I saw the headline and immediately thought: “Yah, I could. But I’d need $12,000 machine to do it!” Not so, says dessert specialist Taylor Ann Spencer. And she offers 5 ‘good’ reasons we should all make our own soft serve…
We’ve all seen the stainless steel monsters behind the counter at Fast Food joints which magically ooze Soft Serve ice cream at the touch of a button. But Spencer says we can all duplicate this other-worldly feat in our own kitchens – with a few common culinary tools and some simple ingredients…
Prove it, Spencer!
Our spot serve tutor does more than that, actually. Much more. Want justification for taking the dive into unknown dessert territory? Spencer gives us ‘5 good reasons’…
1. It’s easy
As we hinted above… No fancy equipment, ingredients or techniques required. Also, less time and fussing overall…
2. You can have it whenever you want it.
No disappointment when you get to the fast food joint and the machine is ‘out of order’ (again)…
3. You know what you’re eating.
Speaks for itself.
4. You don’t have to worry about dirty resto machines.
We’ve all heard the stories, over and over again, about how Fast Food employees avoid cleaning complex machines like the soft serve dispenser. And the machines end up crawling with mold and bacteria…
5. It’s the ultimate Party ‘flex’.
What could be more fun than ‘crowd participation’ Soft Serve piping and decorating?
What you do
Carrying on a numerical theme, here… The recipe calls for only 5 ingredients and requires only 5 steps to complete.
If you have 2 cups of heavy cream, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1.4 cup sweetened condensed milk, some Vanilla, and 1/4 tsp salt, you can get started right now.
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- First, you simmer the cream, sugar and salt for a couple of minutes, just until the sugar is dis-solved. Then, stir in the Vanilla.
- Next, transfer the mixture to a freezer-safe container and chill in the freezer for 2 hours – until very cold, but not frozen.
- Then, whip the cream mixture to the stiff peaks stage and fold in the condensed milk.
- Return the mixture to the freezer for another 2-4 hours – until ‘frozen’.
- Transfer the finished soft serve to a piping bag for dressing cones.
And there you have it!
You might want to make a double batch. Folks WILL want seconds or ‘overloaded’ cones… You can store any leftovers for up to 2 weeks, tightly covered, in the freezer.
My take
The only drawback I can see to making my own soft serve is the cost of cream. Today, as I write this, a 1 pint / 473 ml / 2 cup container of Heavy (35%) Whipping Cream averages right around $5.50 at the 4 major supermarket chains in my area. But compare that to a plain soft serve cone at Dairy Queen: $2.00 $4.50, depending on the size you order.
So on top of the 5 reasons Spencer quotes, you’re also way ahead on the price of your cone(s)!
~ Maggie J.