Homemade ice creamcan feel like a hassle. Unless you own a fancy stand-alone model, you’ll need to plan a day ahead and have the foresight to pr-freeze yourice cream makerbowl if you have a hankering for ice cream. Then you’ll have to block off an entire afternoon to make and cool the custard before churning it, and by the time your ice cream is ready to eat, you might not even feel like having it anymore.
And if you don’t have an ice cream maker, chances are you’re removing a pan of semifrozen custard from the freezer and whisking it every 30 minutes to break up ice crystals. Sure, there are many summer desserts you could make without an unwieldy appliance, likesemifreddo,frozen yogurt pops, and, depending on how much fork-scraping you’re up for, evengranita. But on the hottest and most humid days of summer, nothing beats a scoop of the coldest, creamiest ice cream in acrisp waffle cone.
Though I frequently rotate between a roster of my favoriteno-churn ice cream recipes, there’s one flavor I’ve been making on repeat this summer: an easy, toastyhazelnut and espresso ice creamfrom theSea Saltcookbookby the Lea-Wilson family. The Lea-Wilsons runHalen Môn, an award-winning salt company on the Welsh island of Anglesey in the United Kingdom.
Their recipe calls for just six ingredients—heavy cream, a teaspoon of flaked sea salt, vanilla bean paste (or extract), hazelnuts, condensed milk, and coffee. Because these ingredients often already live in my kitchen, I consider this ice cream a pantry staple recipe. As simple as the flavor may sound, the caramel notes of the coffee and the earthy, toasted hazelnuts really shine against the neutral backdrop of heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk. There’s no churning involved, but the dessert is just as creamy as one you’d make with an ice cream maker.
The process is simple: You simply whisk heavy cream, salt, and vanilla paste together in a bowl. Once the mixture reaches soft peaks, you’ll mix in toasted hazelnuts, condensed milk, and coffee, then whip it all together until just thickened. Pour it into a loaf pan, place it in your freezer until it’s set, and that’s all there is to it.
There are a few reasons why this method works so well. Whipping cream incorporates air the same way churning does, creating a light, airy custard that freezes beautifully. The high sugar content of sweetened condensed milk lowers the freezing point, and gives the ice cream a softer texture. Because sweetened condensed milk is such a concentrated product, there is very little water, which means fewer unpleasant ice crystals.
Each spoonful of the ice cream is reminiscent of the hazelnut lattes I drank as a teen and college student. Occasionally, I’ll swirl Nutella through the mixture for a bolder flavor, and for a satisfyingly salty-sweet dessert, I’ll season with an extra pinch of flaky salt. Though the ice cream is delicious on its own, it’s even better when drenched in a double shot of espresso. The pleasant bitterness of freshly brewed coffee cuts through the ice cream’s richness and makes it the ideal end to all my summer meals. As I dip my spoon into the ice cream and savor its creamy texture, I realize I may never want to use my ice cream maker again. And you know what? I’m okay with that.
