Has anyone tried using stevia as a sweetener for ice cream? I've had luck using it to make things mildly sweet (like tea and cereal) but haven't tried any desserts yet. I do like the combo of stevia and Splenda and was considering trying that. I just got my new ice cream maker in the mail. It is a Cuisanart duo, so I can make 2 flavors of ice cream at once - regular for the rest of the family, sugar-free for me. I figure even if I use Splenda it will still be healthier than commercial ice cream because the rest of the ingredients can be all natural.

Jen

I have been using my Vitamix to make sorbet...I just toss in some fruit (today I did a peach and some blueberries) and ice and some stevia to sweeten. Vitamix purees and freezes it into sorbet in 30 seconds. I have been mixing in a tablespoon or so of heavy cream afterwards. The stevia has worked fine...however, I don't want my sorbet as sweet as most would want their ice cream. I think if you added a whole lot you'd ruin the whole batch. But if you are using fruit, perhaps the natural sweetness will allow you to add less. Happy tinkering!

--Cindy

Hi Jen:

I bought an ice cream maker last year and made it with Splenda to test before trying it with stevia. Problem was, I had no control and ate it all in about 2 days. So I haven't made it since. It was one of my "maintenance" foods I was going to make, but haven't quite made it to maintenance yet.

But I do have recipes for ice cream with stevia if you want them. Most of them have fruit in them as well so that would help sweeten it. Nothing compares to homemade ice cream.

Good luck

Wanda

Please share your stevia recipes, Wanda! I hope I can stick to reasonable servings on the ice cream. I don't think it'll last too long with dh and the kids anyway, though! Fortunately they are all slender.
TIA!

Jen

Hi Jen:

I agree with you. It's a much healthier treat than the store bought, and so easy to make. Have you made any yet? The one I tried is the cooked recipe that you leave in the fridge overnight before adding to the ice cream maker. It was absolutely decadent.

Anyway, when I get a minute, I'll post those recipes to your journal.

Wanda