What’s your scoop?

If you’ve checked the forecast for this weekend, then you’ve probably already made plans to stay indoors like I have with the upcoming nearly-120-degree temperatures. The only positive of this scorching heat is the excuse to eat frozen treats whenever I want… and that includes ice cream!

Since the excessive heat warnings have us imprisoned in our own homes, I’m thankful to have been able to make use of T-fal’s new Ice Cream Maker to keep my family cool. I’m a big fan of most T-fal products I’ve tried. I used to have a spendy addiction on high-end perfumes—but now that addiction has changed to hoarding kitchen appliances. If I need to get my ‘fix’ but don’t have a huge budget for some of the pricier, higher-end kitchen gadgets and tools, T-fal usually fits the bill.

I had the chance to test their Ice Cream Maker (newly released this year in March) which was perfect for the season. It’s incredibly easy to use, quiet, doesn’t take up much space on the countertop and produces ice cream, gelato, frozen yogurt and sorbets in about 20-40 minutes.

T-fal Ice Cream Maker

Ice cream making does require a little prep as you will need your base to chill in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours as well as freezing the ice cream bowl, but luckily the actual active prep takes hardly more than a couple of minutes. On my first try, I whipped up a simple, vanilla ice cream base (nothing more than pouring the ingredients into a bowl and whisking until combined) and let it chill overnight while the ice cream bowl attachment hung out in the freezer. If you’re like me and not super great at planning ahead, just keep the bowl attachment permanently in your freezer so it will be ready to go whenever you have a craving, and make sure to use already-refrigerated ingredients in your base to cut down chill time. The next day, I grabbed my three year old and let her “help” break up chocolate peanut butter bars as our add-in. The ice cream-making process is so simple, you can definitely get your kids involved. Simply attach the frozen bowl attachment to the machine, turn it on, pour your base in and walk away for about 20-30 minutes! Even my toddler commented saying, “That was easy… and it’s not loud at all!”

First attempt

When finished, we had creamy ice cream with the consistency of soft-serve. I took a few (ok, maybe more than a few) tastes and packed the rest into a plastic container in the freezer to harden up a bit.

Once we saw how simple the process was, we got more creative from there with combos including Nutella Ice Cream, Vanilla with Salted Vanilla Bean Caramel Ribbons (from local caramel-maker Millie’s Caramels), and Minted Lime Sorbet. All were huge hits in my house!

Ice Cream Trio

If you’re making multiple batches, T-fal suggests to freeze your bowl for 4 hours between batches, though I was able to cheat a bit and didn’t need to freeze for so long. All of the attachments disassemble quickly and were very easy to clean.

The only thing to note about the machine is that it’s one of the more petite models on the market. It holds 1 liter which seemed to be just enough for my family to enjoy in one serving (though we really like our ice cream around here). But with its $39.99 price tag, it can’t be beat!

For more info or to purchase one for yourself, visit t-falusa.com.

What variation would you make if you had an ice cream machine at home?

^{A test unit was provided for review purposes. View our Disclosure Policy for more detail.}