The 74-Year-Old No-Churn Ice Cream Recipe That's Shockingly Simple

I scream, you scream we all scream for...homemade no-churn ice cream? Well, we all most certainly should be after finding out how easy it is to make. In a recent TikTok video, B. Dylan Hollis, a well-known content creator and author of the book, Baking Yesteryear, shares an ice cream recipe from 1949, which is both easy and inexpensive. Appropriately titled Poor Man’s Ice Cream, this recipe seemed like the ideal treat to beat the heat and while you don't have to be living on a 1949 budget to make it, it does help that the limited amount of ingredients are things that are affordable and easy to find. Here's how to make it.

Get the recipe: Poor Man's Ice Cream

Ingredients for Poor Man’s Ice Cream

The list of ingredients is short and sweet (literally!) and is made up of things that you may already have hiding throughout your kitchen. All you need is a can of evaporated milk, powdered sugar and some vanilla extract. That’s it. With these three simple ingredients, and a bit of electric elbow grease, you could be on your way to making your own “poor man’s” ice cream.

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How to Make the Poor Man’s Ice Cream

The process is simple, but you should know that it's not quick. First, stick the can of evaporated milk and a mixing bowl in the fridge overnight so they can get nice and cold. Once chilled, pour the milk into your chilled bowl and add 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and a some vanilla extract. Hollis doesn't give a measurement, so ad as much (or as little) vanilla as you like. A teaspoon is a good place to start.

Next, using a hand mixer, blend up all the ingredients until they are whipped into a thick cream. It will look a bit like meringue or marshmallow fluff. Place the bowl in the freezer for at least an hour, then remove the ice cream and whip it again. At this point, the ice cream will have a very soft texture. You can eat it as is or put it back in the freezer until it gets firmer. NOTE: It's never going to be as firm as traditional ice cream.

What I Thought of the Poor Man’s Ice Cream

Although it was very fun to whip up, let’s just say that I’m happy that I’m fortunate enough that I can buy my ice cream. The ice cream is very sweet and very creamy, but it’s almost too sweet and creamy. If you’re looking for a fun activity to do with kids or a significant other though, making the poor man’s ice cream is great. If you’re looking for a quick way to satisfy your craving for frozen treats, however, just go buy some ice cream.

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A Few Tips For Making Poor Man’s Ice Cream

1. Leave it in the freezer longer than an hour. The ice cream is ready to eat after resting in the freezer for an hour, but for a firmer texture, Hollis recommends placing the ice cream back in the freezer for a longer period to allow the mixture to set. This is something that I did, and I will agree that it does improve the texture.
2. Add a pinch of salt. This stuff is sweet. Adding a healthy pinch of salt helps balance that out a bit. 
3. Try some toppings. The soft, sweet ice cream doesn't have the depth of flavor of store-bought ice cream, so this is a great place to add some chocolate sauce, berries, etc. 
4. Switch out the sugar. To me, the flavor of the powdered sugar was overwhelming, so I tried a version made with 1/2 cup granulated sugar. It was still sweet, but less sweet and it didn't have that distinctive powdered sugar flavor, which was an improvement for me. To make that version, slowly pour in 1/2 cup granulated sugar as you whip the evaporated milk. 
5. Whip it good. For the best texture, you want to make sure you get a lot of air into the evaporated milk. If you have a stand mixer, now's the time to bust it out. You want the evaporated milk mixture to turn into the texture of meringue or marshmallow fluff and come close to tripling in volume. That will probably take somewhere around 3 to 5 minutes.

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