The 2 Ingredients That Will Save Homemade Ice Cream When You're Out Of Eggs

The love and care put into homemade ice cream, among other things, will always make it far superior to the store-bought version. Outside of the joy of making it from scratch, the fresh ingredients, such as eggs, make homemade ice cream worth screaming about. If you don't have eggs on hand, however, cream cheese and cornstarch are worthy replacements.

Whether you prefer the end result with sprinkles or chocolate syrup, there's a universal mandate for making the dessert that states you should always add egg yolks. The fatty ingredient helps to thicken up the treat while also maintaining its smooth texture, even after freezing. While egg yolks are usually integral to homemade ice cream, their importance lies in them being a stabilizer, a title that also belongs to cornstarch.

As a stabilizer, cornstarch helps to hold water in place, which in turn staves off the large ice crystals and air bubbles that disrupt the velvety feel of the dessert. Cornstarch is a well-known thickener, providing ice cream with the lusciousness that you know and love. As for cream cheese, it's another important ingredient that will change your homemade ice cream forever. It also lends itself to ice cream's thickness while holding the water and cream together. With both cornstarch and cream cheese, your homemade ice cream will easily rival any retail scoop.

When typically making an ice cream base at home, the egg yolks are set aside as a combination of milk, sugar, and salt simmers on the stove. Then the milk is spooned over the eggs and the new mixture is poured back into the saucepan to create a custard. Making ice cream with cream cheese and cornstarch comes together in a similar way. While the milk, cream, sugar, and salt are heating on the stove, you can make a cornstarch slurry with milk. Stir some heated milk into the cornstarch slurry and pour everything back into the pan once they're thoroughly mixed. After it's boiled, let the temperature come down before adding the cream cheese.

Boiling any dairy product can cause curdling, so some people opt to let it simmer instead. Rather than waiting to add the cream cheese and cornstarch, you could add everything together into the saucepan at the same time and allow the mixture to bubble gently, stirring as it does. Before it's finished cooking, add the flavoring — such as vanilla bean paste — and whisk thoroughly. Once done, strain everything through a sieve and into a bowl that you'll immediately move onto an ice bath to cease the cooking process. After that, you can store your base in the fridge until you're ready to churn it into delicious homemade ice cream.