If we are being completely honest, I only go apple picking for the food. I eat two, maybe three apples max in the orchard and wait patiently for everyone to finish picking apples so we can go to the country store.
For over two decades, my family, friends and I have been going apple picking at Maskers Orchard in Warwick, NY. I haven’t been to many orchards, but I will go ahead and say that it’s the best. It’s the perfect day trip/ day in the country made complete with a blanket and a picnic lunch made complete by the stunning views of the Hudson Valley. This is one of the places where I am truly happiest. Wait, no, the country store is where I am happiest. It’s where I get my fix of my favorite fall foods with all of the jams, apple butter, apple dumplings, apple pie, and of course, apple cider donuts they have available. Speaking of apple cider donuts, they make the best apple cider donuts in the world and they are the inspiration for this ice cream.
I eat and make ice cream year-round. It could be below zero out and snowing and I am eating ice cream. This confused a fellow shopper at Trader Joe’s last winter, but I just explained to him that it’s an undying love that knows no season. So poetic, huh? The great thing about ice cream is that it can be anything that you want, including seasonally appropriate. Because who doesn’t love fall flavors? And a fall flavor that isn’t pumpkin at that?
I’m not a pumpkin hater, but I don’t feel that apple gets its fair due. I want to believe this ice cream does it justice.
The no-churn method has become my go-to due to its ease, minimal prep time and versatility. It’s so easy to make any flavor of ice cream with the 2-ingredient base of heavy whipping cream and condensed milk with the end result being the creamiest ice cream you could dream of. Cinnamon and nutmeg and having donuts as a mix-in makes this ice cream a dream, and it reminds me of my favorite cereal as a child, Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Ice cream, especially homemade, doesn’t last long in my house, and this one was no exception. It is so, so good.
NO-CHURN APPLE CIDER DONUT ICE CREAM
INGREDIENTS
2-3 apple cider donuts (depending on size), cut in to bite-size pieces
2 c. heavy whipping cream
1/3 c. condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Spread the donut pieces on to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and freeze until solid, about 2 hours.
In the meantime, begin preparing the base of the ice cream and mix the condensed milk, vanilla and salt until combined.
Next, whip the cream until the peaks are almost stiff, being careful not to over-whip.
Gently fold in the whipped cream with the condensed milk, making sure not to over-mix.
Pour the ice cream base into a freezer safe container, cover the top with a piece of cling wrap and freeze for 2 hours, or until the ice cream has reached the consistency of soft serve.
Remove the donut bites and the base from the freezer. Carefully mix in the frozen donut bites with the ice cream and return to the freezer when finished.
Continue to freeze until the ice cream reaches a scoopable state (another 2 to 3 hours) or freeze overnight.
Remove from the freezer right before serving and enjoy!
NOTES
Optional, but before freezing the donuts, toast them for a few minutes, let cool and then freeze. The flavor of the cinnamon is amplified immensely in the ice cream.
Most no-churn recipes call for a whole can of condensed milk. I find this makes the ice cream cloyingly sweet, hence the reduced amount.
Whipping the heavy cream to almost stiff peaks still keeps the ice cream airy and prevents the possibility of over-mixing and a buttery aftertaste of stiff peaks.
Lastly, I recently discovered the Tovolo ice cream storage tub and it has made a huge difference in the freezing and storing of homemade ice cream. It kept the ice cream nice and creamy as intended and there was no sign of ice at all. Highly recommend.
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