Have you ever tried a bowl of soft-serve Amish homemade ice cream? This custard-based vanilla ice cream is rich, smooth, and incredibly creamy. Made with eggs, cream, and a touch of gelatin, it freezes into the most delicious old-fashioned homemade ice cream.
Growing up Amish, homemade ice cream was something we looked forward to because we didn't have it very often. Whenever we made a batch, everyone was eager for that first taste of soft, creamy ice cream. This recipe still reminds me of those special evenings gathered around the kitchen with bowls of ice cream.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Amish Homemade Ice Cream Recipe
- Ingredients
- Amish Ice Cream With a Custard Base
- Items Needed to Make This 4 Qt. Homemade Ice Cream Recipe
- Tips for the Best Homemade Ice Cream
- Variations: Flavored Homemade Ice Cream
- What Makes Amish Ice Cream So Creamy?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Old-fashioned Hand Churned Ice Cream
- Fond Memories of Stopping for Ice Cream Cones
- More Amish Dessert Recipes
- 📖 Recipe Card
Why You'll Love This Amish Homemade Ice Cream Recipe
- Rich, creamy, old-fashioned flavor
- Smooth custard base with a soft-serve texture
- Made with simple ingredients
- Easy to customize with fruit, cookies, candy, or nuts
- Perfect for family gatherings and summer cookouts
- Tastes just like the homemade ice cream I grew up eating as an Amish kid
- Makes nearly 4 quarts, enough to feed a crowd
Ingredients
- Milk forms the base of the ice cream. It provides liquid for consistency and contributes to the creamy texture.
- Sugar sweetens the ice cream and helps lower the freezing point, which prevents the formation of large ice crystals and keeps the ice cream smooth and creamy.
- Eggs help to blend the fats and liquids. They also add richness and contribute to the smooth texture.
- Salt enhances the flavors.
- Gelatin helps to stabilize ice cream and prevent it from becoming too icy by binding water molecules and creating a smoother texture.
- Heavy whipping cream adds richness and creaminess. The high-fat content helps create a smooth and luxurious texture.
- Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste provides flavor, adding a classic and aromatic taste.
Amish Ice Cream With a Custard Base
This is a homemade vanilla ice cream with eggs recipe, so it's technically homemade frozen custard. The custard base needs to be cooked, therefore you'll need to plan ahead to allow the mixture time to chill.
Typically, I cook the custard base the day before I want to make homemade ice cream, as this allows time for it to be well-chilled. Then I add the cream and vanilla just before placing the mix into the ice cream maker bucket.
If you didn't plan ahead and want to be able to freeze your ice cream within an hour, set the pan of custard base into a bowl of ice water to chill it quickly.
Your ingredients need to be cold for the ice cream to turn out. And it's also helpful to have the bucket and paddle chilled before starting the process of churning.
Items Needed to Make This 4 Qt. Homemade Ice Cream Recipe
This Amish ice cream recipe begins with about 2 quarts of homemade ice cream base. But after churning, it yields almost 4 qt. of ice cream (my 4 qt. bucket gets full if I add fruit, etc.).
You will need an ice cream maker to churn the ice cream. I use an electric Oster 4 qt. bucket ice cream maker, and I've been happy with it so far.
You will also need ice cream salt/rock salt to add to the ice when freezing the ice cream. And follow the instructions with your ice cream maker to churn the ice cream.
When finished churning, you will have a soft-serve ice cream (which I love), but if you prefer firmer ice cream, go ahead and put it in the freezer for an hour before serving.
It gets pretty hard when frozen for a long time. So you may want to remove it from the freezer for a while before serving, to allow time for it to soften a bit.
Tips for the Best Homemade Ice Cream
- Chill the Custard Well - The colder your ice cream base is, the faster it freezes and the creamier the texture will be.
- Chill the Ice Cream Bucket - If possible, place the freezer bucket and paddle in the refrigerator beforehand.
- Don't Skip the Gelatin - It may sound unusual, but gelatin helps keep homemade ice cream smooth and prevents it from becoming icy.
- Add Mix-Ins at the End - Fruit, cookies, and candy bars can be added during the last few minutes of churning.
- Serve Soft or Freeze Until Firm - Freshly churned ice cream has a soft-serve texture, which is my personal favorite. For firmer scoops, freeze it for another hour.
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Variations: Flavored Homemade Ice Cream
One of the best things about this Amish homemade ice cream recipe is how easy it is to customize. Enjoy it as a classic vanilla ice cream and let everyone top it with their own with ice cream toppings, or add vanilla beans for a stronger vanilla flavor.
For fruit-flavored ice cream, stir in fresh or frozen fruit, or use my blackberry ice cream recipe to make blackberry ice cream.
I recently made raspberry ice cream by adding two cups of frozen red raspberries, and everyone loved it! If using large fruits, such as peaches or strawberries, I recommend cutting them into small pieces.
You can also add butter pecan syrup and chopped pecans, mint syrup and mini chocolate chips, crushed Oreo cookies, crushed candy bars, mini M&M's, or your favorite mix-ins.
For a smooth flavor throughout the ice cream, add syrups, purees, or finely chopped fruit to the custard base before churning. Chunkier add-ins, such as cookies, candy, nuts, or chocolate chips, may be best stirred in during the last few minutes of churning or even folded in after the ice cream is frozen.
Have fun and create any kind of ice cream you prefer. Or serve this homemade vanilla ice cream with my moist chocolate cake recipe or delicious Amish pecan pie.
What Makes Amish Ice Cream So Creamy?
- Eggs - Create a rich custard base and contribute to the silky texture.
- Heavy Cream - The high fat content helps create a luxuriously creamy ice cream.
- Gelatin - This is one of the secrets to smooth homemade ice cream. Gelatin binds some of the water in the mixture and helps prevent large ice crystals from forming.
- Churning - Constant churning incorporates air and keeps the ice cream soft and creamy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Homemade ice cream contains fewer stabilizers than store-bought ice cream, so it freezes harder. Let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before scooping.
This recipe is designed for an ice cream maker. An ice cream freezer churns the mixture as it freezes, producing the best texture.
Cooking the eggs creates a rich frozen custard and helps produce an exceptionally smooth and creamy ice cream.
Absolutely! This vanilla ice cream base works well with berries, peaches, chocolate chips, Oreos, candy bars, pecans, and many other mix-ins.
Old-fashioned Hand Churned Ice Cream
I have good memories as an Amish kid, of making homemade ice cream with an ice cream maker. For some reason, it was quite exciting. And we couldn't wait to lick the ice cream off the paddle.
We usually made homemade ice cream in the winter when there was plenty of snow. We didn't always have enough ice available during the summer, so we packed snow around the ice cream freezer instead.
I still remember my brothers taking turns cranking the handle while we impatiently waited for the ice cream to freeze. Everyone wanted the first taste of soft-serve ice cream straight from the bucket.
Fond Memories of Stopping for Ice Cream Cones
Growing up as an Amish kid, we didn't get to eat ice cream very often. There were twelve of us in our family, so you can imagine that it took a gallon of ice cream for all of us to get a bowl. And we didn't have money to splurge on ice cream. So it was a rare treat.
One of my uncles and aunts lived about two hours from us. And once in a while, we hired a taxi driver and went to visit them, along with another uncle and cousins. Once, we stopped for ice cream on the way home and soon got into the habit of stopping every time.
We kids always looked forward to this. And every time we went somewhere in a taxi van with my uncle, we chanted the famous line, "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!"
I'll never forget those days, and how special it was to get an ice cream cone.
More Amish Dessert Recipes
If you try this Amish ice cream recipe, I'd love it if you left me a comment and star rating below. Thank you! And let me know what kind of ice cream you made.
Seriously, you can turn this vanilla ice cream into any yummy flavor! Whether it's in a bowl or on a cone, ice cream is a treat any day of the week. Plus, it pairs perfectly with chocolate cake, pie (especially Dutch apple pie), brownies, and more. It's just the best dessert for hot summer days!
📖 Recipe Card
Amish Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 ½ c. milk
- 1 - 1 ½ c. sugar
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 envelope unflavored gelatin dissolved in ¼ c. cold water
- 3 c. heavy whipping cream
- 1 - 2 Tbsp. vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Pour the milk into a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Sprinkle sugar over the top. Do NOT stir! Bring to the boiling point. (The milk will begin to rise as it starts to boil, so keep your eye on it.)3 ½ c. milk, 1 - 1 ½ c. sugar
- Beat the eggs and add the salt. Add about a cup of hot milk to the well-beaten eggs to temper. While whisking, slowly add the egg mixture to the hot milk. Whisk and cook until it comes to a light boil. Remove from the heat.3 eggs, room temperature, ¼ tsp. salt
- Add unflavored gelatin to cold water. Stir to dissolve and let it rest for a few minutes. Then whisk it into the hot egg/milk mixture.1 envelope unflavored gelatin dissolved in ¼ c. cold water
- Chill. It will be fairly thick, whisk until smooth.
- Add the heavy cream and vanilla to the well-chilled custard. Whisk to combine.3 c. heavy whipping cream, 1 - 2 Tbsp. vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- Pour into an ice cream freezer and freeze according to the instructions for your machine. It takes my machine takes approx. 40 minutes.
Anna
It's creamy and delicious!
Barry
Trying my first batch, is it just me or does it have quite a bit of a whip cream taste?
I may back down some of the whip cream quantity next batch.
Thanks
Anna
Hmmm...Ice cream typically has a lot of heavy cream in it. I've tried numerous recipes over the years and had some where the cream was definitely heavy on the mouth. But I didn't think this one was too heavy with cream. Not sure if it will set up as well if you cut back too much?
Gwen Goodman
This was an awesome recipe. It worked just as you said. Everyone loved it. It set up perfectly.
How would I make this into chocolate ice cream?
Anna
I've never tried it, but you could probably add cocoa powder to the custard and even some chopped chocolate.