Have an Ice Cream Party

Making ice cream at home is not a complicated process and it takes on a personality of its own through the imaginative toppings and additions piled on by the people who serve and eat it. Not only is making ice cream simple, it can also be a lot of fun. A great activity for a child’s birthday party is to have the partygoers participate in making the ice cream to go with the traditional birthday cake.
The recipe is simple: half and half; vanilla extract; and sugar. There are two ways to create party fun for children. One calls for a few plastic zipper bags; the other, a couple of coffee cans and some duct tape – yes, the same duct tape you keep in the toolbox for household repairs.

To prepare for the zipper bag party, get one large and one small bag for each child. Start by giving each child his or her small zip lock bag and telling them to be sure not to let anything happen to their ice cream maker, then add the ingredients. Each bag gets a cup of milk, a couple of teaspoons full of vanilla extract and two to three teaspoons of sugar and is then sealed and placed inside a larger zipper bag filled one forth the way with salted ice cubes. Depending upon the ages of the children, it might be helpful to have these bags prepared in advance to make the process go more quickly. Once the smaller bags containing the ice cream mixture is in the larger bags let the children fill the larger bags the rest of the way with salted ice. This is a good time to give them a chemistry lesson by explaining that the salt helps the ice stay at the same temperature and thaw more slowly.

Once the larger bags are filled with ice and sealed, it’s time for the ice cream dance. Select some lively popular music let shake their ice cream makers while dancing, hopping, sipping and jumping around for ten minutes. If the ice cream is still soft, start the music again and let them dance around for another ten minutes. You may want to have extra bags on hand in case some of them spring a leak during the process and emergency repairs are necessary. Once all the dancing is done, you’ll have some pretty tired children on your hands, ready for some birthday cake and ice cream. The joy of making their own ice cream is well worth all the exertion and the exercise is a healthy, fun filled way for them to burn off pent up energy.

Before the coffee can ice cream party starts, thoroughly wash, sterilize and dry two coffee cans – one three pound can and a smaller, one pound can. Take the following steps to create a shift churn and let the fun begin.

1. Put the basic ice cream ingredients in the one pound can.
2. Place the lid on the can and seal it with duct tape. Put the sealed one pound can inside the three-pound can and fill it with ice, making sure the smaller can is completely surrounded by the ice.
3. Wrap the can in a towel and lay out a sheet on the floor.
4. Invite the children to kneel down on the sheet and roll the can from one to another as fast as they can.
5. Cheer them on and encourage them to go faster because they are making their own ice cream.
6. After a minimum of ten minutes, open both cans. If the ice cream is not ready, reseal the cans and play the game for another ten minutes.

Playing the shift churn ice cream game is a wonderful way to get the party started. That way, the finished product can be stored in the freezer to allow the ice cream time to set properly. It’s a good idea to have several sets of coffee cans so that several flavors of ice cream can be made by different groups of children at the same time. One group could be making vanilla ice cream while another makes chocolate and a third churns up a batch of strawberry.

With the addition of fruit, cookies, chocolate chips, nuts, candy sprinkles, and butterscotch, chocolate, strawberry or caramel syrup, each child can create his or her own signature ice cream. When the chilly dessert is ready, they can scoop it out and serve themselves a heaping helping of their own creation.

Imagine the happy faces as they report to their parents and friends that they made their own ice cream… just the way they wanted it… while attending a birthday party.

That’s the fun of ice cream. You don’t need a party to have fun creating your dream ice cream recipe. In fact, you don’t even have to be a child. Making ice cream is a wonderful way to bring out the child in everyone. Why not have a shift churn party the next time you invite a group of your own friends over for dessert?

Other Great Ice-Cream Recipes From: www.icecreamrecipes.org.uk