person on Earth who’d ever thought of it?

Well, this recipe from Hungry Healthy Happy brings together ice cream cookie sandwiches and the three Neapolitan flavours for some very special creations. The ingredients list features cookies from a packet, but making your own would turn this summer treat into even more of a showstopper. It’s banana-based ice cream too, so no need to worry about too much overindulgence!

For a long time, the words ‘Baked Alaska’ simply conjured up images of slightly retro desserts. And then there was Baked Alaska-gate, one of The Great British Bake Off’s most infamous moments, that saw 2014 contestant Iain presenting judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood with a bin, instead of a meringue-topped, ice cream-encased, sponge-based dessert.

The words ‘Baked Alaska’ now incite shivers of horror (not just shivers of brain freeze due to hidden ice cream) in many, but don’t let this put you off making one with your homemade ice cream.

Only Crumbs Remain has a great strawberry Baked Alaska recipe, but you could use any ice cream you like. It does look incredibly retro, but it’s certainly a showstopper; let’s reclaim the mighty Baked Alaska from the trauma of the bin together.

After Vienetta and Baked Alaska, Arctic Roll is the last of the Holy Trinity of retro ice cream-based desserts in our eyes. Essentially a Swiss roll with ice cream inside, the only way to make this treat more fabulously retro is to incorporate Black Forest flavours, as in this recipe from Wallflower Kitchen.

The finished result is vegan-friendly and the perfect pud to serve at a party when you can’t decide between ice cream or cake. The correct answer is always both.