Homemade Pumpkin Ice Cream

Ingredients

After reading ingredient labels and talking about gut health many gluten free cooks lean into cooking with real food. Most ice cream is probably gluten free, but homemade ice cream is fun to make and delicious to eat.

• Eggs & sugar - The base for most ice cream recipes.

• Canned pumpkin puree - Read the label to ensure you have this single ingredient, not pumpkin pie filling.

• Whipping cream & milk - For just the right creaminess.

• Cinnamon, cloves & ginger - The combination some call pumpkin pie spice.

See recipe card for exact amounts.

Instructions

Making ice cream is always simple. Turning it into a dessert that looks like it was simple, requires a bit of planning.

1. Store the insert in the freezer. The ice cream maker insert from my machine lives in the bottom of my freezer. It is wrapped in a large bag so it's always clean and ready to use.
2. Make making ice cream part of your event. Watching the magic of cranking a simple mixture into a frozen dessert is fun. Assign this task to the first guest who offers. There's always someone who wants to get in on the action.
3. Clear a space in the freezer. My machine makes a soft ice cream that can easily wait in the freezer while we eat. Even if it is a few hours the ice cream will harden slightly yet be creamy smooth when you serve it.
4. Make garnishes in advance. To serve this pumpkin ice cream with caramel sauce and candied roasted pumpkin seeds, you've got two options. Make the sauce and seeds in advance or line up guests to each take on one job. With this no-cook ice cream all three recipes can easily be made in one evening.

Substitutions

Whipping cream and milk - You can substitute with slightly different degrees of fat from 2% milk right up to 35% whipping cream. It will affect the creaminess and that is something you can experiment with to your own liking.

Dairy Free - I have one dairy free ice cream and that is a Coconut Ice Cream that I serve topped with fresh mango and salted peanuts. If you're looking to make this ice cream dairy free I recommend you look at that recipe, substitute thoughtfully and repeat until you have a base to make many different ice cream recipes.

Variations

This recipe is just for the ice cream. Serving variations is where the fun begins.

• Top with an easy caramel sauce without alcohol.
• Up your game with this bourbon-caramel sauce. The sauce recipe is part of my Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart and is divine over the pumpkin ice cream.
• Roasted pumpkin seeds can be folded into or sprinkled on top of this ice cream.
• To kick it up a notch make my sweet and salty candied pumpkin seeds for the perfect contrast to pumpkin ice cream and caramel sauce.

Storage

Ice cream can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for weeks. But it will never be as creamy smooth as it is the first time you make it.

Get The Tools

An ice cream maker is a great gift for Christmas, birthdays or anyone new to gluten free. We're all about creating new traditions around food and having fun.

• My hand crank Donvier Ice Cream Maker has no moving parts and is more than 20 years old.
• We also have an Electric Ice Cream Maker at our family cabin so we're ready for ice cream anytime.

Top Tip: Celebrate Pumpkin Season

Love it or hate it, Starbucks turned pumpkin spice into an actual season. For adventurous cooks that means we're cooking up some seasonal favourites. Whether you're scooping real pumpkin seeds out of your pumpkin to roast or buying canned pumpkin puree, there is a lot of fun to be had in the kitchen.

• Listen to my podcast interview with Sue Jennett on A Canadian Celiac Podcast to hear All The Fuss About Pumpkin Spice and get inspired.
• Check out my Pumpkin Recipe Roundup to find something that excites you. Then plan to make it!