Date Caramel Ice Cream | Our Easy Raw Milk Recipe

We make our date ice cream with pressed Sukari dates and an ice cream maker; we use a Betty Bossi Cremosa. For the base, we exclusively use raw milk and raw cream from Kuglerhof in Steinebrunn, Thurgau (Switzerland), our local Bio Suisse and Demeter-certified farm. You can use the milk of your choice and almost any date variety.

After plenty of testing, we’ve found that our pressed Sukari dates work especially well: their soft texture blends easily and gives the finished ice cream the balance of date flavour and creamy consistency we like best.

This recipe is intentionally not very sweet. That’s how we prefer it. Start at the lower end of the date range and add more if you want. Date ice cream has a naturally caramel-like flavour, which is also why we love being generous with the salt: it gives the finished ice cream a slightly salted-caramel character.

Ingredients

• 420 ml milk
• 280 ml cream
• 60–100 g pressed Sukari dates, pitted (about 5, depending on size)
• 2–3 raw egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp fine pink Himalayan salt, or to taste
• 50–80 g smooth nut butter, optional
• 1–2 tbsp date syrup or maple syrup, optional, if you want it sweeter

Instructions

1. Blend the base

Add the milk, cream, pitted dates, egg yolks, vanilla, salt and optional nut butter to a blender.

Blend just until generally smooth. It doesn’t need to be perfectly silky. We actually like having the occasional mini date chunks left in the finished ice cream.

If you’re using non-homogenized milk, blend for as little time as possible: just long enough to break down the dates and combine everything.

Pressed dates never need to be soaked. If you’re using particularly firm or dry dates instead, you can soak them in a little of the milk for 15–20 minutes first.

2. Taste and adjust

Taste the mixture before churning. For more sweetness, blend in another date or two, 1–2 tablespoons of date syrup, or 1–2 tablespoons of maple syrup.

Taste the salt as well. We often use the full teaspoon. The caramel-like flavour of dates works especially well with a more generous amount of salt.

With an ice cream maker (we use the Betty Bossi Cremosa)

1. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker. Do not exceed your machine’s maximum fill level; the Betty Bossi Cremosa has a 1,000 ml maximum.
2. Churn according to your machine’s instructions until thick and creamy.
3. Enjoy straight from the machine for a softer consistency, or transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 1–2 hours for firmer scoops.

Without an ice cream maker

With a powerful blender or food processor

1. Prepare and blend the base as described above.
2. Pour it into ice-cube trays or a wide, shallow freezer-safe container and freeze until solid.
3. Break the frozen mixture into smaller pieces and let them soften for about 5 minutes.
4. Blend or process until creamy.
5. Eat immediately for a softer texture or freeze for another 1–2 hours for firmer scoops.

Freezer only

1. Pour the blended mixture into a wide, shallow freezer-safe container.
2. Freeze for about 30 minutes.
3. Stir or whisk thoroughly, especially around the frozen edges.
4. Return to the freezer and repeat every 20–30 minutes for about 2–3 hours, until evenly frozen.

This method won’t be quite as smooth as churning, but regularly breaking up the ice crystals gives a much better texture than simply freezing the base untouched.

Useful notes

• Any date variety works. Pressed Sukari are our favourite because of their flavour and soft consistency, but Medjool, Kholas and other dates work too.
• Adjust the sweetness to your taste. 60 g gives a lightly sweet result; use closer to 100 g or add a little syrup if you prefer sweeter ice cream.
• Nut butter is optional. 50–80 g adds richness and a subtle nutty flavour without overpowering the dates.
• Scale as needed. Keep the same 3:2 milk-to-cream ratio and stay within the capacity of your machine or container.
• If the ice cream freezes very firm, leave it at room temperature for 5–10 minutes before scooping.