ICE CREAM. ICE. CREAM.
Okay, I'm sorry for yelling. In all honesty though, this no-churn cookie butter cheesecake ice cream is seriously worth shouting about.
This is my first foray into making no-churn ice cream. However, no-churn ice cream is not new. In fact, it has been around for a long time, published on many food blogs with endless streams of recipes showcasing a variety of delicious flavours, and even discussed at length (why it works, how it compares to traditional ice cream made from custard, etc). The bottom line is that it's been done – countless times – so I'm actually very late to getting on the no-churn ice cream bandwagon here. Why is that so?
Well, initially, I was skeptical about no-churn ice cream. Does it really work? Would it taste as good as traditionally made ice cream and gelato? It honestly sounded too good to be true: all you had to do was to whip up heavy cream to stiff peaks, fold in cold sweetened condensed milk and flavourings, and place it in the freezer for at least 6 hours (or overnight), and et voilà , creamy delicious ice cream would greet you the next day.
At the same time, I was very intrigued by the fact that this simple and quick way of making ice cream could work, has worked, for many individuals. And not only has it worked, it has produced delicious and convincing-looking ice cream (based on what I've seen on many food blogs). So my intrigue finally overcame my skepticism and I got down to it, dreamed up this ice cream flavour, and quite literally whipped up this ice cream.
You know what? IT IS SO GOOD. Part of my skepticism stemmed from my concern that the texture of no-churn ice cream wouldn't be smooth and creamy, but boy was I proven wrong! This ice cream is perfectly creamy (i.e. no ice crystals within it) and has a nice subtle 'stickiness' to it as well (something like the texture of gelato, possibly due to the stickiness of the sweetened condensed milk).
Also, the flavour is a win for sure! This ice cream contains sweet and cinnamony Biscoff cookie butter (if you have never tried Biscoff or Speculoos cookie butter, what are you waiting for?), tangy cream cheese, additional swirls of cookie butter, bits of crunchy Biscoff cookie crumbs, and a dash of vanilla and sea salt to complement it all. Yum.
One hundred percent of yum.
No-churn Cookie Butter Cheesecake Ice Cream
Makes about 2 pints
Ingredients
590 g (2 1/2 cups) heavy whipping cream, cold
226 g (1 cup) cream cheese, at room temperature
150 g (approx. 3/4 cup) Biscoff or Speculoos cookie butter
1 can (379 g) sweetened condensed milk, cold
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1/2 tsp kosher salt or sea salt
150 g Biscoff or Speculoos cookies, crushed into coarse crumbs, plus extra for sprinkling
1 Tbs Biscoff or Speculoos cookie butter mixed with 1 Tbs heavy whipping cream, for drizzling into and on top of the ice cream
Waffle cones, to serve
Method
Before beginning, ensure that your equipment and cream are cold. Remember, you are making ice cream, hence it is important to ensure that the necessary items remain cold. I like to place the can of condensed milk in the fridge the day before I am going to make the ice cream. I also like to place the beaters (for whipping the cream) and a 9x5 loaf pan (for storing the ice cream) in the freezer for a few hours so that everything is nice and cold. The only things that must be at room temperature are the cream cheese and cookie butter; if these are cold, it will be lumpy when you try to whip them together.
Whip the cream. Using a hand-held whisk, whip the cream in a large bowl until it reaches stiff peaks (that is, when you l lift up the whisk, the whipped cream will be able to hold its shape). Do not over-whip the cream as it will separate and become butter (which is nice but not what we are trying to achieve here). Set aside.
In medium bowl, cream together room temperature cream cheese and cookie butter until smooth and just combined. Stir in the cold sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and salt.
Gently fold in the cream cheese mixture into the whipped cream until everything is well-combined.
Fold the cookie crumbs into the ice cream.
In a small bowl, combined 1 tablespoon of cookie butter with 1 tablespoon of cream. Microwave it slightly for about 10 seconds on medium. Stir together until smooth. This will be the cookie butter drizzle for the ice cream.
Remove the loaf pan from the freezer. Transfer one-third of the ice cream to the loaf pan.
Drizzle some of the cookie butter cream mixture and sprinkle some Biscoff cookie crumbs over the ice cream. Then, add the next third of the ice cream into the loaf pan.
Repeat step 8, layering the cookie butter drizzle and cookie crumbs onto the ice cream, until all the ice cream has been transferred to the pan. Drizzle cookie butter and sprinkle cookie crumbs on the very top of the ice cream.
Cover with cling wrap and freeze the ice cream for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight.
The next day, enjoy a big scoop (or two!) of delicious ice cream with waffle cones, or any other toppings that you like, such as more cookie crumbs and cookie butter!