I just bought a Cusineart Ice cream maker and am going to attempt my first homemade low carb ice cream. I've been trying to browse around this site to find some tips and ideas for delicious SOFT ice cream. So I figured I would just ask and hopefully some of you who have experience can let me know what works best for you. Thanks!

I wish I knew! My ice cream comes out nice and creamy, but freezes into a brick. I've heard adding glycerine helps, or alcohols. The alcohol I added seemed to make it a little better, but it was still pretty brick-like. I haven't tried the glycerine yet, I just got some though.

Hi Pye,

I had gotten some recipes off of the Lowcarbluxury.com site.

They were pretty good which i did in my cuisinart too.

I have been making ice cream in my Cuisinart Ice Cream maker since the summer. I have found the secret to making ice cream that is scoopable right out of the freezer is adding Xylitol. My basic recipe is as follows:

2 c. heavy cream
1 c. Sugar free syrup, any flavour (Da Vinci, Torani etc)
2 egg yolks
1/3 c. Xylitol
2 Tbsp. Glycerine
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum

If it is not sweet enough, sometimes I will add 1/16 - 1/8 tsp of stevia, or additional Splenda. I find it has a good texture and is very scoopable right from the freezer.

You can use Vanilla syrup add different extracts for different flavours. I have also added chopped Ross Chocolate bars and/or toasted, chopped nuts during the last 5 minutes of freezing in the Ice Cream maker.

For Coconut Ice Cream - substitute 1 c. coconut cream for 1 c of the heavy cream and use coconut syrup and 1/4 cup of cocnut. I added 2 Dark Ross Chocolate bars (chopped finely) at the end. This is my current favorite!!

Hope this helps... Michele

Xylitol is a sugar alcohol though, right?

Yes, it is a sugar alcohol. I had not been using it until recently and my ice cream was also rock hard. I was softening it in the Microwave. It was not until I added the xylitol that it became scoopable. I haven't had any problems (stalling or otherwise) by adding it. However, this is a YMMV situation.

If you can get your hands on Erythritol, it is probably a better sugar alcohol. I can't get it in Canada.

Tried to post this a second ago but my computer had a brain freeze. Hope it doesn't post twice.

So where did you find xylitol in Canada? Do you think adding a package of unflavoured gelatin might keep the ice cream softer too? I think I'll try that first because I have such a bad time with sugar alchohols.

They also add gums like Xantham, guar, and such things to commercial ice cream. I wonder if that helps keep them pliable too?

I found Xylitol at a health food store in Newmarket, Ontario. I have also seen it online at www.lowcarbfooddepot.com.

Xanthan gum and glycerine help with the consistency also. I think you need all three ingredients to make it scoopable right out of the freezer.

Glycerin serves as sort of an anti-freeze and keeps the ice cream scoopable. It also adds some sweetness. Some people consider glycerin a carbohydrate and for some people it causes stalls so watch your reaction to it.

Sugar alcohols and regular alcohol also retard the formation of ice crystals when the ice cream freezes hard. Gums like Xanthan and guar improve the consistency and mouth feel of the product. Any sugar alcohol or alcohol will do it.

Emulsifiers like lecithin keep the fat droplets suspended in water. They also help the fat to move across the tounge and dissolve in the mouth, improving flavor. Eggs contain lecithin which is why so many ice cream recipes call for them. You can also buy regular lecithin granules and use that.