I am a lover of all things ice cream. I dream about it…and I dream about making different flavors (hence the Butternut Ice Cream post). It’s my favorite dessert of all time – and my Cuisinart gets LOTS of use around here. But, I started wondering if there were other things that I could sweeten my ice cream with – besides turbinado sugar ( (we don’t like sucanat in ice cream). I’ll just go ahead and tell you the truth – I want to be able to eat more ice cream, so if I feel like it’s HEALTHY then I can eat more…right? Yes. Amen. So, I tried three different “healthy” sweeteners to see which ranked the highest: honey, liquid stevia, and maple syrup.
NOTE: I eat more ice cream in the winter than in the summer. Yes, I realize that is weirdo. Here is my reasoning – I don’t have to eat it super fast in the winter because I’m not worried about it melting – so I enjoy it long and slow. But I also eat a lot in the summer too…and I eat it fast and don’t share so that it won’t melt into nothingness.
Honey
I tried my same base recipe for all three tests (I’ll give it at the bottom). First, I went with honey. Normally I use ¾ cup of turbinado in my ice cream, so since honey is stronger I used a bit less…but not too much less because I sorta wanted the honey flavor to shine through – I went with 2/3 cup of raw honey.
In a saucepan warm 1 cup of whole milk just a tad…not too hot, just to knock the cold off of it so that the honey will dissolve quicker. Add the honey and stir until combined. Throw in a pinch of salt, one tablespoon of vanilla, and 2 cups heavy cream. Stir. Refrigerate for 2-24 hours and then churn.
This was really good…and I was worried. I’m not a huge fan of the taste of honey, but this was very light. In fact, my sister couldn’t even taste it. It got thumbs up from my whole family – and we finished it in only 24 hours. *Burp*
Stevia
Next, I decided to go with stevia – liquid. The bottle says to use 5-8 drops for 8 ounces of liquid. Since I use 3 cups total of liquid, I first tried 24 drops. I mixed the stevia, milk, salt, vanilla, and cream together. I tasted the cream mixture (everyone does that, right?) to see how it was – not sweet enough. So I ended up using 30 drops.
I churned the ice cream and was sadly disappointed. The texture wasn’t like real ice cream – it was more like ice milk. I didn’t like it AT ALL. I felt like I wasted the cream…but Barry said it wasn’t the worst thing he’d ever eaten. It wasn’t creamy and it wasn’t sweet enough. Two thumbs down. I won’t try this again.
I lost my mind and put this batch in the fridge instead of the freezer – uhhhh, oops? So, no more stevia ice cream. And it had the WEIRDEST texture in the morning – like liquid motor oil. I try not to think about the fact that I lost two cups of heavy cream. RIP cream. *Sniff*
Maple Syrup
I saved the maple syrup for last because I had a feeling it would be best – I mean, maple syrup is like ketchup – it makes everything taste better. Highlands Sugarworks is the organic maple syrup that I buy from Amazon. I used 2/3 cup just like with the honey. It will dissolve just fine with cold milk, so mix together all your ingredients and refrigerate for 2-24 hours. Churn.
Holy cow Batman. Holy cow. This is the way ice cream was meant to be! When it was done, I found myself in the kitchen licking the beater and groaning with delight – Barry was in the living room and I know he wonders what I was doing…but probably not since he knew I was churning ice cream. This was the best batch of ice cream I’ve ever made – ever. If it’s possible, maple syrup gets 10 thumbs up.
I just might have dropped a chunk of this in the floor. And I just might have picked it up and eaten it. And I just might have licked my fingers. And I just might have given myself more than Barry. And I just might have hidden it in the back of the freezer – but I’m not so dumb as to think that Barry will forget it’s in there. Bummer.
Verdict
So, I’ve deduced that honey and maple syrup are GREAT ice cream sweeteners! Don’t waste your time or cream on the stevia. Maple syrup is now our sweetener of choice. Also, Newman’s Own Organic Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies might also make a great topping…or so I’ve heard. *Cough*
Stacy’s Base Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¾ cup turbindo sugar (or 2/3 cup honey or maple syrup)
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 2 cups heavy cream
- Combine milk and sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved (you will have to heat the milk a tad to get the sugar or the honey to dissolve quickly).
- Add salt, vanilla, and cream. Stir well.
- Refrigerate for 2-24 hours.
- Churn according to directions.
- Devour. Holy cow, Batman.
Allulose is hands down the best sweetener for sugar-free ice cream. It is not a sugar alcohol, but a rare sugar that is not metabolized, making it zero carb. It does not recrystallize, keeping the ice cream lovely and soft.
As a diabetic, I can’t do honey, maple syrup or sugars that affect my blood glucose, so the above works well for me. Also, a little vodka can keep your sugar based ice creams from getting hard as a brick. I haven’t tried it, but have that the alcohol works and you can’t taste it.
Great work Stacey!! I’ve made your recipe with 2 scraped vanilla beans but everything else the same as yours!!!
The beans are exquisite but just too expensive to use every time!!!! Your recipe, as does mine, makes about a quart. I only wish it made more!! Thanks again!
Vanilla beans are a thing of beauty!
I’m so happy to see that honey and maple syrup both work in ice cream recipes. I finally invested in a Cuisinart maker, and will make my first batch as soon as the bowl freezes.
I don’t know why there’s no commercial ice cream without the gums and sugars, and I don’t know what’s taken me so long to make my own.
I’m wondering if you can tell me why most recipes have both a portion of whole milk and a portion of heavy cream. In Washington State, we have access to beautiful raw Jersey cream and whole milk. Is there a reason for the combination?
Thanks again for saving me some cream trial and error. 🍦
Hey Margie! I am so sorry – this message JUST posted today 2/16/21. The reason for part heavy cream and part milk is because the cream keeps it from freezing hard as a brick because of the higher fat content. If you try to do all milk, it’s too hard to scoop. If you do all cream….pricey! 🙂
This comment from Margie pretty well sums up everything I wanted to say! Can’t wait to make some maple sweetened ice cream with my new Cuisinart this weekend. Thank you so much Stacy! – and thank you for getting that clarified about the milk and cream combination Margie.
Good luck! <3
The maple syrup option is our favorite! Thank you so much for sharing!
Maple syrup is always a good choice!
I love this ice cream. I add cinnamon usually but this time I used espresso powder too. Fabulous!
For sweetener I have been using agave or Lyle’s Golden Syrup.
Hi! I’m excited to try this recipe as I’ve got two kids and a newly acquired ice cream machine. I sweeten everything with maple syrup too. Maybe it’s the Canadian in me. Haha! Ok so I have two questions…1) can I make this with 2% milk only? No heavy cream? 2) How much cocoa powder do you suggest I add to make chocolate?
Thank you!
Hi Ingrid! Using milk instead of cream won’t give you as good of a creamy result, but it will work. It also may make the ice cream hard as a brick when you freeze it.
I haven’t made it chocolate, but I would start with around 1/2 cup. You might need to taste it and see if you need more sweetener. 🙂
Since this site doesn’t post dates on the messages I have no idea how old this thread is. Nevertheless, I would like to contribute an alternative: Full-fat coconut milk as a replacement for the milk and cream. It’s awesome, and you get the medium-chain triglycerides that you don’t get very many places. There are many people who prefer not to consume cow’s milk, but there really is nothing that tastest exactly the same. Not surprising, really, as how many things in this world taste exactly the same, right? But using regular (not light) coconut milk, or even coconut cream, makes a delicious desert. If you want to embrace the coconut, throw some unsweetened coconut in the mix when you first put it together. By the time you churn it will be WONDERFUL! Personally I prefer more of a custard ice cream so I use eggs etc. Enjoy!
Coconut milk is a great idea!
Hi,
I’m so happy I found this!! Thanks for sharing!
I’ve been looking for a low sugar alternative to make ice cream for my baby (6 months). I was hoping to use breast milk instead of other dairy, in all of your ice cream making adventures, have you tried dairy alternatives that keep a fairly creamy texture? I have tried a chocolate recipe for myself using whole milk instead of cream, and it’s great but the amount of chocolate in it is maybe what keeps it creamy.
Thanks!
Fat in the dairy mixture is what keeps the creamy texture.
As a man, I feel you look like a feminazi and I feel Barry sounds whipped. But, I do like your instructions though. Thanks! 🙂
Add a few teaspoons of Vodka with the stevia. the alcohol doesnt freeze so it helps the smaller ice crystals form the same way sugar does. Its not enough alcohol to worry about effects and vodka wont add unwanted flavor.
Thanks for the tip!
If you’re ever inspired to try the stevia again (after all, sugar is sugar, even in the form of honey and maple syrup) you can use a trick the big processed food people use, only in reverse. Low fat processed food usually has more sugar in it, partly to thicken the texture for better “mouth feel”. When removing sugar, which thickens by its syrupy texture, just increase the fat with healthy fat. Include some very good for you coconut oil (choose one with or without the coconut flavor). The quantity will depend on how fat your base is. Add a spoonful at a time as it churns for better distribution. Or if you use a cooked base with eggs, add it then, as the eggs will help emulsify the fat. Happy eating!
We just prefer the honey and maple syrup. 🙂
First,THANK YOU!!! I recently found out that I have a serious sensitivity to cane sugar, so honey, maple syrup and coconut sugar are the only sweeteners I can have and I have been missing ice cream more than anything.
Have you tried any add ins with this base? I was thinking of adding some berry puree,or maybe cocoa powder and a little peanut butter? If so, any idea of the amounts to use? I was also thinking I’d love a mint chocolate chip, which I could use coconut sugar sweetened dark chocolate and some mint extract. Ahhhhh! Too many ideas!
Yes, this is my base so I just add whatever I want. I am not sure of quantities because I don’t usually measure. 🙂
Can I use the unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk and omit the cream? Like to lower the calories and sugar issues? Thank you Stacey.
You can try it – it definitely won’t freeze well because the fat is what makes it creamy. It would freeze solid as a brick. Ha ha!
Hi Stacey- just curious with the honey and maple sweeteners which flavor showed through more? I would like to sweeten my ice cream alternatively without compromising the flavor of vanilla and other flavorings. Could you use less than 2/3 of a cup and still realize a sweet taste? Im guessing the maple syrup showed through more than the honey? thanks!
Actually no – I think honey has a stronger flavor. I almost always taste it any time I use it…but not so for syrup. That might be because I’m not a huge honey lover. 🙂 You could try 1/2 cup and see?
how much ice cream does this make stacy?
That’s an excellent question – hard to tell since I start eating it directly from the container. :-0
Hi Stacy! I am just beginning to embark on the world of yummy eating without refined white sugar. The first thing I need to replace.. ice cream! 🙂 Just wondering, have you tried date syrup/date sugar or agave syrup as sweeteners? Thanks! Daisy
No, we don’t use agave syrup because of the HIGH GI rating. 🙂
You should never tell on yourself!!
This is flipping amazing. My ice cream maker wasn’t totally frozen so it didn’t set up all the way. I may or may not have used a straw to drink the milkshake consistency stuff. Can’t wait to make it again!
you might consider that a granulated stevia would work better in ice cream than the liquid… just my thoughts. i’m researching and there seem to be some lovely stevia recipes on line.
I do have the powdered version as well – I might have to give that a shot when I’m not so worried about losing the cream. 🙂
Interesting comment from Emily! My current natural sugar fave is blonde coconut sugar, it’s low glycemic and has a nice caramel flavor. But I’m certainly not going to argue with maple syrup! I use sugar when I’m making something like a chocolate dessert that requires it. I also like making fruit-based sorbets that use frozen banana for the sweetener. Sometimes I don’t want the banana flavor and then I’ll use something else like agave. There are a lot of possibilities, it’s just fun to experiment, and yes, I think almost anything you make yourself will end up healthier than if you bought it at the store. Price-wise, to buy an ice cream that included only the whole ingredients you would use at home would be much more expensive.
I need to venture into sorbet! Barry loves it, but I’m not a fan. 🙂
Great ideas! I have been cutting back on refined sugar in our diet, but haven’t tried making ice-cream yet.
And once you start, you won’t stop….it’s AWESOME!!
Oooh sweet! After the baby gets here, your new excuse will be that you’re nursing and need those 300 extra calories! 😉
You’re a stinkin’ genius.
I’m so asking for an icecream maker for my birthday!
GIRL, you will love it!!!!
Thank you for sharing this. I made it with the maple syrup. This was a HUGE HIT with the entire family, even the less crunchy ones! 🙂
Maple syrup might be the best sweet of all time. 🙂
I really like using raw honey as a sweetener for just about everything. It’s the only “sugar” that I use.. Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂
I’m eager for the bees to start doing their thing again around here. 🙂
If you get a chance to see the Good Eats episode “Churn, Baby, Churn”, Alton Brown talks about the science behind using some form of sugar in ice cream, although he uses white sugar. The chemical makeup of sugar (and the similarity of honey and maple syrup) makes ice cream creamy – without it, it really becomes frozen cream, which is why the stevia did not work, and why using any type of non-sugar based sweetener will not make a good ice cream.
I’ve been using that same recipe for my last few batches, and was just getting ready to experiment with maple syrup and honey. Thanks for doing it for us! Looking forward to trying it out. One of my favorite ice cream toppings is honey and cinnamon.
Honey and cinnamon were made to be together – it’s love at first bite. 🙂 And thanks for that explanation! It makes perfect sense to me!
Thanks for being the guinea pig! Next time you need ice cream testers, let us know!
To Bethie above:
My hubs is a trained science guy, too, from Marquette University, and we have had this same discussion, and researched it ad nauseum. 😉 I will agree that the body recognizes a sugar molecule as a sugar molecule and will respond in kind. That said, you cannot discount the fact that with unprocessed honey and minimally processed maple syrup, you are consuming nutrients that are not available in HFCS. Also, when something is consumed within the matrix in which it was originally made (by God and the bees or trees, not by the chemists), it is not a straight shot of sugar; in other words it delivers “stuff” along with the sugar to aid a healthy body in processing it internally, and to reduce the spike/crash effect sugar otherwise has on the blood sugar. So, scientifically, yes, sugar is sugar in its basic molecular structure, but nutritionally, honey and maple syrup are better.
That said, I’m currently avoiding ALL sugar AND dairy for my nursing baby with allergy problems, so…sadly…no ice cream for me. 🙁
Christy, thanks for explaining that so well. 🙂 It makes total sense.
And also, I will eat all of your ice cream and tell you all about it. You’re welcome. I make sacrifices for my friends.
Yum!
Ditto!
Like you, I’ve also tried to tweak ice cream recipes so that I can enjoy ice cream more often without feeling guilty. We’ve found that using a combination of honey and stevia works well. For some reason using a little bit of honey with the stevia is worlds better than the stevia on its own.
The texture is not the same as regular ice cream, but I’ve been making low-sugar ice cream for years now so I guess I’m just used to it. I still think it’s delicious.
I never thought to combine the two….but we didn’t care for just the plain stevia. The maple syrup is our favorite, but a little pricey. 🙂
*goes out and stocks up on maple syrup*
*remembers I do not own an ice cream machine and buys one of those as well*
I have been resisting buying an ice cream machine because I did not want to consume that much sugar on a regular basis. (And believe me it will be regular!) I had wondered about using a natural sweetener, but didn’t want to make an investment on a machine only to have the natural sweetened ice cream be gross. Two cups of heavy cream does not bother me nearly as much as the sugar! As for your comment to the poster above, I agree with you, Stacy, I would much rather feed my family honey or maple syrup then the “white poison” or HFCS. But she is right to say moderation is the key in everything! (I wish ice cream was an exception!) Thank you for this post!!
“All things in moderation, including moderation.” 🙂 That’s my favorite quote by Oscar Wilde.
And honey, if you have to blame your ice cream buying extravaganza on me, you just go right ahead. lol I’ll be happy to take the fall for ya…and your family will love me after that anyway. 😉
I bet you could use the honey, some cinnamon, and maybe some cinnamon baked tortilla crisps to make fried ice cream style ice cream. Yummmmm ……
Ohhhhhhhhhhh, you DID just go there, didn’t you? *Slobber*
Hi, my name’s Katherine and I have a problem…
Stacy, you may just love ice cream as much as I do!
I’m blaming it all on this baby! After he/she comes, I’ll have to come up with a different excuse. lol
I never thought of using honey or maple syrup to sweeten my ice cream. I might have to try it. We just bought a Yonana to make ice cream out of bananas and frozen berries and we are loving that around here right now. I think I’ll need to try honey ice cream though because I love honey!
It’s super delicious! So, you’re making sorbet? I think mine does that too, but I haven’t tried it yet – we’re stuck on ice cream. lol
Well I have the same ice cream maker as you, but this new “machine” the Yonana takes bananas and other fruit and makes it into the same consistency as ice cream. I gave up refined sugar for lent and wanted some ice cream! 🙂
Oh dear. I so wish I hadn’t heard about this…..now I think I need one. LOL
Hi, I too love homemade ice cream, but I hate to burst your bubble, the sweeteners you used are no less caloric nor any healthier than f you used high fructose corn syrup, straight can sugar, beet sugar or any other type of real sugar. Sugar is sugar is sugar, and the body recognizes it all the same way. Sorry, but my dad is a science professor (all the good ones like Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology, etc) and sugar is sugar.
Enjoy your tasty treat, just do so in moderation. And remember, dark chocolate is full of antioxidants and the more you get the better you feel, so load up on the good dark chocolate…ever tried broken up Godiva dark chocolate truffles in your homemade ice cream? I do believe God puts his fingers in when it’s churning!!! It’s that good! All the best, Beth
Thanks for the comment Beth, but I have to disagree with you to a certain extent. Yes, honey and maple syrup might be the same in calorie content but honey IS better for you than high fructose corn syrup….it’s not processed and it comes straight from the source. Our family tries to embrace the lifestyle of eating things as closely as possible to the way God made them.
God mentions honey several times in His Word as a blessing and something good. So, for me that means it’s okay to eat it. Do we eat it every day with every single meal? Nope. All things in moderation.
I am sorta confused about your comment equaling honey and maple syrup to HFCS…they’re not even remotely close. I feel much better about feeding my family a bowl of homemade ice cream with honey…I have to say it IS better than running to the store and letting them eat Hershey’s ice cream that’s chock full of HfCS and who knows what else.
I haven’t tried truffles in my ice cream, but that’s an excellent suggestion! Usually if truffles enter this house, they enter my mouth before they have a chance to make it anywhere else. LOL
for Bethie: I think saying “sugar is sugar” is like saying “air is air. It doesn’t matter if you breathe smog and toxin filled air or crisp clean mountain air. Your body processes the oxygen out of it.” Oh, but there is so much more to it than that!
That’s a really great analogy. 🙂 Thanks Lisa!
Beth, to see if your dad is correct, try a couple of months of eating refined processed sugar that is in everything these days, and then try a couple of months of eating honey or maple syrup in place of the sugar. I guarantee you will feel the difference in your body. That will tell you your dad is wrong. Science is just beginning to recognise the complex interaction between the gut and the rest of the body. Unfortunately what mainstream science has been telling us for years is incorrect. God knew what He was doing with our bodies and food.
Pam, amen! I’ve done just that! I gave up the white devil and only use honey and maple syrup and I feel so much better! Seriously a game changer!
THANK YOU…..
You’re very welcome. 🙂
I’m beginning to think that there’s nothing maple syrup can’t do. I love it so.
Preach it!