Cuisinart Freeze Wand® Ice Cream Maker | Includes 3 x 240ml dessert pots | 5 presets: Ice Cream, Sorbet, Milkshake, Slushie, Mixins | high-protein, dairy-free, vegan, low calorie

Amazing piece of kit - makes the finest ice cream you'll ever eat, with minimal effort and you don't have to keep waiting 12 hours for a bowl to freeze! Believe me, once you've had this ice cream, you'll never want to touch any commercial variety again (not to mention goodness knows what additives.)This is a heavy chunky machine that you probably won't want to keep dragging in and out of a cupboard (and it really shouldn't be moved around anyway) so you ideally need permanent space on your worktop. I've sat mine on one of those black oven liners so I can easily slide it aside when I want to clean the granite worktop underneath etc.When the machine arrived, I left it to settle for 24 hours before using it. Next day I made a batch of strawberry gelato and blackberry/mango gelato, using the gelato paddle - pic attached shows the strawberry. The results were out of this world - smooth, creamy and full of fruit. I used one of the online recipes from the excellent 'Ask Chef Dennis' website using fresh strawberries, half full-fat milk/half double cream, lemon juice and granulated sugar (I used less sugar than the recipe called for, as the fruit was quite sweet.) And that was it. No messing about with egg yolks and making custards. You can substitute virtually any fruit.I don't find this machine excessively noisy at all - it's a lot quieter than even most kettles and you can easily talk over it.Some people have also marked this machine down because they say the ice cream is hard to remove from the paddle but I had no problem with that at all - I just used two small silicone spatulas. TIP: get a teaspoon ready to just eat the residue left on the paddle - it's too good to waste! Getting the lid in place can be a bit of a knack but once you've got it, it's very easy - just make sure the small lock icons line up on the lid and the machine.The handbook is very clear and well-written. It's got a small but good selection of basic recipes but I find the (free) 'Ask Chef Dennis' recipes much less of a faff to prepare and give great results.Although the handbook states that 1 litre is the total maximum quantity you should make at a time, I'd actually recommend using slightly less because as the mixture freezes, it expands massively and depending on what you're making and how long your chosen cycle is, it rises right to the very top of the bowl.If your paddle squeaks as it goes round when the mixture starts thickening, a tiny drop of cooking oil or butter on the top part of the paddle spindle where it touches the lid should stop it. You'll probably have to re-apply the oil every time though because it will come off when you wash the paddle.All in all, although this is a relatively expensive machine, it's solidly built and imo worth every penny. My only regret is not buying one much sooner.

This is a great little addition to my kitchen. I followed the instructions to use it which are nice and simple, but I didn’t use the recipes that come with it as I wanted a lower fat/sugar ice cream. The first one I tried I used skimmed milk, coconut cream and granulated sweetener, I thought it might take me a couple of goes to get it right, but my first batch was spot on, tasty with a great consistency, and with a little bit of grated chocolate on top to finish it off. I’ve also used it to make some apple juice slush drinks for my son who gave it a thumbs up. These again were nice and simple to make.My recommendation with this is to follow the preparation instructions. I tried mixing my first batch straight from the freezer without leaving it to stand and it was a bit of a struggle to get the wand through. But the next batch I let stand for 10 minutes and it was much easier.The wand itself feels well-built and sturdy. It arrived well packaged and wrapped in recyclable materials rather than loads of plastic. I’ve tried ice cream makers before, and I’ve found them to be bit of a faff and bulky to store when I’m not using them. This wand is simple to use and nice and compact to store when it’s not in use which is a bonus. The containers are a perfect size for single portions or two smaller portions for kids, but I would like some additional containers for bigger batches for if I was entertaining. Yes, you have to prepare the mixture and freeze the day before, but with other ice cream makers I always found myself preparing the ice cream the day before anyway.I can see myself getting plenty of use out of this and would recommend it to anyone.

Fantastic ice cream maker! Made several types of ice cream including some with mix-ins. All came out delicious and a lot easier than my old freezer bowl maker as I didn’t have to remember to freeze bowl the day before. The best part is using your own everyday ingredients for any type of ice cream you can dream up. You can control, to a certain extent, how you want your ice cream to taste.Making ice cream doesn’t take as long with this type of machine either. Pour your cold cream base into the insert, set timer and start. Ice cream churns a lot quicker (40-50 minutes) and it keeps ice cream cold for a bit so you don’t have rush to get it into your container. The consistency of ice cream is a good deal better than freezer bowl IMHO so you can eat it straight away or put it in the freezer for a few hours to harden. Wash and dry insert and paddles after and machine is ready to go for the next batch.There are a few minor issues that I found while using it. Pouring the ice cream base directly into machine was a bit messy so I took out the insert to pour the base in and then re-inserted it back into the machine. It’s also a bit fiddly to scrape out just churned ice cream from the paddles but I just use a small spatula and a spare plate on the counter. The unit itself is quite big so you need a bit of counter space near an outlet.I had put off purchasing this since last year due to the price and size but I treated myself a month ago and have absolutely no regrets (except for the extra cm’s around my waist!).If you love ice cream all year round, have people to share it with and have the space, this Cuisinart ice cream machine is a great little investment.

Chose this model over other brands because I wanted an ice cream maker but I don't have space to store a big machine in my kitchen. The fact you can make 3 flavours is great for being able to make a flavour for me and a flavour for my hubby and an extra one too. The freezer pots are super handy and don't take up much space in my already very full freezer so that's a win. Its really easy to use, and such a simple way to make ice cream at home. I have only had it for 3 days and already made 5 batches! A top buy that I know I will get a lot of use out of. My top tip - always keep at least one pot in the freezer with your ice cream mix ready to go so you can churn a little treat whenever you fancy!