We have a few tips to help you make the best homemade rolled ice cream that's been tested and perfected with a handful of ingredients and basic equipment you likely already have in your cabinet (sheet pan, whisk, and spatulas).
Prior to preparing the ingredients, place a full size sheet pan with rimmed edges into the freezer. Be sure there is ample space for the sheet pan to set level. Allow the pan to chill in the freezer for at least 15 minutes up to several hours in advance.
Whisk together all of the ingredients in a large bowl.
Pour the mixture into the prepped pan. Use a large icing spatula to spread the cream mixture evenly across the entire bottom of the sheet pan, into a thin smooth layer. The layer should be quite thin, about 1⁄8” thick, even thinner if you can manage.
Freeze for at least 2-3 hours, until the ice cream is solid.
Working quickly with a 3” wide straight spatula - gently lift the edge of the ice cream and then glide your spatula across the sheet pan to make rolls of ice cream. Transfer the rolls into a paper cup or bowl for serving.
Notes
The ratio of sweetened condensed milk to heavy cream is really important, particularly when there are no additional mix-ins to this vanilla ice cream. If you find that the ice cream is too soft and won’t roll without melting into a puddle before you can get it off the pan...you need to add more heavy cream (or less sweetened condensed milk) to the mixture. If the ice cream is brittle and breaks instead of rolls, you need a greater portion of sweetened condensed milk. Different brands of sweetened condensed milk may make a difference also.
If your ice cream won’t roll and you need to adjust the proportions, simply set the sheet pan out of the freezer for a few minutes to soften, then scrape/pour the mixture back into a bowl, adjust ingredients and try again.
You can use any size pan (or pans) - as long as they are metal and have a rim. Pour just enough base mixture into the pan to spread a thin, solid layer (there was no such thing as “too thin” in my experiments) and freeze, then roll, then repeat.. Store the rest of the base mixture in the refrigerator in between pours. I preferred using quarter sheet pans and doing smaller batches at a time.
No churn ice cream requires no added sugar (it gets its sweetness from the sweetened, condensed milk). It is a softer set ice cream than traditional ice cream. Because it is so soft set, work quickly to roll the ice cream and transfer it to a container for immediate serving. You can roll the ice cream and store in the freezer until ready to serve.