How to Make Homemade Ice Cream

You only need three things for this. Heavy whipping cream (also sold as heavy cream), a can of sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla extract. Precious uses a full pint of heavy cream here. Grab the cream from the refrigerated section and keep it cold until you are ready to whip it. Cold cream whips faster and holds more air, which is exactly what you want for soft, scoopable ice cream.

Pour 2 cups of heavy whipping cream into a large mixing bowl. Give yourself room, because the cream roughly doubles in volume once you whip it. A wide bowl makes it easier to get the beaters all the way around without splashing cream up the sides.

Beat the cream with an electric hand mixer until stiff peaks form. Start slow so you do not fling cream everywhere, then bump up the speed. You will know it is ready when the cream holds its shape and a peak stands straight up without folding over. Stop right there. If you keep beating past this point the cream breaks and starts turning into butter. Still tasty, but not what you want here.

Pour the whole 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk into the whipped cream. This is what sweetens the ice cream and keeps it from freezing rock hard, so you do not need any sugar or an ice cream machine. Scrape the can well with a spatula. That last bit clinging to the sides adds up.

Add 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract. That is a little more than most recipes call for, and it is on purpose. This is vanilla ice cream, so you want the flavor to come through loud and clear. A good pure vanilla extract makes a real difference in the finished taste.

Beat everything together with the mixer just until smooth and combined. Precious tried folding it by hand with a spatula, but it left lumps, so back to the mixer it went. Once it is smooth, pour the mixture into a loaf pan. A loaf pan works great because the wide, flat surface gives you plenty of room to scoop later. Use a spatula to level the top.

Lay a piece of plastic wrap right down onto the surface of the ice cream so it touches the mixture. That direct contact keeps ice crystals from forming on top. Slide the pan into the freezer and leave it for about 7 hours, or until completely frozen. Overnight is even better if you can wait that long.

Once it is fully frozen, run your scoop across the top and lift out a clean round ball. It should be creamy and soft enough to scoop straight from the freezer. Serve it in a bowl or a cone. The vanilla flavor is right up front and it tastes like something you would buy, except you made it with three ingredients. Try not to eat the whole pan in one sitting.