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You don’t need an ice cream machine to make this easy and creamy no-churn ice cream with pandan flavor. What a refreshing and delicious treat for warm weather. This is an incredibly easy recipe with no cooking required.
Pandan is indeed the “vanilla” of Southeast Asia. That’s what I keep telling people who are not sure what pandan is. The great floral aroma is so hard to describe in words. Pandan has that pleasant and sweet note to it. I love pandan everything in case it’s not obvious already! This easy no-churn pandan ice cream is seriously easy.
Tips for success
1. Follow the recipe exactly
Don’t cut down on any of the ingredients to achieve the creamy texture
2. Use whole milk and heavy cream
Fat-free or low-fat milk will not give you a smooth texture
3. The condensed milk is crucial in this no-churn ice cream recipe
The condensed milk helps to give that creamy texture and the ice cream won’t form ice crystals
Easy No-Churn Pandan Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 12 blades pandan leaves
- 100 ml whole milk
- 240 g cold heavy whipping cream
- 200 g condensed milk
- ⅛ tsp Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp pandan essence optional
Instructions
- If you plan to use a loaf pan to store your ice cream, chill the pan in the freezer. I use 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. Use metal or glass pan
If using fresh pandan leaves:
- Cut the pandan leaves into small pieces with kitchen shears. Put them inside a blender. Add the milk and blend until the pandan leaves are pulverized
- Strain the mixture and squeeze out extra liquid from the pandan pulp. Make sure you collect 100 ml of this greenish color milk
Whip the heavy cream:
- Use a whisk to combine pandan milk, condensed milk, salt, and pandan essence in a mixing bowl. If you don't use pandan essence, the ice cream will have very light green color, which is normal for natural green color from pandan leaves. The pandan essence gives a more intense color, so don't overuse it
- In a bowl of an electric mixer, add the cold heavy cream and whip until firm peaks, but take care not to over whip or the heavy cream turns grainy
- Fold 1/3 of the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture using a rubber spatula to lighten up the cream. Then fold in the rest of the whipped cream until they are well combined
Freeze:
- Transfer this into a chilled loaf pan uncovered. You can also use any freezer-safe container or specialty ice cream container if you have one. Freeze for at least 6-8 hours, or best overnight
- If you store the ice cream in a loaf pan, once the ice cream has firmed up, press a piece of cling wrap on the surface of the ice cream. Then wrap the whole thing with a cling wrap again to prevent a freezer burn
To serve:
- The ice cream won't form icy crystal and you should be able to easily scoop it to serve
*Nutrition facts are just estimates and calculated using online tools*
Ingredients for no-churn pandan ice cream
1. Pandan leaves
I can only get frozen pandan leaves most of the time. If you can’t get a hold of pandan leaves, you can simply omit making pandan juice and just use a pandan essence
2. Whole milk
To get creamy ice cream, full-cream/full-fat dairy is the best to use. I do not recommend using low-fat or non-fat
3. Heavy cream
Heavy cream is the heart of making creamy ice cream. Do not substitute with half and half. You will not get good result
4. Condensed milk
Condensed milk is another key ingredient in no-churn ice cream. Besides acting as a sweetener, it also prevents ice crystals from forming in your no-churn ice cream because of its low freezing point
5. Pinch of salt
A pinch of salt will kick things up a notch. You’ll be surprised how a small pinch of salt can give a more well-rounded taste to a sweet treat like this
6. Pandan essence (optional)
If you want a stronger green color and a more intense pandan flavor, you can use pandan essence to amplify that
2 comments
What brand do you recommend for pandan essence?
I use the butterfly brand because there aren’t many choices to choose from where I am (sadly). It turned out to be the most decent one for me. There is also this natural pandan essence I saw on Amazon https://amzn.to/3n1rnut that I heard is really good. Some readers have shared with me that they really like it. Kinda pricey but it’s natural.