Deni Scoop Factory Review: Home-Made Ice Cream Can Be Easy

I can remember growing up making home-made ice cream. Rock salt, crushed ice... you get the picture. It was not an easy thing to do. The ice cream was delicious, but it was a lot of work. 

When I first heard about ice cream makers that didn't use salt or ice, I was a skeptic. They couldn't possibly work, and if they did, not nearly as well as the old-fashioned way. To make real home-made ice cream required work... pain... suffering... 

One day I was at Target armed with a $50 certificate I'd gotten from Mypoints. I came across the Deni Scoop Factory ice cream maker and was tempted. I figured what the heck. If it didn't work I hadn't paid for it really anyway. 

There are only four parts to this ice cream maker: the motorized base, the stir paddle, a lid, and the canister. The canister needs to be placed in the freezer for aminimum of 24 hours before using. Armed with the recipe for vanilla ice cream which came in the directions, I went at it. 

First mistake. I tried putting the ice cream mixture in the canister before turning the unit on. When frozen and just out of the freezer, the canister is cold enough that the mix began freezing right away and the paddle couldn't turn. The mixture had frozen to the sides. 

Okay, I cleaned everything up, scooped out the remaining mixture which hadn't frozen and put that in the refrigerator, cleaned everything up, and re-froze the canister. 

When I tried it again, I made sure to assemble the Deni Scoop Factory and turn it on. I then added the ice cream mixture through the hole in the lid. 

For my first try, the ice cream did not turn out bad at all. It only took about a half hour, and the ice cream was done. I had screwed up a bit, but the ice cream was smooth, not the least bit grainy, and delicious. 

The second time I tried it, the mixture ended up coming out a bit soupy. The difference was that after my disastrous first attempt, I had placed the ice cream mix in the refrigerator. This time I'd just mixed it and added it. The ice cream comes out much better if the mixture is refrigerated for an hour or two before you actually use the Deni Scoop Factory. 

Any extras added to the ice cream can be added just before the ice cream is done. The hole in the top of the lid makes this easy. The main drawback is that theDeni Scoop Factory will only make about a quart of ice cream, which for some reason tends to disappear very quickly ;-) You may have to adjust other recipes you have to fit this machine. 

Clean up is relatively simple compared to the old way of making ice cream. The lid and stir paddle can both go in the dishwasher. The base can be wiped off with a damp cloth. The hardest part of cleaning up is the canister. Even after being out for a half-hour to make the ice cream, the canister was still cold enough that even when I rinsed it with hot water, the water began freezing to the sides. I tried using a towel, sponge or paper towels, and they all began to freeze to the sides as well. I finally ended up leaving it out for a few hours to defrost enough that I could clean it without everything freezing to it. 

A big bonus for us is the ability to use this unit to make frozen drinks. We've used it for margaritas and TGI Friday's Mudslides. The Mudslides come out as good as the ones from the restaurants. 

My favorite recipe for Chocolate Ice Cream: 

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate 
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
1 1/2 cups milk 
2 large eggs 
1 cup sugar 
1 cup whipping or heavy cream 
1 tsp. vanilla 

Melt the unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler over hot, not boiling, water. Gradually whisk in the cocoa and heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. (The chocolate may seize or clump together. Don't worry, the milk will dissolve it.) Whisk in the milk, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended. Remove from heat and let cool. 

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream and vanilla and whisk to blend. 

Pour the chocolate mixture into the cream mixture and blend. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours until cold. 

Pour the mixture into the Deni Scoop Factory and freeze for 1/2 hour. 

Just before the ice cream is done, you can add chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, bananas, nuts, or crushed Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. To makechocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream, before pouring the mixture into the Deni Scoop Factory take 1 cup of the chocolate mixture and mix with 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter. Add this just before ice cream is done so the peanut butter mixture gets swirled through but not completely blended.