No Churn Cinnamon Ice Cream

Life: Our latest project has been buying a new bed. Well, mattress, mattresses. We have a great headboard/footboard, a huge king sized espresso sleigh bed, which I adore. And we had an oh so comfortable (for me at least) plush mattress, but it’s hit that way too worn out point (where it was starting to cause discomfort), and it was time to replace it.

Now, I wouldn’t think getting a new mattress would be that complicated a thing. But, by the time we take into account both Charlie’s and my particular needs, it is in fact, and a complicated thing. A multi-week, exchanges, adjustments, break in, kind of complicated thing. 

Charlie happens to need a very firm mattress for his back, and one of those electronic beds that the head and feet go up and down because he has to sleep elevated due to issues related to his sleep apnea. Ok, not so bad right? Expenisve, but do-able? Here’s kicker, I need the exact opposite of everything Charlie needs. Firm mattresses for me are like being forced to sleep in an iron maiden for the night. Beds that move up and down, no mater what position they bend me into pretty much cause me massive amounts of pain. NOT. GOOD. I need, (well who on Earth knows exactly what I need?) a mattress that is soft enough not to hurt my leg and hip when I lay on it, but firm enough not to make my leg ache when I get up in the morning. Does that even make any sense? One way or another I definitely need not-Charlie’s-bed.

We went to the furniture store where we had bought our previous mattress and confused the heck out of the sales guys, but eventually ended up with a split King on moving bases that operate independently of each other. Charlie’s side of the bed has a firm mattress and goes up and down. I picked a plush mattress (theroetically the same we had before) and we didn’t plug in my side of the bed to prevent that whole up/down= massive pain thing. 

Flash forward one week later: Our bed gets delivered. Charlie is pretty happy with his set up though he has to figure out exactly what settings he needs to be perfectly comfortable; but we’re on the righty track there. My plush mattress on the other hand (again theroetically the same one we used to have that was perfect for me) for some reason is hard as a stone! Is it the totally different base instead of a normal box spring causing the problem? IDK. Is it the smaller size, meaning it has more support? IDK. All I do know is that it hurts! 

I held out for one week, hoping the mattress would soften up. Apparently you do have to ‘break them in”. After that I gave up. I was waking up in the mornings and it felt like someone had spent the entire night hitting me in the ribs with a heavy object. Though strangely, in the mornings my leg was painful, but not terribly painful. With the level of discomfort I hit laying on it, I was expecting to get up and not be able to walk in the morning! But, despite still walking, over all, it was just too hard to lay on for the night. And that rib beating thing had to go. We went back in to the store and exchanged my plush mattress for the Euro top. 

Charlie brought the Euro top home for me that same day, and it felt great to lay on right away. It was soft enough not to make anything hurt right away when I sat or slept on it. I slept much better that night. Unfortunately, I did wake up with some pain in my leg and a numb foot, so I guess I’m still going to have to troubleshoot. But on the balance I think it’s the better option. I have to admit I’m a little afraid that my old mattress was the only mattress that will ever allow me to sleep more or less pain free. (Don’t tell Charlie, He’s super stressed about the whole thing. He hates it when I hurt, and wants to fix it immediately.) It’s probably not really the case, but as stupid as it sounds this has kinda been a deal, you know? You just get worn out with the whole darn thing sometimes. :::sigh::: Chronic pain sucks my friends. Bed shopping too. And this stuff really makes me feel old sometimes. Do you guys have anything like that, where its super complicated, and has to be just right or it’s a deal?

Anyhow, after all these mattress complications ice cream was clearly in order. Because ice cream fixes everything. Or at least makes it a lot more bearable. Who’s with me on this one? So, no churn cinnamon ice cream deffinitly happened. 

Food: I’ve actually pretty much been obsessed with no churn ice cream since I discovered it. And with good reason: real amazingly good ice cream, at home, in your own kitchen, with minimal amount of fuss. We’re talking no special appliances (Well I guess you need a mixer unless you want to whip cream by hand, and while it can be done, it’s much easier with a mixer). No chilling bowls or cooking fussy bases. And a few basic ingredients. Cream, sweetened condensed milk, and whatever flavorings you’d like to add. Seriously, whoever invented this no churn thing is a complete genius. Unlike the person who made mattresses so complicated. meh. 

I already have a recipe for no churn chocolate peanut butter swirl ice cream up on the blog, and it’s awesome. But this time I wanted to try something completely different in the flavor department. The afore mentioned PB Chocolate is bold and almost busy, with intense competing flavors, though they still manage to blend. (Well PB chocolate obviously go together, I guess.) This time I wanted to go subtle. 

I remembered that a Mexican restaurant we went to when I was a kid, made a wonderful cinnamon ice cream that they served alongside sweet banana dessert empanadas. The whole dish was awesome, but the cinnamon ice cream really caught my attention and stuck with me. After thinking of this, it obviously had to be cinnamon ice cream this time around. 

This ice cream does have a simpler flavor. Pretty much straight up cinnamon. Well pronounced without turning into that over powering red-hot candy kind of flavor. But, what I really like is that with the mellower flavor of the the cinnamon; that luscious cream taste really shines through. I love the flavor of cream.  Now, you can add vanilla to the mix as well, or not. I  think the vanilla is good too, but I do find it somewhat obscures that cream flavor I enjoyed so much. Charlie happened to prefer the ice cream with the vanilla. As you already guessed, I preferred it without. I’d love to hear what you guys prefer when you try it. Vanilla or not this one is a winner, though. And as long as you like cinnamon you’re pretty much going to adore it.  

Maybe sometime soon we’ll make the empanadas to go with?

No Churn Cinnamon Ice Cream– Yields about 1 and 1/2 quarts. 

• 2 cups cold heavy cream
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Whip cream using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, until still peaks are formed. Set aside.
2. Mix the cinnamon and vanilla (if desired) into the sweetened condensed milk. Gradually pour the sweetened condensed milk into the whipped cream, folding it in with a rubber spatula as you go. When all the sweetened condensed milk has been folded in well, transfer the whipped cream to a parchment paper lined bread pan. Use the rubber spatula to smooth the top of the cream. Cover with foil and freeze until firm, about six hours. Serve topped with additional cinnamon as desired.