What’s the best way to top off a warm summer day? With ice cream, of course! From the classic flavors – vanilla, chocolate and strawberry – to flavors you thought you’d never taste on a cone – rum raisin and sweet potato – ice cream is a favorite for all ages.  

Instead of hitting your grocery story or your favorite drive-up, why not make your own ice cream? It’s not as difficult as you may think, and it’s a great activity to do with your family. We have tasty flavors for you, from classic vanilla to mouthwatering margarita and banana. 

Whether you like it on a cone or in a cup, with jimmies or with a cherry on top, everyone can agree that ice cream is the perfect summer (okay, anytime) treat. You’ll have fun making your ice cream, and who knows – maybe making ice cream will spark your inner chef, and you’ll come up with a crazy flavor all your own. If you’ve got an electric ice cream maker, here are some recipes.

Vanilla Ice Cream

What you need

4 eggs

2 cups of white sugar

2 (12-ounce) cans of evaporated milk

1 (14-ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract

Whole milk

Get cooking!

1.  Using an electric mixer, cream the eggs and sugar. Add the evaporated milk, condensed milk and vanilla.

2.  Pour into an electric ice cream churn and add whole milk to fill line. Insert dasher, pack cooler 1/3 full with ice and add a layer of rock salt. Repeat layering with ice and salt until full – be careful not to overfill. 

3.  When the machine starts to labor or shut off, remove the dasher and drain water, fill with more ice and salt, cover with a towel and let harden. Makes one gallon.

Tip: For fruit ice cream, add 2 cups of sliced fresh fruit covered with 1 cup of sugar before adding the whole milk, mix well.

Margarita Ice Cream

What you need

½ cup of limejuice

2 tablespoons of tequila

3 tablespoons of orange liquor

1 ¼ cups of powdered sugar

2 cups of heavy cream

Get cooking!

1.  Pour the limejuice, tequila and orange liquor into a bowl, stirring in the sugar until dissolved.

2.  Add the heavy cream, whipping it until smooth and thick (not stiff).

3.  Spoon into an airtight container and freeze overnight. The ice cream does not need to be softened before serving because it doesn’t freeze too hard. Makes 6 servings.

Banana Ice Cream

What you need

6 ripe bananas (approximately 2 ¼ pounds)

1 tablespoon of fresh-squeezed lemon juice

¾ cup of light corn syrup

1 vanilla bean (scraped)

1 ½ cups of heavy cream

Get cooking!

1.  Freeze bananas overnight. Remove bananas and let them thaw for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

2.  Peel bananas and place in the bowl of a food processor along with lemon juice, processing for 10 to 15 seconds. Add corn syrup and vanilla bean seeds. Slowly pour in heavy cream. Process until smooth

3.  Refrigerate the mixture until it reaches 40 degrees. 

4.  Transfer mixture to an ice cream maker and process according to its directions.

5.  Place ice cream in airtight container and freeze for 3 to 6 hours. Makes about one quart.

All recipes can be found at www.foodnetwork.com.