The Inside Scoop: Homemade Ice Cream Recipes from the Best US Ice Cream Shops

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CLEMENTINE’S CREAMERY | St. Louis, Missouri
Clementine’s Creamery in St. Louis, Missouri is so good that even Oprah loves it. Better yet: Clementine’s helps you enjoy at home through its partnerships with Postmates and Grub Hub. As the only micro creamery in the area, Clementine’s ice cream must be churned in small batches, made by hand, deemed all-natural and made with low overrun and 16-percent real butterfat. All dairy sources are grass-fed, pasture-raised, and hormone and RBST-free.

Using flavors from some of the most-loved places in the city (breweries, bakeries, distilleries and restaurants), each Clementine’s homemade ice cream recipe can be sweet, savory or boozy. That’s why it’s also known as Clementine’s Naughty & Nice Creamery, claiming to serve “frozen treats that are naughty enough to be fun, yet nice enough to bring home to mom.”

Some flavors include Banana Rum, Coconut Chocolate Fudge, Gooey Butter Cake and Salted Crack Caramel. Flavors change every day, but they guarantee that you’ll always find something you love. Tamara Keefe shared how to make homemade ice cream with this recipe known as Caribbean Cool. It is described as a great (and spiked) summer treat when you wish you were lying on a beach in the Caribbean.

Ice Cream Ingredients
● 2 cups milk
● 1 1⁄4 cups heavy cream
● 2⁄3 cup sugar
● 3 tbsp light corn syrup
● 3 tbsp cream cheese, softened
● 3 tsp cornstarch
● 1⁄4 tsp salt

Boozy Slurry Ingredients
● 2 tbsp peach or orange vodka
● 2 tbsp peach liqueur
● 2 tbsp Midori or melon liqueur
● 2 tbsp Malibu rum
● ½ cup orange juice
● ½ cup cranberry juice
● 2 tbsp cornstarch

Method
Get ready to learn how to make homemade ice cream. Combine the boozy slurry ingredients and set the mixture aside. In a bowl, stir together 1⁄4 cup milk and cornstarch and set this aside. In a 4-quart saucepan, whisk together the remaining milk and cream, sugar, syrup and salt, then bring it to a boil over medium-high heat.

Cook for 4 minutes, then stir in the slurry. Return to a boil and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Place softened cream cheese in a bowl and pour in 1⁄4 cup hot milk mixture, whisking until smooth. Whisk in the remaining milk mixture and the boozy slurry.

Pour the mixture into a plastic bag. Seal and submerge the plastic bag in a bowl of ice water until chilled. Transfer it to your refrigerator to rest for 24 hours. Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

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MOLLY MOON’S | Seattle, Washington
Molly Moon’s is a Seattle ice cream shop whose mission is to make the world better, one scoop and homemade ice cream recipe at a time as a multigenerational gathering place of sustainability and happiness. This gem is equal parts ice cream and social responsibility, giving 10 percent of profits to food banks, equity organizations, women and girl empowerment initiatives annually and starting the Anna Banana Milk Fund to provide fresh milk to families in need weekly.

When it comes to the actual ice cream, there are “always” flavors and “seasonal” flavors—but just because some flavors are always there doesn’t make them less unique than those that only come around once a year. For instance, the flavor Union Coffee is a combined effort between Molly and her husband Zack, who owns a small cafe serving specialty coffee by the same name.

Expect compostable spoons, straws, pint containers and lids. Enjoy your dessert, knowing you’re helping the planet and satisfying your sweet tooth at the same time. Try this homemade ice cream recipe for Melted Chocolate Ice Cream at home. It’s Molly’s favorite because the shop uses local Theo organics and fair-trade chocolate, as well as real chocolate chunks melted into the ice cream rather than cocoa powder like many other places.

Ingredients
● 7 oz (about 1 cup) 70% dark chocolate
● 2 cups heavy cream
● 1 cup whole milk
● 3/4 cup sugar
● Pinch of salt
● 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
Place the chocolate in a medium bowl and set it aside. Put the cream, milk, sugar and salt into a small saucepan and cook it all over medium heat, whisking to dissolve the sugar. Then, before the mixture comes to a boil, remove it from the heat. Pour the hot mixture over the chocolate, and let it sit for 5 minutes at room temperature.

Whisk until the hot cream and chocolate are combined. Place the mixture in the refrigerator to chill thoroughly (1 to 2 hours). When the mixture is cold, mix in the vanilla and pour it into the ice cream maker. Process according to manufacturer’s instructions.

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SWEET ACTION ICE CREAM | Denver, Colorado
Sweet Action Ice Cream in Denver, Colorado is all about working with local businesses, starting with its homemade ice cream recipe staple: Colorado dairy. Using ingredients from local purveyors, farmers and bakers, working out of a building entirely powered by wind, and using compostable and recyclable packaging for items, this ice cream shop is the epitome of sustainability.

Catering to both dairy-lovers and vegans, Sweet Action has a long list of flavors that change daily, and some of them are quite interesting. Dairy flavors, to name a few, include Goat Cheese Lavender, Nerds, Vietnamese Coffee and Stranahan’s Whiskey Brickle. Vegans can enjoy Orange Apple Cider Sorbet, Vegan Oreo and Vegan Basil.

If in a hurry, you can enjoy the ice cream through an online pick-up system that covers the full menu, including to-go pints and cookie sandwiches. Of course, you can also try out this Sweet Brown Sugar Banana Ice Cream recipe, courtesy of Sweet Action, encouraging us to learn how to make homemade ice cream ourselves.

Base Ingredients
● 2 cups heavy cream
● 1 cup milk
● ¾ cup sugar

Bananas Ingredients
● 2 ripe bananas, chopped
● ½ cup brown sugar
● 1 tbsp butter
● 1 tsp cinnamon
● 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
For the base, combine the scream, milk and sugar in a medium saucepan over low heat. Gently stir the mixture until the sugar melts. For the bananas, melt the brown sugar into the butter in a medium sauté pan. Add the chopped bananas and sauté them for about 5 minutes.

Next, stir in the cinnamon and vanilla and sauté them for an additional minute. Add the bananas to the ice cream base and let it cool overnight. Add the base to the ice cream machine, making sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

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KIMMER’S ICE CREAM | Wheaton, Illinois
Kimmer’s Ice Cream has three locations throughout Illinois: St. Charles, Wheaton and Elmhurst. Kimberly Yates fell in love with ice cream at a very early age and put this passion into creating what she calls her “brainchild” Kimmer’s Ice Cream. With a recipe book of more than 200 flavors, this shop never stops making classic favorites one fresh and homemade ice cream recipe at a time.

All ice cream is made in single batches, allowing Kimmer’s to continuously create new flavors and lovingly produce classics. The goal is to make everything special, one at a time. Additionally, using premium ingredients like Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Vanilla Beans, Pure Extracts and 14-percent butterfat ice cream mix sourced from Wisconsin.

Kimmer’s claims, “We make what we love, and we love what we make.” Learn how to make homemade ice cream with this Peanut Butter Truffle recipe.

Truffles Ingredients
● 1/2 cup heavy cream
● 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Truffles Method
Heat the heavy cream in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the chocolate chips to the cream and allow it to sit so that the chocolate chips melt. Stir the cream and chocolate with a whisk until the chocolate chips are incorporated. Refrigerate until firm. Get ready to start making the homemade ice cream part of the recipe.

Ice Cream Ingredients
● 2 cups heavy cream
● 1 cup whole milk
● 3/4 cup granulated sugar
● 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
● 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

Ice Cream Method
Combine the milk and sugar using a whisk or hand mixer. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Pour the milk mixture into a frozen freezer bowl. Add the peanut butter. Let the mixture freeze for 15-20 minutes. Once it is thickened, stir in the truffles. Pour the ice cream into an airtight container and freeze it for a minimum of 2 hours. Remove the ice cream from the freezer 15 minutes before serving it to allow for easy scooping.

Bi-Rite Creamery

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BI-RITE CREAMERY | San Francisco, California
Bi-Rite Creamery, located in San Francisco, makes small batch ice cream and baked goods by hand, with love. Founded by two bakers with a desire to bring the Bay Area perfectly balanced, delectably delicious treats in a responsible, sustainable way. The creamery is now open for take-out after many weeks of closure due to stay at home orders. Even better: they’re teaching you how to make homemade ice cream in your very own kitchen.

In the United States, peanut butter and jelly are considered a perfect match. In Italy, it’s the same thing with strawberries and balsamic vinegar, a classic combination that makes a simple, refreshing dessert. If you’ve never had this stellar pairing, give this frozen version a shot. The vinegar is subtle and adds depth to the bright sweetness of the strawberries. It takes two stages (with the cooking berries and just before churning) for an even more complex flavor.
Keep reading for everything you need to know about the Bi-Rite Balsamic Strawberry homemade ice cream recipe.

Strawberry Purée Ingredients
● 1 1/2 pints strawberries (3 cups), preferably organic, hulled and halved or quartered
● 2 1/2 tbsp sugar
● 2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Base Ingredients
● 5 large egg yolks
● 1/2 cup sugar
● 1 3/4 cups heavy cream
● 3/4 cup 1% or 2% milk
● 1/4 tsp kosher salt
● 2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Method
Combine the berries with the sugar and vinegar in a large nonreactive skillet. Put the skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the strawberries are soft and the liquid they release has reduced somewhat. This takes about six to eight minutes. Let cool slightly, then transfer the berries and their juice to a blender or food processor. Purée until smooth and refrigerate until ready for this homemade ice cream recipe.

In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the yolks just to break them up, then whisk in half of the sugar. and set it aside. In a heavy nonreactive saucepan, stir together the cream, milk, salt and remaining sugar and put the pan over medium-high heat. When the mixture approaches a bare simmer, reduce the heat to medium. Carefully scoop out about 1⁄2 cup of the hot cream mixture, and, whisking the eggs constantly, add the cream to the bowl with the egg yolks. Repeat, adding another 1⁄2 cup of the hot cream to the bowl with the yolks. Using a heatproof rubber spatula, stir the cream in the saucepan as you slowly pour the egg-and-cream mixture from the bowl into the pan.

For this homemade ice cream recipe, cook the mixture carefully over medium heat, stirring constantly until it is thickened, coats the back of a spatula and holds a clear path when you run your finger across the spatula. Strain the base through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean container. Set the container into an ice-water bath, wash your spatula and use it to stir the base occasionally until it is cool. Remove from the ice-water bath, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate the base for at least two hours or overnight.

Whisk the strawberry purée and remaining vinegar into the chilled base. Freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. While the ice cream is churning, put the container you’ll use to store the ice cream into the freezer. Enjoy right away, or, for a firmer ice cream, transfer to the chilled container and freeze for at least four hours.