This recipe turned up on a home shopping channel during a show where Wolfgang Puck was selling his food processor. I bought the food processor (I'm thrilled with how it works), and then I tried the recipe (I'm thrilled with how it tastes!). Best of all, it takes all of about 5 minutes, from assembling the ingredients to licking the spoon!:

Puck's Ice Cream:

2 cups heavy cream
1 package SF instant vanilla pudding
2-3 cups frozen berries (I used strawberries)
1/8 cup lemon juice
splenda to taste

Process with the regular blade attachment until the ice cream is firm, about 2 or 3 minutes. If the ice-cream gets too stiff for your processor to handle, take out half, and finish half the batch at a time.

Makes 1 quart of ice-cream.

Vanilla pudding seemed best to me for strawberries or blueberries, but raspberries might go really nicely with SF instant chocolate pudding for chocolate-raspberry ice cream. This is a great ice-cream for last-minute guests, because it's almost instant. I served it to non-lowcarbers and they not only didn't know the difference, but loved it. Soooo creamy!

I've seen instant SF puddings mentioned a lot in recipes. Just what are they and what do they contain? We only have SF jelly (jello) here and I don't think this is what you mean. This ice cream recipe sounds divine - I've made a similar one with the cream on its own, though it's inclined to be a tad greasy tasting, if you know what I mean.
Babs

Commercial instant puddings on this side of the pond have the exact consistency of the custard you guys layer into fruit trifles, (like the consistency of a soft lemon curd) -- if I remember correctly from my school year abroad at Nottingham 30-odd years ago, our pudding is basically the same thing as your custard, so if you can get commercial SF custard mix, that's what you'd use. I also think it cures that 'greasy' mouthfeel to uncooked ice-creams, because it acts as an emulsifier in the recipe, the way a cooked custard base would. Try it!

Thanks Joanee - only problem I can see is that SF custard here is still horrendously high carb and has to be made with milk. The main ingredient is cornflour, so the versions across the pond must be different if they're good for LC.
I did manage to buy a SF lemon pudding mix online and OMG, it was yeuch - tasted like something I might use to scour saucepans!
Babs

Actually the versions here are really high carb as well. While they may be sugar free, they still have alot of carbs in them and really aren't good unless put in a recipie that makes the serving sizes really small.

Just thought I'd add a couple of comments here.

I bought a cheap ice cream maker (£30) but the bowl was scratched and I sent it back. Before I got a new one I saw a 'used' Gaggia Gelateria RRP £300 advertised on Amazon at £140 so I splashed out and bought it. When it came, it was unused, just a shabby box - lucky me.

I have to say it's loads better than the cheap machines where you have to store the bowl in the freezer first. I've tried one or two of those but they lack the option of using extra freezing/churning time as the bowl warms too quicks.

What I've found is that the recipes are very easily converted to low carb and changing to sweetener in no problem. The machine is VERY forgiving. I messed with yogurt, soy yogurt, sorbets and it seems to cope fine. Today I've made icecream ready for a party at my sisters at the weekend. Strawberry sorbet, creamy vanilla (made with butter milk), plum, and coffee/walnut. All brilliant, low calorie, low carb (unless you scoff the whole 6+ portions! ).

So my advice for any one that's an ice cream freak and can afford it, is get a decent ice cream maker.

Strawberry Sorbet

200 g strawberries
10 tbsps Hermeseta Granulated
200 g water
salt, pinch

Use Hermeseta if you can get it. It has less carbs which will balance the strawberry carbs. Just blend and add to the ice cream maker.

Makes 4 portions, 5 carbs, 90 calories each portion.

Vanilla Ice Cream

4 egg yolks
200 g milk
200 g buttermilk
salt, pinch
1.5 tsps vanilla extract
10 tbsps Hermeseta Granulated

Mix the sweetener and yolks first, then add the rest, slowly at first. Add to ice cream maker.

Makes 6-8 portions, 5 carbs, 85 calories for each of 6 portions.

Have you tried using Splenda tabs for the sweetener, Gay? I don't really like using too much aspartame or saccharin if I can avoid it, but am willing to mix.
I too have a cheap ice cream maker - I only used it once as the mix turned to granite almost immediately and the paddle seized up. I ruined 2 knives trying to make them do the job of ice picks to get a serving out of the bowl! I think a few people recommend ONLY using sugar alcohols for ice cream for the soft effect.
Babs

Hi Babs

After reading all the pros and cons I decided I preferred saccarin as a sweetener, plus the hermeseta has almost half the carbs of splenda in the granulated.

I want to move on to trying tablets instead of granulated but you do need the sugar for reasons other than sweetness. Perhaps that's why yours went rock hard? I also think there's a world of difference between the cheap ones and the expensive machines.

I'm going to experiemt with xantham gum soon. I wanted to make a few 'normally' first so I had a base to compare to, hence the granulated sweetener.

Let you know how I get on.

I ALWAYS read labels to see the carb counts, and I must have been so excited about making the ice cream that I didn't check the pudding carbs. 1 pkg has 32 carbs total. I've been eating 1/2 cup-sized servings of the ice cream, so the pudding adds 4 carbs per serving. Plus the strawberries. Hmmm. I think I'll still make it from time to time, but this had better go on my 'medium carbs - special occassional treats' list.

Some of the best ice cream I've ever had.. 4 frozen strawberries.. a good splash of heavy cream .. a splash of davinci sf vanilla syrup.. mush up with a fork or blend briefly in a food processor I suppose. Absolutely delicious with a super burst of strawberry taste to it.