Cuisinart iced dessert maker review

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The Cuisinart iced dessert maker is so pretty, with its soft pistachio colouring and slim footprint, it could comfortably live on the worktop.

This freeze-ahead machine has a 1.4-litre capacity, so the bowl fits snugly into the freezer drawer and freezes in 16-24 hours.

Putting the machine parts together couldn’t be simpler – the paddle clips firmly into the holder and with a quick twist of the locking bar, all is secure.

The unique feature of this machine is that the bowl rotates, not the paddle, so it’s essential to lock the lid into place for it to work safely.

The machine has two distinctly different paddles, one with two angled arms for churning ice cream, the other has six to mash and churn fresh fruit for smooth or chunky iced desserts.

Once churning has started, the see-through lid has a generous opening to pour in the cream. It works effortlessly and is super-quiet, with nothing more than a gentle hum in the background.

Should the motor overheat or the paddle stick (which never happened in our tests), it will stop automatically to prevent any damage to the machine.

The resulting vanilla ice cream had a delicious, light, creamy consistency in 20 minutes (the recommended times from the manufacturer are between 15 and 25).

As we spooned it from the machine to tub, though, the ice cream began to stick to the walls of the bowl. Leaving it for five minutes made it easy to scrape down with a soft rubber spatula.

Cleaning the bowl when defrosted was super-simple; the paddles and lid went straight into the dishwasher, and wiping down the fingerprint-free surface was a doddle.

Tasting after 24 and 48 hours, the results were the same, with both being removed 15 minutes before eating. There was a firmness that belied the creamy, light texture, and the vanilla shone through. The good looks, quietness and a staggering 5-year guarantee make this an excellent value ice cream maker.

Cuisinart Iced Dessert maker specifications
Type: freeze-ahead
Capacity: 1.4 litre
Size: 21cm x 21cm x 29cm
Noise: super-quiet
Settings: on and off only
Functions: makes ice cream, sorbet and frozen fruit desserts
Lid: transparent
Extras: sliding lid to easily add fruits during churning
Guarantee: five years
Cleaning: paddles and lid dishwasher safe
Instruction manual: yes
Recipes: yes

Read our full review of the best ice cream makers

Ice cream maker recipes

Browse some of our popular ice cream recipes and give them a try in your ice cream machine.

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This review was last updated in May 2020. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.

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