Low-Fat Vanilla Ice Cream

Two weeks until school starts. The summer is winding down with the slow sweetness of a peach on the counter — still good, but you can feel the end coming. Caleb's summer reading total: thirty-one books. He got the shark from the prize box. He sleeps with it. The shark has a name: Captain Chomp. The naming conventions of a five-year-old are either terrible or genius, and I've decided it's genius. Beach Wednesdays for the last three weeks of summer. We're storing up ocean — the salt, the sand, the light on the water — for the school-year weeks when beach day becomes Saturday-maybe-if-the-weather-holds. Hazel is nervous about preschool. She doesn't say 'nervous' — she says 'I don't want to go to school.' She wants to stay home with me. She wants to be in the kitchen. She wants crackers and step stools and Mama. 'School has crackers, Hazel.' 'School crackers?' 'Snack time crackers. And other kids. And a teacher.' 'Like Cay-Cay's school?' 'Like Cay-Cay's school. Big kid school.' She thought about it. 'I bring Di-Di?' 'You bring Di-Di.' Di-Di goes to school. The unkillable dinosaur enters the education system. Made Mom's peach cobbler tonight — the end-of-summer dessert. Fresh peaches from the farmer's market, buttery crust, warm and golden. The dessert that says 'summer was beautiful and here's the sweetest part of it, right at the end.' Captain Chomp. Di-Di. School approaches.

Mom’s peach cobbler needed something cold on top — it always does. We’ve been making this low-fat vanilla ice cream alongside it for years, and on a night when the cobbler felt like a send-off for summer, that cold scoop against the warm golden crust was exactly right. Hazel had two bites and declared it “cold cake,” which, honestly, isn’t wrong. I’ll take it.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes (including churning — freezing time) | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 cups low-fat milk (1%)
1 cup low-fat evaporated milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water

Instructions

Combine the base. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the low-fat milk, evaporated milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is just starting to steam, about 4–5 minutes. Do not boil.
Thicken. In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with the cold water until smooth. Pour the slurry into the warm milk mixture while whisking constantly. Continue heating for 2–3 minutes, stirring, until the mixture thickens slightly. Remove from heat.
Chill. Pour the mixture into a bowl or container and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until thoroughly cold.
Churn. Pour the chilled mixture into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions, typically 20–25 minutes, until it reaches a soft-serve consistency.
Freeze. Transfer the churned ice cream to a freezer-safe container. Smooth the top, press a piece of parchment paper against the surface, and freeze for at least 2 hours until firm.
Serve. Let the ice cream sit at room temperature for 3–5 minutes before scooping. Serve alongside warm peach cobbler or your favorite summer dessert.

Nutrition (per serving)

Low-Fat Vanilla Ice Cream — The Scoop That Makes the Last Peach Cobbler of Summer Complete