Cone or cup? It doesn't matter, the only thing that matters is that it’s homemade. Ricotta ice cream is among the easiest to make, even without an ice cream maker. Its delicate and neutral taste makes this ice-cream perfect to create different dessert combinations every day as it can be flavored with many ingredients.
The ingredients
To prepare the ricotta ice cream you will need 5 oz sugar, ½ cup milk, 9 oz ricotta, and 7 oz fresh cream: four ingredients and no eggs for a quick and simple ice cream.
The recipe
Before starting to make the ricotta ice cream, drain the dairy product for at least an hour beforehand so that it loses all its excess liquids. When this time is up, mix the sugar with the milk. Also, add the ricotta and mix it with the milk and sugar until you get a smooth cream that you will leave to rest for three hours in the refrigerator.
Then add the fresh cream and stir carefully. Pour the mixture into the ice-cream maker's container and let it run for 30 minutes. Alternatively, if you don't have this appliance, put the mixture in a bowl - covered with cling film or aluminum foil – and place it in the freezer. Remember to stir the ricotta ice cream once an hour four times (i.e. for the next four hours).
How to enrich ricotta ice cream
The first two ingredients that come to mind to make ricotta ice cream even more mouth-watering are chocolate chips, which can be added to the mixture before putting it in the ice cream maker. Or cinnamon or vanilla pod seeds, to be added to milk and sugar at the beginning. Served with honey and nuts makes it super irresistible, but also ricotta ice cream with toasted pine nuts is a delicious dried fruit variation of this dessert.
Also try serving it affogato (Italian for drowned) with coffee, strictly without sugar, for a refreshing and light end to a meal. As a rich snack, simply fill a biscuit, large or small, with homemade ricotta ice cream and cover it with another one for a biscuit-ice cream – beyond comparison to those store-bought. Then there are those ingredients that are immediately associated with ricotta, at least mentally, that give excellent results even as ice cream, such as pear, crumbled macaroons, or caramelized figs.