Are you ready for this Matcha Ice Cream Recipe? We are! Today is National Ice Cream Day and what better way to celebrate the day than with, well, some soft ice cream for dessert! And what better time for the day to fall on than in the middle of a California heat wave. That’s right, we’ve got silver linings all over the place, folks! 

But what exactly is soft ice cream? According to the National Day Calendar, soft ice cream has less milk fat and more air than hard ice cream. That means it’s smoother and lighter in texture. Plus, soft serve is best kept at a slightly higher, still-frozen temperature as opposed to the spoon-bending solidity you may find in that gallon of rocky road you bought. 

Thankfully, we’ve got a wonderful matcha soft serve recipe just for this occasion! And as luck would have it, this recipe does not require an ice cream maker (it might be easier if you have one, but for our purposes, you don’t need it!). And like all our recipes, it’s made exclusively with Yum Matcha. That means no sugar and no artificial flavors.

1. Place a deep baking dish, or similarly durable bowl into the freezer. Place a separate, heat-safe bowl into an ice bath. These will come up later!
2. In a medium saucepan, use a whisk to combine the half and half and salt. 
3. Start cooking over medium heat, slowly mixing in the Yum Matcha™ powder. Whisk regularly, until the mixture starts foaming around the edges. Do not bring the liquid to a boil.
4. Remove the pan from the heat, and pour the liquid into the bowl in the ice bath. 
5. Once the mixture is cool, transfer it from the ice bath to the dish in the freezer. Leave to freeze for about forty-five minutes.
6. As the custard starts to freeze near the edges of the dish, remove it from the freezer and mix using a whisk or rubber spatula. The frozen edges should be spread throughout the entire mix. Then, back in the freezer!
7. Check on the bowl every 30 minutes, and continue to mix as it freezes. Continue until the custard is frozen throughout. Depending on your freezer, this may take about 2 or 3 hours!  
8. Once frozen, scoop yourself a nice heaping serving of delicious Yum Matcha™ ice cream! Top with fruit, nuts, candy, or whatever you like!

And that’s it for this Matcha Ice Cream Recipe! Easy, right? I mean, aside from the time and the physical labor. But hey, you get dessert afterward! You’ve earned it!

“Everyone knows that ice cream is worth the trouble of being cold. Like all things virtuous, You have to suffer to gain the reward.”
Brandon Sanderson

And if you somehow have any left over afterward, just place in a covered container back in the freezer.

Or, skip arm day and make some more! 

Happy National Soft Ice Cream Day!