"Cheater" Ice Cream -- no ice cream maker needed!

Aside from making single servings of vanilla ice cream in double-bagged zip lock plastic bags (which my students do in Food Science class), I've never found a recipe for making ice cream -- more than a single serving at a time! -- without an ice cream maker that really had the right texture. Good flavor is not hard to achieve, but it always had the texture of ice cream that had melted and then been refrozen; it was just kind of...flat. This version is SUPER SIMPLE (and high fat content), but it definitely has the creamy lightness of churned ice cream. That may or may not be visually evident in the photo at right. The ice cream was melting/softening very quickly as it was a very warm day (which I will NOT complain about at all! Bring on summer!!), and my photo goal wasn't actually the ice cream, but the sandwich cookies...

There are lots of options for flavorings, though you might have to adjust the ratios a bit if the flavoring is very thin liquid.  My first version of this was a lavender ice cream, since I have it growing prolifically in my yard right now and was anxious to use up the last of my dried supply from last summer. I steeped the lavender in the cream in advance (could have done it with the sweetened condensed milk instead). Re-chilled the cream to whip it, then folded in the sweetened condensed milk...

Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
1-2 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
flavoring(s) or other stir-ins:

     ...fruit chunks, cooking crumbles, chopped candy bars, etc. Chocolate could be melted and mixed with the condensed milk ahead, or cocoa powdered added to the whipped cream; caramel sauce could be swirled throughout just before freezing; lavender, mint or any other herbs and spices could be steeped in either the cream or the condensed milk ahead of mixing. Other extracts could be used in place of vanilla.


Directions
If desired, steep any herbs or spices into the cream or condensed milk in advance. Cool completely (chill the cream; it'll whip better).

Whip the heavy cream, vanilla and salt to barely stiff peaks.

Fold about a third of the whipped cream into the condensed milk. Gently fold in the rest of the whipped cream. Finally, fold in any other stir-in flavorings; (or, layer them in as you...) transfer the mixture into containers for freezing. Freeze until firm.