Sweet Cream Ice Cream Base

1. Fill a large bowl halfway with ice and water; set a slightly small bowl in the same large bowl. (Make sure water doesn't go into small bowl.) Set aside.

2. In a small bowl whisk together 3 Tbsp. milk and the cornstarch until smooth.

3. In a large saucepan combine remaining milk, the cream, sugar, dry milk, and salt; whisk until no lumps remain. Cook over medium-high heat or until mixture just comes to boiling, whisking frequently. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 4 minutes.

4. Add cornstarch mixture. Cook and stir 1 minute more.

5. Pour mixture into small bowl in ice water. Using an immersion blender, blend 1 minute. Let stand in ice water 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6. Remove bowl from ice water. Cover; chill 4 to 24 hours until well chilled.

7. Uncover mixture; blend with immersion blender or whisk until smooth.

8. Churn in a 11/2- to 2-qt. ice cream freezer according to manufacturer's directions. Store in an airtight container; freeze overnight.

Coffee & Doughnuts Ice Cream:

Prepare Sweet Ice Cream Base as directed, except add 1/4 cup ground coffee to the milk mixture; strain, if desired, before chilling. After freezing, fold in 2 plain cake or glazed doughnuts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Top scoops with caramel ice cream topping, if desired. Nutrition analysis per serving: 366 calories, 5 g protein, 30 g carbohydrate, 26 g total fat (16 g sat. fat), 71 mg cholesterol, 0 g fiber, 21 g total sugar, 20% Vitamin A, 1% Vitamin C, 249 mg sodium, 12% calcium, 3% iron.

Fudge Swirl Ice Cream:

Prepare Sweet Ice Cream Base as directed, except before heating mixture, in a small saucepan combine 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped, and 1/4 cup of the whipping cream. Heat over low heat until chocolate mixture forms a smooth paste (mixture will be thick). Add chocolate mixture to base after cooking the cornstarch mixture; whisk until smooth. After freezing, layer ice cream in freezer container with dollops of hot fudge ice cream topping (about 1 cup). Place in freezer until firm. Top scoops of ice cream with sea salt before serving.Nutrition analysis per serving: 491 calories, 8 g protein, 49 g carbohydrate, 32 g total fat (19 g sat. fat), 74 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 41 g total sugar, 21% Vitamin A, 1% Vitamin C, 366 mg sodium, 16% calcium, 11% iron

Sweet & Spicy Summer Corn Ice Cream:

Prepare Sweet Ice Cream Base as directed, except before heating mixture, cut kernels from 6 ears fresh sweet corn. Cut cobs in 1 1/2- to 2-inch pieces. In a 5-quart pot combine 2 1/2 cups whipping cream with corn cobs and corn kernels. Bring just to simmering. Simmer gently, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Transfer to a large bowl; cover and chill for 2 hours. Remove cobs from cream; strain cream through a fine mesh sieve, pressing on corn kernels. Measure 1 3/4 cups cream, adding additional cream, if needed. Discard corn and cobs. After chilling base and before blending, add 3/4 cup sour cream and 1/4 teaspoon ground ancho chile pepper or cayenne pepper. Freeze as directed. Fold in 1/2 teaspoon lime zest. Top scoops with additional chile pepper and lime zest.Nutrition analysis per serving: 370 calories, 7 g protein, 33 g carbohydrate, 25 g total fat (15 g sat. fat), 76 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 23 g total sugar, 23% Vitamin A, 6% Vitamin C, 189 mg sodium, 12% calcium. 3% iron

Sangria Ice Cream:

Prepare Sweet Ice Cream Base as above, except blend in red wine reduction before chilling mixture. After freezing ice cream, fold in 1/2 teaspoon orange zest. For red wine reduction, in a large saucepan combine 1 750-ml bottle fruity red wine (such as Pinot Noir or Red Zinfandel) and 1 cup orange liqueur. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour or until reduced to 3/4 cup. Cool completely.Nutrition analysis per serving: 436 calories, 4 g protein, 32 g carbohydrate, 21 g total fat (13 g sat. fat), 65 mg cholesterol, 0 g fiber, 19 g total sugar, 19% Vitamin A, 1% Vitamin C, 177 mg sodium, 11% calcium, 3% iron

Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream:

Prepare Sweet Ice Cream Base as above, except before blending add 3/4 cup creme fraiche. For strawberry puree, in a large bowl toss together 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and halved, and 2 tablespoons granulated and/or packed brown sugar. Let stand 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place in a food processor and process until smooth. After freezing, layer ice cream, strawberry mixture, and 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped purchased, homemade, or bakery biscuits in a freezer container.Nutrition analysis per serving: 515 calories, 7 g protein, 42 g carbohydrate, 35 g total fat (20 g sat. fat), 85 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 24 g total sugar, 27% Vitamin A, 24% Vitamin C, 395 mg sodium, 21% Calcium, 7% iron

Coconut-Pineapple Ice Cream:

Prepare Sweet Ice Cream Base as above, except stir 2 tablespoons coconut rum into mixture before freezing. For caramelized pineapple, in a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add 3 1/2 cups chopped fresh pineapple and 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar. Cook and stir for 10 minutes or until pineapple is browned, stirring occasionally. Remove and cool. After freezing ice cream, fold in pineapple mixture and 1 cup toasted shredded coconut.Nutrition analysis per serving: 386 calories, 5 g protein, 37 g carbohydrate, 25 g total fat (16 g sat. fat), 69 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 32 g total sugar, 20% Vitamin A, 37% Vitamin C, 212 mg sodium, 11% calcium, 3% iron

Honey-Thyme Ice Cream:

Prepare Sweet Ice Cream Base as above, except reduce sugar to 1/3 cup and before heating mixture in a medium saucepan combine the cream with 8 to 10 fresh thyme sprigs. Bring just to simmering. Simmer gently, uncovered for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Transfer to a small bowl and chill for 2 hours. Remove and discard thyme sprigs. After chilling base and before blending, add 1/2 cup honey to mixture. Top scoops with additional honey and thyme.Nutrition analysis per serving: 324 calories, 4 g protein, 33 g carbohydrate, 21 g total fat (13 g sat. fat), 65 mg cholesterol, 0 g fiber, 31 g total sugar, 19% Vitamin A, 1% Vitamin C, 174 mg sodium, 10% calcium, 1% iron

Lemon Bar Ice Cream:

Prepare Sweet Ice Cream Base as above. After freezing, layer ice cream with dollops of purchased lemon curd (about 1 cup) in a freezer container. Freeze until firm. Top scoops with lemon zest and sprinkle with powdered sugar.Nutrition analysis per serving: 410 calories, 4 g protein, 51 g carbohydrate, 23 g total fat (14 g sat. fat), 95 mg cholesterol, 4 g fiber, 45 g total sugar, 19% Vitamin A, 1% Vitamin C, 203 mg sodium, 10% calcium, 1% iron

Scooping

If ice cream is too hard to scoop, allow ice cream to stand at room temperature for 10 minutes or until soft enough to scoop.