No Churn Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream

Whenever I got dragged to the mall as a kid, this was the main thing I looked forward to (always a dessert person, even as a 7 year old I suppose). It was the inspiration behind this lemon orange cake, but this creamsicle ice cream really came about because I had remade my orange curd recently and was trying to come up with some cookie and pie free ways to use it up. My husband suggested swirling it into ice cream… and I said, of course. 

So here’s the deal: you make the curd ahead of time you store it in the fridge. The day before you want to eat the ice cream you drop a handful of ingredients into the food processor and run it until thick. Then, as you put it in the container you’ll freeze it in, layer the orange vanilla ice cream with orange curd. 

The blend of vanilla and orange here is exceptional, each making the other a little bit sweeter in that sophisticated way only a fresh vanilla bean or true extract and fresh orange zest and juice can. The texture is wonderfully creamy and now with my adult sensibilities and taste I find it deliciously tasteful and rich in the way that an overly sweetened, slightly artificial, orange julius could never be. 

Recipe Ingredients 

Orange Curd: We’ll use this orange curd recipe – the full amount and make it beforehand. All the tips and information you’ll need will be on that page. 

Heavy Cream: or heavy whipping cream, they are interchangeable. It should be cold before going into the food processor (or under a whisk). 

Sweetened condensed milk: This is milk that’s had a lot of the water reduced and has been cooked down with sugar. It adds the necessary fat and sugar to the ice cream. 

Vanilla: For an ice cream where the vanilla flavor is going to stand out quite a bit, I like using a freshly scraped vanilla bean or a vanilla bean paste. Extract will work too (you might miss the speckles) but enough of it will convey that vanilla taste just as well. 

Orange zest: While we could just layer the orange curd with the vanilla ice cream, it drives home that orange cream/creamsicle taste much better with some freshe zest dropped right into the cream before it’s thickened. 

How to make a no churn ice cream, in a food processor 

The usual method to make a no churn is to whip up some heavy cream and then add a can of sweetened condensed milk in it. The reason we whip the heavy cream first is to incorporate air into the mixture, which we’d normally do by churning. It’s not a perfect substitute but it works really well in lieu of an ice cream machine. Plus, it’s much easier! 

Instead of beating with a hand or stand mixer, I use my food processor as I do in my stabilized whipped cream. There is something a little too ‘airy’ in a no churn for me and getting a food processor to thicken and get some air into the mix, without too much, works exceptionally well. 

So all we’re going to do is drop all our ingredients into the food processor and process until the mix is rather thick. Then it’s ready for freezing! 

How to make no churn orange creamsicle ice cream without a food processor 

If you don’t have/don’t want to use the food processor you can also do this in a stand mixer, with a hand mixer or even with a whisk. You’ll just need to whip the heavy cream to soft peaks (add the orange zest and vanilla before you whip), then add the sweetened condensed milk. 

Could I make this orange creamsicle without the orange curd?

You could but.. it will taste like a vanilla ice cream with a hint of orange, not really orange cream =(

Freezing & storing homemade ice cream 

Store it in an airtight container. The ice cream will need to freeze overnight (or at least for six hours) for it to be ready to eat. If stored correctly (in the back of the freezer and overnight) it will be hard to scoop immediately out of the freezer. Leave it at room temperature for 3-5 minutes and it’ll be soft enough to scoop. The ice cream will keep in the freezer for a month. 

No Churn Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream

Smooth creamy no churn orange & vanilla bean ice cream layered with bright orange curd.

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Chill Time: 8 hours hrs

Yields: 2 pints

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 recipe orange curd
• 480 g or 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 396 g or 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or vanilla extract
• Pinch fine sea salt
• Zest of 1 large orange

Method

• The orange curd needs to be made a day ahead or at least 4 hours before you make the ice cream so that it can chill and thicken. Have it ready before you begin.
• Set the whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla salt and orange zest in a food processor (you can also do this with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer).
• Process on high for about 3-5 minutes, until the cream thickens. It’ll still be a little runny (not like whipped cream) but thick, see the video for reference.
• In your ice cream container, set about ¾ cup of the whipped cream mix then add a quarter of a cup of orange curd on top. Gently swirl the mix a bit then repeat with ¾ cups whipped cream and ¼ cup of curd. Keep doing this until you’ve used up the full curd recipe and all the whipped cream mix.
• Set in the freezer for at least 8 hours to chill.
• The ice cream will be rock hard when you pull it out of the freezer but give it about 5 minutes at room temperature and you’ll be able to scoop it smoothly.

Notes

Makes a little over 2 pints.

Did you make this recipe?

Share & tag me on instagram @buttermilkbysam

2 comments