I have been wanting to make ice cream for a long time but I don’t have an ice cream machine. Ice cream is pretty much my favourite food in the world! Finally I just went for it, ice cream maker be damned (I’m a rebel, I know) and it was the best decision ever. This ice cream is creamy and oh so tasty, I’ll be having dreams about it for years to come! And not only does it not require an ice cream machine, it only takes about 5 minutes to put together (not including freezing time, of course, that would be insane!). A big shout out to all the (what felt like) hundreds of ice cream recipes I looked at online trying to figure out the best way to make ice cream at home!
I decided to go with this super yummy pumpkin pie ice cream flavour because it is September and I want to waste no time getting stuck into all these beautiful autumn flavours (and I’m a firm believe of ice cream all year round, none of this only in summer nonsense!). I have no problems saying goodbye to summer, it’s my least favourite season! If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ve probably figured out I have a slight obsession with cinnamon, I’ll put it in absolutely anything I possibly can (I put it in a burrito recipe once!) all year round, I don’t limit myself to autumn and the festive period – we all deserve cinnamon goodness all year round! This all means I absolutely adore America’s obsession with all things pumpkin spice at this time of year – this craze has never really hit the UK, much to my dismay. You’ll have a hard time finding pumpkin in any form (including canned) over here unless it’s Halloween (and even then those pumpkins are only really suitable for carving, they’re not great for eating). So when I want to make pumpkin stuff I will normally use butternut squash. Fun fact – butternut squash is normally what they use in canned pumpkin puree anyway because it’s sweeter, less stringy and a better colour, so I’m not even really cheating! And hey, squash is squash is squash right?
So, since I couldn’t get my hands on canned pumpkin puree, I just steam roasted a butternut squash and then blitzed the scooped out flesh in the food processor. It’s really simple to do and and it’s nice and fresh. If you want to do it my way, just slice a butternut squash in half length ways, place it flesh side down in a deep baking dish and pour in about an inch of water. Cover the dish tightly in foil and place in an oven preheated to 180C/350F for an hour. The flesh will be nice and soft and you can just scoop it out and do with as you please. I added brown sugar and cinnamon to the puree and left it to cool completely in the fridge, ready for the ice cream. You’ll have plenty of puree left over after the ice cream, so make sure to save it for other yummy things (I used the rest of mine in some blondies, the recipe for which I’ll share with you soon).
One important lesson I learned while making this ice cream is not to over whip your cream – you want to whip it until it just reaches the stiff peaks stage and then stop. I over whipped my cream a little, and while it didn’t impact the wonderful flavours at all, the ice cream does leave a slight coating on your mouth. It didn’t really bother me, but I know some people would find this unpleasant. I will definitely keep a closer eye while whipping my cream the next time I make ice cream – and I WILL be making it again soon (I’m even adding an Ice Cream category on my recipe index because I plan to make it so much).
So, this is my offering for Dessert Week of my Great British Bake Off challenge. I absolutely love it and I’m so glad I didn’t let my lack of an ice cream maker deter me. When I told my mum the flavour ice cream I was making her response was “can’t you ever just make things normal flavoured?! What’s wrong with strawberry!” but after trying it she thought it was yummy, so I’ll take that as a good review! What do you guys think? Good enough for GBBO? And will you be trying this one yourselves? If you do give this a recipe, I’d love to see your results and here what you think, either comment below or tag me on Instagram – @GiraffesCanBake or Twitter
I’ll be bringing this yummy ice cream along to the Fiesta Friday partiers, because what’s better for a party than Ice Cream??
One thing I’d like to say before I give you all the recipe is I think it’s important to reiterate my undying love for cinnamon – if you’re not the kind of person who would sprinkle cinnamon on their toothpaste if they could, you may want to decrease the amount you add to your ice cream. If you want to decrease the cinnamon, I would suggest adding only a tsp of cinnamon to the puree mix or even omitting it from the puree all together. Okay, with that said, on to the recipe!


- The flesh from 1 medium butternut squash, steam roasted and pureed in food processor
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 pint double cream (heavy cream)
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk (397g/14oz can)
- 1/4 cup of the puree
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- pinch of ground cloves
- Whip the cream until stiff peaks are just forming, do not over whip
- Drizzle in the condensed milk with the mixer set on the lowest speed
- Stir in the puree and spices until all combined
- Pour into your freezer proof container, tightly cover and freeze overnight.
- As I said above - there is A LOT of cinnamon in this recipe purely because I eat, sleep and breathe cinnamon love. If you're not a bit crazy like me, omit the cinnamon from the puree or reduce to 1 tsp.
- You can, of course, used canned pumpkin puree (the puree, not the pie filling). Just add the other ingredients like you would if you were making it yourself.
- You'll have plenty of puree left over, it's definitely worth saving for other things. I used my left overs in some pumpkin pie blondies - which, btw, are absolutely divine when crumbled over the ice cream. I will share that recipe with you soon, I promise.

YUM, Michelle! I was actually thinking of bringing a pumpkin challenge to Fiesta Friday, but didn’t have time to get things organized. Maybe in the next few weeks, we’ll see. But your ice cream would have been a serious contender. What a creative use of pumpkin! Love it!
Ooh I would definitely be up for a pumpkin themed challenge, I’ll be there with bells on if it does happen!
Thanks Angie 🙂
I love this! I’m actually allergic to cinnamon, so it wouldn’t be up my alley to actually eat. BUT, it sounds delicious, and looks beautiful as well. Happy FF, and have a wonderful weekend. 🙂
Ohh nooo, being allergic to cinnamon sounds like my worst nightmare haha!
Thank you Kaila! Have a great weekend too
Michelle, I love this recipe and I also love what you’ve done with your blog! Wonderful work!
Thank you Sue! Been fiddling around with things on here the last couple days, I think I’m done haha
Love your ice cream Michelle, I love the Fall and Fall flavors and you have captured that in this lovely creamy cold treat. Perfect for FF!
Thank you Suzanne!
Michelle! Pumpkin pie ice cream!? Wow! I just love it! Way to go!
Thanks Lori! Now I just need some pumpkin pie to serve it on 😀
You’re always giving us so many tempting recipes to try! This looks amazing!…. now I have to say, you’re website looks GREAT!!! I LOVE the new look!!!!! And the pictures of this ice cream are SOOO good too, you’ve claimed before that you don’t take a good picture and I object! They all make me want a bite, and it’s so perfect for fall- thanks for another great recipe 🙂
Thank you so much Stephanie!
I’ve been trying really hard to improve my photography, I’ve got a way to go yet but I’m definitely proud of how far I’ve come so far. Especially since I only have an iPhone to take the photos with haha!
<3
Mmm… yum!
🙂
You had me a Pumpkin! Can’t wait to give this a try 😀
😀 I hope you do Sarah, let me know what you think!
If only it was summer here, a treat like this would be divine!
I’m a firm believer that ice cream should be enjoyed all year round!
Hi Michelle,
oh, I do love this ice cream – and indeed, you make me starting to think about Fall, because every time I hear and see pumpkin, it’s getting Fall! I never thought of having it as an ice cream flavor, but it sounds so delicious! Thanks for brining this along to the FF! Glad to see you around 😉 Sylvia (co-hosting this week)
I think most people associate ice cream with summer, but it’s an all year round thing for me! I think some people are mad because we’re rushing away summer with all the pumpkin recipes, but this one is the best of both worlds haha!
Thanks Sylvia, have a great weekend co-hosting!
Michelle, your ice cream looks very yummy 🙂
Thank you Linda!
Wow Michelle, you make this sound real good, and quite simple to boot! The addition of Fall flavors will have me making this in no time – I agree nothing like ice cream all the year round. I too do not have an ice cream maker, so this will have to do the trick! Thanks for sharing, can’t wait to try it out.
Thanks Loretta! Please do let me know if you give it a go!
What a great ice cream flavour! I will give this one a try and get back to you when I do.
Please do! Thanks Hilda 🙂
Yum!! What a great first pumpkin recipe for Fall!! Healthy too!
Thanks Lisa!
I love pumpkin pie! What could be better than pumpkin pie ice cream! Looks so good 🙂
Thanks Arl!!
I’m with you. I love cinnamon and pumpkin/squash. I also love Fall! Bring it on. Thanks for the idea.
It’s really is the best flavour! Thanks Tracey
Wow! Pumpkin pie in ice cream form! Yes, please!!
😀 thank Naina!
THis is incredible!! Just soo yummilicious Michelle… M drooling hre!! Found you at the fiesta 🙂
Thank you! x
Wow pumpkin pie icecream- never even thought about that, delectable treat Michelle. ..
Thank you Chitra!
Oh Michelle, this pumpkin pie ice cream looks so delicious! And your recipe sounds so easy to follow I just might have to try it out for mysel some time real soon. Thanks for sharing this at Fiesta Friday!
Thanks Andrea, if you do give it a go please let me know what you think!
LOVE LOVE LOVE it! 😀
This ice cream sounds and looks delicious!
And no, ice cream isn’t only ment for Summer! I eat it all year… Even on the coldest Winter day ^^
Thank you Sarah!
I’m glad you agree with my feelings on ice cream, I’ll eat it while sitting out in the snow if I can!
Love the use of spices… adds that Asian or Indian touch too I think…
-http://noodles4thoughts.wordpress.com/
Thank you!
Somehow I missed this post, Michelle….so happy Suzanne made it and directed me here…it looks scrumptious!
Thank you Nancy!
This looks so good! I love pumpkin ice cream, I think it may be my favorite flavor, pinning to try.
Thank you Joy, I hope you like it 🙂
Yum, this sounds delicious. I have been wanting to make ice cream too, after my go at sorbet last year but thought I’d wait for warmer weather. I’m still waiting, maybe I’ll just give it a go anyway!
It’s never too cold for ice cream! This ones really easy to make too and I like it better than the ice cream machine ones I’ve made even!
I was new to the trend of pumpkin spice things last year, but I LOVE it now too!! 🙂 I’m a firm believer of ice cream any time of the year too! even when you’re sick… Ice creams/popsicles can be the answer to almost everything 🙂
This looks delicious Michelle! Definitely love the pumpkin in it!
Glad we’re on the same page Dini, Ice cream all the time! And actually, popsicles are great for when you’re not feeling well- particularly with a stomach bug, gets fluids in you nice and slowly! Ice cream probably isn’t so great for a stomach bug haha
Oh this looks amazing!!! Wishing I could have some right now!
Thank you Michelle! Luckily it’s nice and easy to make 😉