Every Friday night my family gets together for what we call our “family night”. Our family night is composed of a whole bunch of different activities from bowling, fishing, swimming, watching a movie, TV sitcoms, baking or making homemade ice cream.
For our family night, we use the Cuisinart Ice-70 ice maker. We love this ice maker for making fun ice cream dishes.
For our last family night, we crushed up different kinds of chocolate bars and threw them into the ice cream. It was a great time enjoyed by everyone, and the ice cream tasted awesome.
In this post, I wanted to write a review about the Cuisinart Ice-70 ice cream maker and why you should consider purchasing this ice cream maker for your home.
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE CUISINART ICE-70
Here are some features that I really like about the Cuisinart ICE-70 and why it’s a great portable ice cream maker.
IT’S DESIGNED WELL
The Cuisinart ICE-70 has three different speeds: one speed for ice cream, another for gelato, and one for sorbet. The paddle has been upgraded from the previous models, so now it has a faster processing time.
This ice cream maker has a countdown timer and will auto-shutdown when your ice cream is all done. This feature makes it great for setting and forgetting.
At the top of the unit, there is a convenient ingredient spout with an integrated measuring cup. The ingredient spout is excellent for adding chocolate bar pieces, cookie pieces or anything that you want to be mixed into your ice cream.
It’s also a lot of fun to use the sorbet feature and make cool slushies using different kinds of pop. You can use the ingredient spout to drop in some nerd candy or other types of candy. My kids love mixing the different pops and making cool creations.
The stainless steel or brushed nickel look gives it a sharp appearance. It will fit into any kitchen or kitchen design.
IT’S EFFICIENT
The Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker can make two quarts of ice cream in only 25 minutes. The ice cream is soft and creamy!
I calculated the cost of two quarts of vanilla ice cream, and it’s only about a couple of dollars.
- Makes 2 quarts of ice cream, frozen yogurt, gelato, or sorbet
- Improved paddle with faster processing time
- Control panel with LCD screen and 3 settings with multiple speeds
- Countdown timer with auto-shutoff
- Ingredient spout with an integrated measuring cup
There are two recipes that we use all the time with our ice cream maker. Making ice cream is effortless with the Cuisinart Ice Maker. We use these two recipes all of the time, and then change it up by adding different ingredients to the ice cream to spice it up.
A SIMPLE VANILLA ICE CREAM RECIPE
11⁄2 cups whole milk
1 cup plus
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
pinch table salt
3 cups heavy cream
11⁄2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed or whisk to combine the milk, sugar, and salt until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours, or overnight.
Turn on your ice cream maker; pour the mixture into the frozen freezer bowl and let mix until thickened, about 30 to 35 minutes. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. For a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.
A SIMPLE CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM RECIPE
1 cup cocoa powder
2∕3 cup granulated sugar
1⁄2 cup packed dark brown sugar
pinch table salt 13⁄4 cups whole milk
33⁄4 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Place the cocoa, sugars, and salt in a medium bowl; whisk to combine. Add the milk and, using a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk, beat to mix until the cocoa, sugars, and salt are dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours, or overnight.
Turn on your ice cream maker; pour the mixture into the frozen freezer bowl and let mix until thickened, about 30 to 35 minutes. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.
THE CONS WITH THIS ICE CREAM MAKER
I didn’t find much wrong with this ice cream maker. I didn’t like waiting 25 minutes for ice cream, if that’s a con.
Remember that the ice cream (straight from the ice cream maker) is more of a soft ice cream and melts pretty quick. It’s better to put it in the freezer for a couple of hours, take it out 15 minutes before you serve it, and then enjoy. I found that the thickness was more like ice cream this way.
The ice cream is hard to get off the stirring paddle when it’s done churning. You have to spend a lot of time scrapping the paddle to get all of the ice cream off, and into your serving dish. I ended up just washing the ice cream of the paddle.
I also find that two quarts doesn’t give you a lot of ice cream. I have a family of five, and we didn’t end up with a whole lot of ice cream each. I know that I could always eat more (I probably don’t need it though).
It’s good for a scoop of ice cream on a piece of pie or a chocolate brownie. Do you feel hungry now? Wonderful, creamy homemade ice cream on top of a freshly baked pie or double chocolate brownie! Doesn’t that sound good? In the comment section, tell me what you like to put homemade ice cream on.
Also, it’s not the quietest machine that you have ever heard. It’s not the best for when people are chatting, so I would suggest that you make your ice cream, and have it in the freezer when your guest arrive.
THE PROS WITH THIS ICE CREAM MAKER
Where do I start with what I like about this ice cream maker? Let me think.
The ice cream maker itself is well designed. The paddle is efficient for churning the ice cream. It makes excellent creamy ice cream every time, and there are so many ways to use the unit.
When we first bought the unit and made the recipe above, my wife tasted the ice cream and said, “Wow! That’s incredible”. It makes terrific ice cream.
We don’t just use it to make ice cream, but for slushies and frozen yogurt. You can use this unit for so many frozen desserts.
If you don’t have the room for the ice cream maker on your counter, then storing it is pretty simple because it’s very compact.
Check out the Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker on Amazon by following the link, and purchase one of the best portable ice cream makers for your home.
- Makes 2 quarts of ice cream, frozen yogurt, gelato, or sorbet
- Improved paddle with faster processing time
- Control panel with LCD screen and 3 settings with multiple speeds
- Countdown timer with auto-shutoff
- Ingredient spout with an integrated measuring cup
