This low carb ice cream comes out creamy instead of icy because it starts with a real cooked custard, not a thin cream base. It runs about 3 grams of net carb a scoop, and a cooked egg-and-cream custard gives it the body that keeps it from freezing into a block. One sweetener swap takes it the rest of the way to scoopable.
With Valentine's Day just around the corner I figured some of you might be searching for something sweet to make for your sweetie. I got an ice cream maker for Christmas two years ago and I really hadn't used it that much because I didn't like any of the low carb ice cream recipes out there. They tend to turn out more icy in consistency than creamy and are hard to scoop. One day I was watching the Food Network show Unwrapped and they were doing a special on an ice cream factory that made custard based ice creams. I thought that this might be worth trying as a low carb version. With a little bit of effort this Low Carb Ice Cream turned out perfect. It was creamy and easy to serve. I hope you and your sweetie love this sweet treat!
Why a custard base beats icy keto ice cream
The icy, hard-to-scoop texture that ruins most low carb ice cream comes from a watery base freezing into crystals. A custard solves it. Tempering egg yolks into warm cream and cooking the mixture to 160°F builds a rich, thick base, and that fat is what freezes soft and scoops like real ice cream. The 160°F mark does two jobs at once: it thickens the custard and it pasteurizes the yolks, so the base is safe as well as silky. It is the same idea behind a French creme anglaise, just churned instead of poured.
Swap the sweetener to keep it scoopable
The custard gets you most of the way, and the sweetener finishes the job. My original uses Splenda, which works, but allulose is the upgrade here, because it does not freeze rock-hard the way erythritol does and keeps the ice cream soft enough to scoop straight from the freezer. For an even softer set, stir in a splash of vodka or a little vegetable glycerin, both of which lower the freezing point without adding carbs. Serve it next to a low carb panna cotta or a cheesecake mousse, and find the rest in my low carb desserts guide.
Sources:
USDA FoodData Central, nutrient reference for cream and egg yolk
Sugarfreechic test kitchen, custard ice cream and sweetener notes
