Welcome to Ice Cream Week at The Growing Foodie! I’ve been planning this week since the start of the summer and am so glad that it is finally here.  I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the last weeks of summer than with my favorite food group, ice cream.

Oh wait, that isn’t a food group?  Really?  My mom always taught me that it was, and I was also taught to always respect my elders so…ice cream food group it is!  The week is going to feature five great ice cream flavors, of which four do not even involve eggs (or an ice cream machine for that matter)!  But let’s get to the star of the day…

If you made my Dulce de Leche along with me this weekend, then you’re all set for this!  If not, buy some premade from the store and play along!  John has actually dubbed this ice cream “Dulce de Likey” I kid you not because of both of our desires to slurp right from the bowl rather than churn it into ice cream!  However, once churned, it becomes this creamy frozen dessert with a light caramel flavor.  If you have extra, stir it into your iced coffee—that is how John has been doctoring his lately!
Dulce de Leche Ice Cream (adapted from here)
Serves:  4 (4 cups)
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
2/3 - 1 cup Dulce de Leche (taste as you go)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 vanilla bean’s seeds)

Combine heavy cream, milk, dulce de leche, and vanilla extract.  Whisk together until the dulce de leche is combined into the cream (about 3 minutes).  Taste and add more dulce de leche depending on taste.  Pour into an 8x8 baking pan and stick it in the freezer for at least 2 hours, edges should be set (middle still jiggles).  Then, whisk it together again until re-incorporated (3 more minutes).  Pour it into an airtight container and store 4 more hours, or overnight, until hardened.

Or place the whisked ice cream into your ice cream machine and a soft ice cream that is pure decadence will come out! 

The greatest part (to me) about this recipe is the lack of sugar.  The sweetened condensed milk turned dulce de leche is so sweet and tasty that I didn’t add additional sugar!  And we didn’t miss it, which is the most important part!  I also substituted the whole milk for skim and it worked fine too.  For a creamier end result, omit the milk entirely and just use the heavy cream.  It is a creamy delight! 

Stay tuned for tomorrow…a recipe all my own that features a kitchen disaster (who wouldn’t want to hear about THAT?!). 

Until the next time my oven is on…