Women who explain homemade ice cream texture, one batch at a time

Pulenaz: a small change you can taste

Pulenaz starts with a question familiar to anyone making ice cream at home: why does a scoop that looks smooth in the container feel different from the one made last time? She makes two small plain batches, keeping the cream, mixing method, containers and freezing time the same, while changing the amount of sweetened condensed milk. She labels the lids before freezing so she can bring both out together.

For the first batch she uses 240 ml cold heavy whipping cream and 120 ml cold sweetened condensed milk. For the second she keeps the 240 ml cream and uses 90 ml condensed milk. She whips each in the same bowl to soft peaks, adds the milk and whips to stiff peaks, then freezes both in similarly sized covered containers overnight. After the same short wait on the counter, the first scoop yields more readily; the reduced-milk batch feels firmer and less sweet.

That side-by-side makes her a good choice for a curious beginner. She shows the texture at the spoon and names the change she made. Using less condensed milk also changes the amount of milk solids as well as sugar, so the comparison tests the ingredient as a whole. Matching the containers, freezing time and serving conditions helps make the two scoops easier to compare.

Gemma Stafford: build a base that holds air

Gemma Stafford of Bigger Bolder Baking offers a practical starting point if you want to make a smooth batch without an ice cream machine. Her recipe and video use cold heavy whipping cream and sweetened condensed milk. She whips the cream to soft peaks, adds the condensed milk, then whips the mixture to stiff peaks before freezing. The recipe gives visual stages to watch, rather than asking a beginner to guess when the base is ready.

References: Gemma Stafford / Bigger Bolder Baking

In her chocolate version, Stafford suggests reducing condensed milk by about a quarter for a less sweet result and notes that the ice cream may be firmer. That is a useful recipe change to compare with her regular version: the trade-off is not only sweetness but how readily the frozen dessert yields to a spoon. Her advice applies to this chocolate base.

References: Gemma Stafford / Bigger Bolder Baking

For a fair comparison, make the two versions with the same cream and chocolate, whip them to the same stage, freeze them in similar containers and taste them side by side at the same temperature. Write down both the quantity changed and what the spoon encounters. The result tells you which batch you prefer under those conditions.

Why the same recipe can feel different

Ice cream is a partly frozen mixture containing ice crystals and air. Food scientist H. Douglas Goff explains in the University of Guelph’s Finding Science in Ice Cream that dissolved sugar lowers the mixture’s initial freezing point, and that smaller ice crystals are less detectable on the tongue. Temperature changes can cause ice to melt and refreeze, contributing to a coarser texture. Sugar, air and storage conditions each give a home maker something useful to consider.

References: H. Douglas Goff / University of Guelph

Look at the whole process before changing the recipe. Was the cream cold and whipped to the same visible stage? Were both batches frozen in the same kind of container for the same length of time? Was one left out longer before tasting? A softer scoop can simply be warmer. Comparing at the same moment makes the observation more useful.

If a batch is coarser after storage, consider its temperature history as well as its ingredients. Repeated warming and cooling can change ice crystals. Keep a note of when you made the batch and how it was stored, then compare with a fresh portion before assuming that the recipe needs more sugar or a different flavoring.

References: H. Douglas Goff / University of Guelph

Rose Levy Beranbaum: follow the testing process

For a more involved account of recipe development, Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Real Baking with Rose records the testing behind Rose’s Ice Cream Bliss. She describes starting with an existing base, aiming for a creamy texture without iciness, then adapting recipes that needed a stabilizer. Her thorn berry recipes used a cornstarch slurry. Her site also collects her demonstration videos on YouTube.

References: Rose Levy Beranbaum / Real Baking with Rose · Rose Levy Beranbaum / Real Baking with Rose

Beranbaum is useful when the interesting part is the work between an idea and a finished recipe. Her account describes the choices made during testing. Stafford gives a specific recipe adjustment to try; Pulenaz makes the spoon-by-spoon comparison easy to follow at home.

Sources and attribution

1. Gemma Stafford / Bigger Bolder Baking

   The Easiest Homemade Ice Cream Recipe with 50+ FlavorsPublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 29, 2026

2. Gemma Stafford / Bigger Bolder Baking

   Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream RecipePublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 29, 2026

3. H. Douglas Goff / University of Guelph

   Finding Science in Ice CreamPublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 29, 2026

4. Rose Levy Beranbaum / Real Baking with Rose

   Rose's Ice Cream Bliss 3: Testing RecipesPublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 29, 2026

5. Rose Levy Beranbaum / Real Baking with Rose

   Rose's YouTube ListingsPublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 29, 2026