Pumpkin pie ice cream! No churn and easy! 

Think fall, think spiced pumpkin latte, except deeper, creamier, spicier. Full bodied pumpkin flavour and an explosion of frosty sweet and spice on the palate – Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream. 

Golden gleaming pumpkin pie ice cream

I love this Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream. I made it using fresh pumpkin and it came out tasting amazing. And the family loved it too. Daughters who don’t really love pumpkin ate it all. Little sugar crumble even interrupted the vlogging for a taste so that spoke volumes to this Sugar Crumble Mama. It’s a KEEPER 😊

Make your own & use fresh ingredients

Reaction from Beautiful, Daughter No.2  …

“Mom, this is nice but why can’t you make the usual chocolate or vanilla?”

Because when you make your own, it’s your patch and you can be absolutely unconventional. 

Fancy a scoop?

Think it’ll be a while yet for homemade chocolate and vanilla ice cream in this household 🤨

If it’s your patch, what flavour would you make? 😊

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What to watch out for …

#1 Pumpkin spice & all things nice  

Cinnamon, cardamom & sea salt

DO NOT SKIP the spice in this Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream. The woody punchy cinnamon, the warm piney, fruity cardamom and the hit of sea salt. It’s what makes the pumpkin flavour pop.

 #2 Ice Cream Tips

No churn ice cream tends to be more icy as the lack of churning does not break up the structure of the ice cream as much resulting in larger ice crystals which creates ici-ness. The following are some tips which I find helps to produce a smoother and softer ice cream texture.

• Keep them Cold Cold Cold!

Think Elsa Frozen …

The biggest key to good ice cream is keeping everything very cold.  I like to freeze my bowl and beaters for ~30 minutes before I start whipping my cream as the coldness helps the cream to whip up quickly.

Super chilled pumpkin puree

I also like to keep all the ingredients chilled so that the whipped cream is kept cold when combined and then popped back immediately to freeze in the refrigerator. 

• Do not over-whip the cream

For all no churn ice cream, use heavy cream with at least 35% fat and always whisk the cream only till soft peaks. The higher fat content reduces ici-ness and makes for a creamier dessert.

Beautiful soft peaks …

When all the pumpkin purée and spices have been added and combined, you want the batter to have the texture of melted ice cream at room temperature and this is more easily achieved with soft peaks whipped cream. I find the ice cream batter with this sort of consistency produces a smoother, softer and creamier texture.

• Condensed Milk and Corn Syrup

Icy ice cream is the result of the water content in the mixture forming large ice crystals which creates ici-ness. Using high viscosity liquid sweeteners like condensed milk and light corn syrup reduces the crystallization process and produces a less icy and softer ice cream texture. 

Low fat works just as well!

Some say using full fat condensed milk produces a creamier ice cream but I beg to defer. I used the low fat version (96.5% less fat to be exact!) and the texture came out perfectly creamy. In my book, that means less guilt, more scoops and greater ice cream indulgence 😊 ! 

1/2 cup sweetener for 2 pints

I generally like my desserts less sweet so this Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream only uses half a cup of low fat condensed milk for two pints of ice cream. Different types of pumpkin also have different sweetness so do experiment switching up or down the levels to find your perfect sweet spot, to suit your preference and the variety of pumpkin used. 

• Keep them airtight and small 

To keep the ice cream as air tight as possible, a good way is to flatten a piece of cling wrap, wax paper or parchment, sealing the surface of the ice cream to prevent contact with air. This helps to reduce ici-ness and prevent freezer burn.

Love the extra airtight seal 

I actually found these pint sized airtight containers which came with an additional airtight seal that was perfect for keeping and freezing the ice cream. They are definitely recyclable too. No need for cling wrap or parchment paper –  SAVE THE EARTH!

The pint size was also ideal as I like to store the ice cream in smaller containers which can be preferably served and consumed at a single sitting. With larger-sized containers, taking the ice cream out & letting it soften for a serving, before freezing it again causes the ice crystals to expand and therefore ici-ness.

Pint size keeps out ici-ness … 

That is also typically the reason why even with commercial ice cream, the more it is refrozen after scooping, it still tends to harden and become icy.

#3 Storage 

This Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream tastes best eaten in the first 2 days and can be kept for 3 to 5 days stored airtight (note tips in #2 above) in the freezer. Again, homemade ice cream is never designed for longevity, therefore enjoy and eat yours fresh!

Creamy spicy pumpkin-ness

If you like this Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream, you might also enjoy this No Churn Blueberry Cheese Ice Cream or this Easy Lemon Ice Cream Cake.

Did you make this delicious Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream? I would love to know how it turned out. Tell me more! 😊  Please leave me a comment or tag me on Instagram, FB hashtag #thesugarcrumble