The ultimate makeover: Vanilla ice cream

The ultimate makeover: Vanilla ice cream

Angela Nilsen creates a luscious ice cream that is creamy, fresh and - wait for it.... low-fat!

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Makes enough for 8 scoops

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 10 mins

Plus churning, and overnight chilling & freezing
Vegetarian

Vegetarian, Low-fat

Method

  1. Freeze the canister from the ice-cream machine a day before you make the ice cream (if your machine requires you to). Next day, mix the sugar, custard powder and cornflour with 2 tbsp milk to make a thin paste. Beat in egg yolks. Pour the rest of the milk into a pan, scrape in the vanilla seeds, add the pod, then bring to the boil. Pour this slowly over the cornflour mix, stirring all the time as you do so. Clean the pan, then pour the milk mixture and vanilla pod back into it. Cook over a medium heat, stirring all the time, until it just comes to the boil and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
  2. Remove from the heat, stir in the crème fraîche, then pour into a bowl. Place a piece of greaseproof paper over the surface to prevent a skin forming, then leave to cool. Put into the fridge until really cold for at least 4-5 hrs (preferably overnight).
  3. Remove the paper and vanilla pod from the custard, then transfer the custard into a jug. Turn on the ice cream machine, then slowly pour in the custard. Leave to churn for 10-30 mins (depending on your machine). When it stops, spoon into a plastic container, cover with cling film and a lid, then freeze for at least 3-4 hrs. (Will keep for up to 1 month. Do not re-freeze.) For the best taste, remove from the freezer and soften in the fridge for 1-1½ hrs before serving. Serve with fresh fruit.
Try

Making it healthier - Angela says...

A traditional scoop of vanilla ice cream contains 285 kcalories and 23g fat (12g is saturated fat). My version contains 148 kcalories and 8g fat (4g of which is saturated fat). Here's how I did it: Reduced the fat - I used less egg yolks and eliminated double cream. Introduced half-fat crème fraîche, custard powder and cornflour, then I used less sugar.

Per serving

148 kcalories, protein 4g, carbohydrate 17g, fat 8 g, saturated fat 4g, fibre 0g, sugar 15g, salt 0.11 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, July 2008.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • Binder photo Angela

    25 June 2008

    Angela commented on this recipe

    Fabulous recipe - I'll be making this again.

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  • Binder photo Angela

    25 June 2008

    Angela rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Angela

    25 June 2008

    Angela commented on this recipe

    And no, it's NOT Angela Nilsen with these comments.......

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  • Binder photo Hilarity

    10 July 2008

    Hilarity commented on this recipe

    I've recently made this ice cream and, although it was enjoyed, my family found it a bit "thin" tasting. That's because it is low fat. So the moral seems to be that if you want low fat you sacrifice the unctuousness of the ice cream. I found the use of creme fraiche instead of ordinary cream very interesting and will certainly use this again, but perhaps in the full fat version as I'm not overly worried about calories.

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  • Binder photo Hilarity

    10 July 2008

    Hilarity rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • Binder photo vikingqueen

    09 February 2009

    vikingqueen commented on this recipe

    Lovely ice cream, however I used semi skimmed milk and double cream instead of creme fraiche and it was fabulous!! Will become a regular feature in our house I think!

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  • Binder photo JULIA

    14 April 2012

    JULIA commented on this recipe

    Is the nutrition value per scoop? or two scoops?

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  • Binder photo LailaBadawi

    07 August 2012

    LailaBadawi commented on this recipe

    my husband loves it, says it's the best ice cream he'd ever had. although i have to admit that i couldn't find half fat creme fresh so i just used regular- whipping cream. thumbs up!!

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  • Binder photo patchybear

    16 October 2012

    patchybear rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I made this but it is a little thin tasteing and freezes like a rock.... Is good with hot sauce. But defeats the object. I think i will be sticking to shop bought light icecream- which is much creamier and half the calories of this recipe! however I did use be good to yourself creme fraich which is even lower in fat so that could be why. Maybe I'll try this recipe with single cream or a light alternative.

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Makes enough for 8 scoops

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 10 mins

Plus churning, and overnight chilling & freezing
Vegetarian

Vegetarian, Low-fat

Ingredients

  • 85g golden granulated sugar or caster
  • 1½ tsp custard powder
  • 1½ tsp cornflour
  • 500ml full-fat milk
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 vanilla pod , split in half lengthways
  • 200ml carton half-fat crème fraîche
  • lightly crushed raspberries or strawberries, to serve
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Per serving

148 kcalories, protein 4g, carbohydrate 17g, fat 8 g, saturated fat 4g, fibre 0g, sugar 15g, salt 0.11 g

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