A no churn recipe for apple cider ice cream, made with apple cider concentrate and spiced apple compote. This ice cream is rich, creamy, full of apple flavor, and doesn’t require an ice cream maker.
You might also love these brown butter crumble apple pie bars, apple butter cinnamon rolls, and apple cider pancakes.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy to Make. No churn ice cream recipes are great for those who either don’t own an ice cream maker, or just want to use an easier method to homemade ice cream.
So Much Apple. The apple cider concentrate, or boiled cider, is apple cider that’s been boiled down into a reduced or concentrated syrup. It’s tart, thick, syrupy and so appley. In addition the the apple concentrate, a quick apple compote is folded into the ice cream for bits of apples in every bite. This apple cider ice cream tastes like apple pie!
Perfect for the Holidays. If you can’t get enough of apple desserts, serve scoops of this ice cream at Thanksgiving or Christmas with the apple pie or pumpkin cake. It’s great with everything during the holiday season.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Apple Cider. You’ll be starting with 3 cups of apple cider, which you’ll need to reduce down to 1/2 cup. Or, you can use 1/2 cup of bottled boiled cider. It’s much less expensive to make your own, but it does take a little time to boil and cool down.
- Cinnamon Stick. I boiled my apple cider with a cinnamon stick, to infuse it with cinnamon flavor, without the graininess of ground cinnamon.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk. A necessary ingredient in no churn ice cream recipes. It adds sweetness, and keeps the ice cream smooth.
- Heavy Whipping Cream. Whipped cream adds fat and creaminess to your ice cream.
- Apple Compote. For the apple compote, I simmered Honey Crisp apples with light brown sugar, lemon juice, nutmeg and cloves.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness.
Instructions
Reduce the apple cider.
- Pour the apple cider into a saucepan, and add the cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup. This will take about 35-40 minutes.
- Remove the cinnamon stick, pour the reduced apple cider into a glass jar, and refrigerate for several hours or overnight, until well chilled.
Make the apple compote.
- Peel, core and chop the apples. In a saucepan, combine the chopped apples with the brown sugar, lemon juice, nutmeg and cloves. Bring to a simmer over medium low heat and cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the apples are very soft.
- Transfer the apples to a container, cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight, until well chilled.
Make the ice cream.
- In a bowl, whisk together the chilled reduced cider with the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and salt, until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to whip the cold heavy whipping cream until soft fluffy peaks form. Add the whipped cream and the chilled apple compote to the cider mixture, and fold everything together until well combined.
- Transfer the ice cream to a lidded, freezer safe container, and freeze until firm enough to scoop, about 8 hours, or overnight.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is boiled cider the same thing as apple cider concentrate?
Yes, boiled cider and apple cider concentrate are the same ingredients.
Can I use apple juice instead of apple cider?
Apple cider is basically unfiltered apple juice, so it has a more intense, deep apple flavor. Apple juice would technically work, but I’d recommend using apple cider for the best flavor in your ice cream.
Why do I have to reduce the cider first?
Apple cider is very watery, and not only will it not give the ice cream a strong apple flavor unless it’s reduced, but it will water down the ice cream. You have to reduce it or boil it down first to concentrate the flavor into a thick syrup.
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Apple Cider Ice Cream (No Churn)
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Electric Mixer (Stand or Hand-Held)
Ingredients
- 3 cups apple cider
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 large Honey Crisp apples, peeled, cored and chopped
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Pour the apple cider into a saucepan, and add the cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup. This will take about 35-40 minutes.Remove the cinnamon stick, pour the reduced apple cider into a glass jar, and refrigerate for several hours or overnight, until well chilled.
- Peel, core and chop the apples. In a saucepan, combine the chopped apples with the brown sugar, lemon juice, nutmeg and cloves. Bring to a simmer over medium low heat and cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the apples are very soft.Transfer the apples to a container, cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight, until well chilled.
- In a bowl, whisk together the chilled reduced cider with the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and salt, until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to whip the cold heavy whipping cream until soft fluffy peaks form. Add the whipped cream and the chilled apple compote to the cider mixture, and fold everything together until well combined.
- Transfer the ice cream to a lidded, freezer safe container, and freeze until firm enough to scoop, about 8 hours, or overnight.
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