Make Vanilla-Manuka Honey Ice Cream Right at Home!

Vanilla-Manuka Honey Soft Serve Ice Cream

It’s likely most have thought about how cool it might be to make your own ice cream, since nothing truly compares to the fresh taste of ice cream made right in your kitchen, with all the flavor intact and not lost after preservatives and production time have been added to the final product. Luckily, the pleasure of homemade ice cream is available to anyone with the right ingredients—without even needing to buy an ice cream maker, which can certainly cost a pretty penny. All it takes is having an electric mixer or a food processor, a blender, access to a freezer, and the time to do it, and if done right, you’ll have the smoothest ice cream you’ve ever had. This Vanilla-Manuka Honey Soft Serve blend doesn’t even require the fixings that typically go on a sundae—it’s just that good. So, let’s get started!

Ingredients for Vanilla-Manuka Honey Ice Cream

6 large egg yolks

½ cup granulated sugar

⅓ cup Manuka honey

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

3 cups heavy cream

3 ounces of cream cheese, cubed, at room temperature

⅓ cup whole milk

Directions for Vanilla-Manuka Honey Ice Cream

1. In a large bowl, whisk together yolks, sugar, Manuka honey, vanilla, and salt until smoothly blended.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring heavy cream to a simmer.
3. Whisking the yolks constantly, slowly pour half of the hot cream into the egg mixture.
4. Scrape custard back into saucepan and cook over medium-low heat (stirring constantly) until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (which is about 180 degrees on an instant-read or a candy thermometer). Note: Do not let mixture come to a simmer, as it could curdle.
5. Strain into a heatproof bowl and whisk in cream cheese until completely melted.
6. Nestle bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice water.
7. Using a hand mixer or an immersion blender, whip custard until thick and cold for about 5 minutes. Then, spoon mixture into 3 or 4 ice cube trays, and freeze for at least 3 hours or overnight (can be up to 1 week).
8. Using an offset spatula or a butter knife, pop out ice cream cubes.
9. Transfer to a food processor or blender. Pulse cubes with whole milk until the ice cream is smooth and has the consistency of soft serve. Serve immediately or return to container and freeze for up to 1 week.
10. Most importantly, enjoy your easy-to-make, homemade ice cream!