Whether you want to make homemade ice cream, sorbets or frozen yoghurt, the dessert world is your oyster if you have the right tools. That's why we have rounded up our selection of the best ice cream makers
Everybody loves a big bowl of ice cream - and what could be better than homemade? Ice cream makers have grown increasingly popular over the last few years.
Not only do the results often taste better than ordinary shop-bought ice cream, but they allow you to control exactly what goes into your dessert: important for those who want to avoid additives, or are watching their calorie intake. You can use them to make sorbet, gelato and frozen yogurt, as well as soft ice cream.
The machines range in cost from as little as £20 to hundreds of pounds, and come in two main versions. The first churns the ice cream in a "freezer bowl", which you have to chill for around 24 hours before using. They are the cheapest type, but do require some pre-planning. Alternatively, you can buy an ice cream maker with an in-built freezer. These cool your ingredients as they're being mixed, but are much more expensive.
Assessing the different models and taking reviews and value for money into account, the following are, in our opinion, the best ice cream makers on the market.
1. Cuisinart Ice Cream Deluxe Maker
Unlike most machines, this one turns the pre-frozen bowl, while the paddle stays still, which makes it much easier to taste the ice cream while it’s freezing and chuck in “add-ins” – nuts or biscuits, say. It has twice the capacity of the other machines too, at 2 litres, but it’s bulkier than any of the mid-range models. It comes with an ice cream recipe booklet, with a variety of ice cream maker recipes and options for delicious frozen desserts. You can also create or use ice cream recipes of your own.
2. Sage by Heston Blumenthal the Smart Scoop Ice Cream Maker
A proper self-freezing machine, the all-singing, all-churning model designed by Heston Blumenthal. Comes down to temperature in less than ten minutes and I churned four batches on the trot without a problem, so great for serious ice-cream heads. It has a 4 integrated functions for sorbet, frozen yoghurt, gelato and ice-cream. The accompanying ice cream machine recipe book provides useful hints and tips.
3. Duronic Ice Cream Maker
This bargain machine allows you to create your own delicious frozen sorbet, ice cream or frozen yoghurt in as little as 30 minutes. The bowl has a 1.5-litre capacity, so is useful for catering for large parties at short notice, and simply has to be frozen before use to work its magic. Online reviewers have praised the machine for being quick, easy to use and simple to clean.
This is one of the simplest devices on the list, as you simply freeze a bowl and pop on its lid to get things going. It has a capacity of 1.5L and a large mixing paddle to ensure the smooth consistency of the ice cream, sorbet or frozen yoghurt. Adding extra ingredients (whether that be fruit of chocolate chips) is simplified by the large chute. You do need to pre-freeze the removable bowl, as mentioned, but the ice cream then only takes 20-40 minutes.
5. Cuisinart Gelato and Ice Cream Professional
A robust ice cream maker that is quiet, easy to use and clean and has several smart features – including a lid that you can easily open during churning to add extra ingredients. It has an in-built freezer, so you can make frozen treats whenever you like. It has a large capacity too, so you can make 1.5l of delicious, homemade ice cream or gelato in as little as 40 minutes.
6. Magimix 11047 Le Glacier
If you don’t have much space in your kitchen, the Magimix Le Glacier is the perfect choice. Slim and sturdy, it makes just over a litre of ice cream at a time and comes with a good recipe booklet. Best of all, the bowl only needs pre-freezing for 10 hours — half the time of some models. The recipe booklet comes with an impressive total of 35 ice cream machine recipes.
With its suave design, this looks more like a radio than an ice cream machine (albeit a big one). Atop the device there is a LCD display that helps you keep track of the temperature and timing settings. The in-built compressor means there is no need to freeze the bowl overnight, and it takes around 45 minutes to make the ice cream. The refillable lid also ensures you can add ingredients as you go, and there is a recipe book included to give you ice cream inspiration.
8. Cuisinart ICE31U ice cream maker
In a shade of light pistachio, this new offering from Cuisinart can bring a pop of colour to your kitchen. It's one of the smaller models in our shortlist, with just a 1.4L capacity, but this means it can slot in easily on your kitchen surface. It can also create premium ice cream, frozen yoghurt or sorbet within just 25 minutes (although you do need to freeze the bowl the night before). After you've made a frozen dessert, washing up is simple because both the paddles and lid are dishwasher-friendly.
If you're lucky enough to own a KitchenAid, think twice before splashing out on an ice cream maker – you can actually buy an ice cream attachment for your machine that produces up to 1.9 litres of ice cream or sorbet. The bowl cleverly has a double insulated wall filled with liquid, to make sure that your dessert freezes evenly.
Our favourite ice cream recipes
