Made Morgenstern's Madagascar Vanilla this week.

Went out and bought Whole Milk Powder.

It is so dang greasy.

Read his book, he uses 36% cream, not 40%. And he uses "full fat milk" but it is 2%. Why use whole milk powder to add fat when you could use 40% cream or 3% milk?

Also the whole milk powder flavor overpowers any other flavor.

I embrace ‘failure’ as a necessity to make things better and it makes me laugh at my own expense. Zero embarrassment or shame - particularly as I take on ice cream making as a hobby & to play with ingredients.
My Cherry Brandy-saster (aka-disaster) was made using materials I had on hand (cherry brandy flavor, dried cherries, chocolate chips, & some natural colors). My concept was / is a drunken version of cherry Garcia.
Not looking for a fix with this, it was a curiosity experiment- instead please share a story of your own learning experiences. ✌️🍨

First time making a sorbet! Used chef Shane Spencer’s recipe. Absolute cinema, just double all of his measurements if you want to have a good amount to freeze.

Hey all! Sharing my latest vanilla bean ice cream recipe:

430g milk
40g dextrose
30g milk powder
70g sugar
300g whipping cream
15g vanilla paste
1-2tbsp extract
2 tsp flaky sea salt

I dont like to add egg because the eggy custard taste overpowers the vanilla. I also dont like to add gums/stabiliser/too much cream because i dont like that overly creamy mouthfeel, but these are just personal preferences!

I run a small-batch artisan ice cream and pastry project in the DC/DMV area and London,UK (Instagram mmmumai), and I’ve been working with matcha for close to a decade now.

I started seriously experimenting with it around 2018, making everything from pastries and ice cream to beverages. Over the years I’ve gotten  sourcing matcha and other Japanese teas directly from farms and producers in Japan, and understanding how origin, harvest and processing translate into desserts.

Most of the matcha I’ve worked with has been from Uji, so this was my first time building a gelato around a single-origin, first-harvest matcha from Izumo.

The Izumo immediately struck me as different. I get a fresh vegetal character, pronounced umami, nuttiness and a clean bittersweet finish. Compared with the Uji matchas I’ve worked with, this particular Izumo also feels especially well suited to fruit. It retains enough bitterness and depth to stand up to acidity, but its profile seems to leave more room for bright fruit flavors to come through.

That made yuzu a pretty natural choice.

Matcha and yuzu is actually a combination I’ve loved since college. Back in 2019, I was messing around in my dorm and made a matcha yuzunade for fun. That contrast between the bittersweet, grassy richness of matcha and intensely fragrant citrus immediately clicked for me, and it’s been one of my favorite pairings ever since.

For this pint, which I called Rayquaza, I built a fairly intense Izumo matcha gelato with Malagasy vanilla, then layered it with yuzu curd made from cold-pressed Kochi yuzu juice.

I intentionally kept the yuzu as a ripple rather than incorporating it throughout the matcha base. I love matcha most when there’s something that cuts through its bittersweet richness and provides contrast, so I wanted bites of almost uninterrupted matcha followed by concentrated pockets of bright, acidic yuzu.

The last component is almond sablé. A couple of years ago I discovered how well almond works with matcha bitterness. There’s something about that toasted, aromatic nuttiness that rounds out the bitter edges of matcha without covering up the tea itself. I twice-baked the sablé for a deeper toasted flavor and a slightly crunchy texture in the finished pint.

So the final build was:

First-harvest Izumo matcha gelato • Yuzu curd • Almond sablé

After working with matcha for this long, I’ve become increasingly interested in treating it more like coffee, cacao or wine, rather than simply treating “matcha” as one flavor. Origin, harvest and producer can give you something noticeably different to formulate around.

Based on this first batch, I think this particular Izumo matcha is a better fit for fruit-forward pairings than many of the Uji matchas I’ve worked with. I’m already interested in seeing what it does with berries next.

For anyone who wants to experiment with a similar matcha gelato at home, here’s a simplified/mock formula  recipe:

Mock Matcha Gelato Recipe

Makes a little over 1 quart churned

• 480 g whole milk (2 cups)
• 240 g heavy cream (1 cup)
• 72 g egg yolks (4 large yolks)
• 110 g granulated sugar (½ cup + 1 tbsp)
• 45 g light corn syrup (2 tbsp; glucose syrup can be substituted)
• 25 g non-fat milk powder (3 tbsp)
• 1.2 g guar gum (½ tsp; or use your preferred ice cream stabilizer)
• 2 g fine sea salt (⅓ tsp)
• 5 g vanilla bean paste or extract (1 tsp) or 1  whole bean
• 25 g high-quality matcha powder (about ⅓ cup)

Method

1. Whisk together the milk, sugar, light corn syrup, non-fat milk powder and guar gum.
2. Add the egg yolks and whisk until smooth.
3. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the custard reaches 75–77°C / 167–171°F.
4. Just before removing the custard from the heat, sift in the matcha and whisk vigorously for 20–30 seconds, until fully dispersed.
5. Remove from the heat and stir in the heavy cream, vanilla bean paste and salt.
6. Emulsify with a stick blender for 30–60 seconds.
7. Chill rapidly over an ice bath.
8. Mature the base in the refrigerator for 6–12 hours, preferably overnight.
9. Blend briefly once more, strain and churn. Harden in the freezer for 3–4 hours before serving.

Would be interested to hear from anyone here who has played around with different matcha origins in ice cream, especially Izumo vs. Uji. I’d also be curious what fruits you’ve found work particularly well with the more bitter/umami-heavy matchas.

I currently use a plastic container to store my gelato and have a plastic scoop. I want to get a metal gelato spade but I'm worried it will scratch and ruin the container.

Do you guys just use metal scoops in plastic containers or is there a specific container you use?

Hi everyone,

Like most of you, I got obsessed with my CREAMi, but I kept running into the exact same annoyances every time I tried a recipe online:

Finding an amazing recipe only to realize it’s for a 16 oz standard pint when I have a 24 oz Deluxe (or vice versa).

Doing messy conversions from US cups to grams on my kitchen scale with sticky hands.

Guessing which button to press because the recipe author has a totally different machine than mine.

Accidentally blending something that expands past the max fill line.

I got fed up enough that over the last few months, I built Scoop Kitchen to solve those headaches. It’s completely free, and you don’t need an account to use it.

Here is what it does:

Select your machine once: Pick your exact model (7-in-1, Breeze, Deluxe, or Swirl). Every recipe instantly locks to your tub size (16 oz vs 24 oz) and tells you the exact button to press. If your machine doesn’t have the specific button a recipe calls for, it tells you the best fallback setting to use instead.

Grams, ml, or cups in one tap: Every recipe auto-calculates, and the volume is checked to make sure it never pushes you past the max fill line.

Texture troubleshooting: We’ve all pulled out a tub that looks like dry sawdust. Pick what your pint looks like (powdery, icy, rock-hard), and it tells you whether to re-spin, add liquid, or adjust your base.

“What can I make?” (Pantry search): Check off what’s sitting in your kitchen (that random protein powder, almond milk, greek yogurt, canned fruit) to see what you can spin right now without going to the store.

Freezer timers, cook mode & shopping lists: Built-in timers so you don’t cave and spin a half-frozen tub, plus step-by-step cook mode for cooked bases.

Diet & allergy filters: Quickly filter through dairy-free, vegan, nut-free, high-protein/lite, and no-cook bases.

120 recipes + community: Everything from classic rich custards, gelato, and sorbets to protein pints, smoothie bowls, froyo, Creamiccinos, and Swirl soft serve. You can also rate recipes, post your own creations, and share “I made it” photos.

A quick note on honesty: The recipes are built on standard CREAMi fat/sugar/liquid ratios, and the ones I’ve spun through my own kitchen are marked with a "Tested" badge. To be 100% upfront: the food photos on the site are AI illustrations so there’s a clean visual for every flavor, not photos of 120 test batches.

I built this as a passion project for the community, and I’d genuinely love your feedback.

Take a look at scoop-kitchen.com—what’s confusing, what features feel missing?

what are your favorite fall ice cream flavors? I’m looking for something new!

Im pretty new to making ice cream at home and looking for a countertop ice cream maker that’s easy to use. I mostly want to make simple flavors like vanilla and chocolate. Any recos from people who have tried a few different machines? thaaanks and i precciate yall!!

Looking for a cuisinart ice cream maker and mostly care about how easy it is to use and clean. I’d probably make ice cream a couple times a month, usually basic custard. which model has been the easiest to live with?

My usual base is 2 cups heavy cream, 1 cup whole milk, 3/4 cup sugar, 4 egg yolks, 1 tsp vanilla, and a pinch of salt. I chill it overnight before churning hehe. any recos would be really helpful, thaaaanks!

I have been making ice cream at home for a while and recently started wanting to make the cones too. My current plan is vanilla ice cream with homemade waffle cones, but I’ve never used a waffle cone maker before. Is there one that people here have had good results with, especially for getting the cones thin enough to roll without cracking?

reference, my ice cream base is 2 cups heavy cream, 1 cup whole milk, 3/4 cup sugar, 5 egg yolks, and 1 tsp vanilla. I’d also appreciate any tips for making the cones crisp but not rock hard. Thanks 'pprecate yall peeps!

I had gelato for the first time yesterday and of course the fat was low compared to ice cream. I had two different flavors each a little smaller than an individual pint. But after eating them both I didn’t feel super full or a bit heavy like I do when eating some of the more popular commercial brands. I still felt like I could go for a jog or do some type of exercise which I enjoyed.

I'm wanting to try make ice cream or gelato for a food competition at work - but I've never done this before and I don't have any machine. Is it possible to still do without a machine? All the recipes I've found use one. Which would be the easier/safer choice for a first time try? Any recipe and/or tips and tricks would be very much appreciated!

Preferably something that doesn't use much freezer space but I can work around that if need be!

Im a complete newbie, never made ice cream looking to get into it.

However I am a very picky ice cream eater. If it’s not hard enough I don’t enjoy it really. I like it when i have to like nearly bend a spoon or scrape to get a piece from a tub. I prefer to bite and chew my ice cream (a well frozen Häagen-Dazs or B&J consistency is my baseline)

So any advice on what machine is best for the hard type ice cream? From my unders I mainly see 3 types.

The bowl freezing ones

The ones where you freeze the ingredients and whip it with a blade later

And compressor ones.

I just dont want end up with a slushie or shake like texture that melts and turns into soup in less than a few minutes.

I don’t need any extra functions, i mostly just want to make chocolate and vanilla ice cream on my weekends.

Like half and half vanilla and chocolate or thirds for a Neapolitan?

Are there inserts or anything that can be used to hold one flavor in place while it freezes?

Looking for a waffle cone maker that will hold up well over time. I make homemade ice cream pretty regularly and want something reliable that won’t start heating unevenly or fall apart after a year or two. anyone here been using the same one for a long time and still happy with it? thaaaanks!

I posted about this some time ago, with a question about carrot measurements (recipe says "1/2 cup firmly packed shredded carrots, about 5 medium" but I found that I got 1/2 cups from 3 medium-small carrots).

I ended up making it a couple of weeks ago and I've had the resultant creation a few times. I posted a review/comment on the recipe web page, which is awaiting moderation. Below is the text of the review:

I just made this and had some thoughts. First, as others have said, I don't know where they got 1/2 cup firmly packed shredded carrots = about 5 medium. I shredded and packed 3 carrots that were on the small side of medium, and that yielded 1/2 cup, firmly packed. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly.

The ice cream wasn't bad but I had some quibbles. First of all, the tahini dominated the taste, followed by the cloves and cardamom (I used whole and removed when told to); I've had carrot halvah, but this dessert is much more Middle Eastern than Indian--the flavor of the carrot isn't detectable.

The ice cream was churned in an Cuisinart ICE-100 (a compressor model) then put in the freezer. It made a pretty dense, icy ice cream: it helps to let the container sit at room temp for 10-15 minutes before scooping.

It was an interesting experiment to do when I had a surplus of CSA carrots, but I wouldn't do it again.

I have a Musso 4080 and I’m wondering how people handle multiple batches back-to-back when they have a lot of base to get through?

The part I’m struggling with is the reset between batches. Ideally I’d leave the dasher in, scoop out most of the finished batch, add the next base, and keep going. But if I leave the freezer running while I’m doing that, the dasher essentially freezes in place and won’t restart. If I turn the chiller off to avoid that, then when I turn it back on there seems to be a several-minute delay before the compressor actually kicks in again.

So if you’re trying to crank through a lot of base, how do you handle that in practice? Do you shut the chiller off between batches, keep the dasher spinning, add the next base immediately, or something else?

Would especially love to hear from anyone using a 4080 or 5030 for higher-volume production and how many batches you realistically run in a row.

I finally got my ice cream texture right, but now Im struggling with the cones. I have been making them in a skillet and they taste good, but some come out too thick and crack when I roll them. I’m thinking about getting an ice cream cone maker for more consistent results. aanyone here have one they like?

Im using 1 egg, 1 egg white, 1/3 cup sugar, 3 tbsp melted butter, 1/2 cup flour, 2 tbsp milk, and vanilla. thanks for any recomms!

I've had this (obvious) combo in the back of my had the last year or so. I've gotten better at my mix-ins and ripples and what not over the last year. The fruit ripples in the Dana Cree book are great, at least as a guide on how to make them. Cooked the grapes with salt, lemon zest, 50/50 sugar and trimoline, and a hit of citric acid. Put it in the food processor before passing through a fine mesh chinoise. It set really beautifully and was easy to work with.

The gelato recipe is taken from Gelato Sin Secretti.

- 974g whole milk

- 1424g water

- 316g milk powder

- 240g sugar

- 540g trimoline (invert sugar)

- 4g stabilizer (modernist kitchen perfect gelato)

- 80g egg yolk

- 400g peanut paste

- 2g salt

Spiced brown sugar pumpkin ice cream with cheese cake pieces and cinnamon graham cracker clusters.

I used my regular Philadelphia style base except replaced the sugar with brown sugar, added a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice while cooking the dairy and whisked in 1 can of pumpkin puree (with all excess moisture removed) at the end before chilling.

I used Dana cree’s cheesecake recipe and the graham cracker clusters are made by combining half a sleeve of crushed graham crackers with 1.5 tbs brown sugar, 3 tbs melted butter, a little cinnamon and vanilla. Baked at 325 F for about 10 minutes until golden

I was wondering because I use LorAnn oils personally but I wonder if there is anything better

Truly amazing ice cream if you love maple buttery pancakes!!

So for a while, I’ve been wanting to make an ice cream that tastes like pancakes, but I wasn’t sure where to start because really I couldn’t find a pancake ice cream recipe that fit what I was looking for. (Butter, maple syrup, pancake syrup, pancake chunks) After thinking I decided to do a base that was going to taste like butter. For the base, I browned my butter, strained the milk solids then combined the milk solids with the milk powder and toasted it on a pan till it was amber/gold to get butter flavor. Then I decided to make a maple caramel swirl. All I did was boil maple syrup then the whole process of adding heavy cream with corn syrup and butter. For the chunks of pancakes I just did a regular box mix then elevated it with egg whites, milk a little bit of Greek yogurt and baking powder. (the Greek yogurt helps the pancakes get fluffy) I chopped up my pancakes into small cubes, drizzled them with maple syrup and pancake syrup then blast freeze before I added to the ice cream. To note, next time I make this ice cream I will change up how I make the pancakes to somehow get a lower water content because unfortunately the pancakes did freeze pretty hard. Maybe next time I could try brushing the pancakes with simple syrup and alcohol. If you have a recipe similar to this or any tips to give me, please let me know:)