Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

I don't want anyone thinking I'm reinventing the wheel or doing anything fancy, but when I tell people we made Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream last night, their eyes light up and their taste buds shudder. A source of creative ice cream inspiration will always be Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and Dessert Book - if you have an ice cream maker (you have a homemade ice cream maker, don't you!?) then this is your bible.


They have a pumpkin ice cream recipe, but mixing canned pumpkin into a sweet cream base just doesn't cut it. I need bite-sized pieces of pumpkin pie in my pumpkin pie ice cream. Here is how to make that dream come true.


The first step is to buy a pumpkin pie. Freeze for 30 minutes and then cut it in half.


Remove the dense edge of the crust and slice into bite-sized pieces. Place into freezer.


I used Ben and Jerry's Sweet Cream Base #2 as a starter. Here is the recipe:

2 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup sugar


I added 2 teaspoons of pumpkin spice and probably another 1/2 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg. Mmmmmm, nutmeg.


After chilling the pumpkin spice sweet cream base for 1/2 an hour in the freezer, it was time to drop the base into the ice cream maker.


Within 10 minutes, the mixture is starting to freeze and has doubled in size due to the air being whipped into the mixture.


Once the base has thickened, drop in the "half pie" and mix for another 30 seconds on high.


Transfer into a freezer-safe container and deep-chill for at least 1 hour.


When ready, scoop out, top off with some whipped cream and serve.