No ice cream maker? These Biscoff and Snickers ice creams take less than 30 minutes to prepare

ice cream in metal tray - ice cream in cone - ice cream in cones — (Image credit: Future)

Looking for an easy cooling summer dessert that doesn't require an ice cream machine or hours in the kitchen? The woman&home Test Kitchen team has created a delicious set of cheat’s ice creams that deliver all the richness and indulgence you’d expect from “real” homemade gelato, with none of the specialist equipment or complicated techniques.

From a Biscoff ice cream layered with coffee-soaked biscuits and crunchy crumbs, to a no-churn Snickers slice packed with caramel, chocolate and peanuts, these are proper crowd-pleasers designed for effortless summer entertaining. Each recipe is built around simple shortcuts and supermarket ingredients, but still gives you that creamy, scoopable texture you want from a good ice cream.

After testing these recipes, what we loved the most was how well they work as make-ahead desserts. Everything can be prepared in advance and stored in the freezer for up to a month, making it ideal for keeping on standby during the warmer months. They’re seriously moorish, so be prepared to make a double batch!

1. Biscoff ice cream

Food editor Jess Meyer's recipe uses a combination of silky homemade ice cream, crunchy Lotus Biscoff biscuits and ribbons of coffee to create something that tastes remarkably like a frozen Biscoff tiramisu. As it freezes, the layers soften into one another, so you get creamy ice cream, pockets of biscuit and little bursts of coffee in every scoop. Serving it in chocolate-dipped waffle cones adds an extra layer of crunch and makes it feel like something you'd pick up from an artisan ice cream parlour.

It's also a brilliant make-ahead dessert. Once assembled, it simply needs an overnight freeze, making it perfect for summer parties, birthdays or whenever you want an easy dessert that's guaranteed to impress with very little last-minute effort.

Makes 12 cones
Ready in 25 mins, plus overnight chilling
Per serving: 521 cals, 36g fat, 20g sat fat, 45g carbs

Ingredients

4 medium free-range eggs, separated
150g caster sugar
300ml pot double cream
227g tub clotted cream
100g Biscoff spread (smooth)
250g pack Lotus Biscoff biscuits
100ml strong black coffee, cooled
12 waffle cones
100g white chocolate, melted
You will need: Approx 20x25cm roasting tin

Method

1 Using an electric mixer, whisk the whites until foamy, then add 50g sugar and beat to stiff peaks.
2 In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks and remaining 100g sugar for about 5 mins until thick and tacky. Add both creams and 80g Biscoff spread. Slowly whisk to medium peaks. Stir in a quarter of the egg white mixture to loosen, then fold in the rest.
3 Pour a third of the ice cream mixture into the tin. Set 5 biscuits aside, roughly crumble half of the remainder over the ice cream in the tin, then drizzle over half the coffee. Repeat, then cover the top with the remaining ice cream. Mix 20g Biscoff spread with 1tbsp of just-boiled water until smooth. Drizzle this on top and crumble over the remaining biscuits. Swirl with a knife. Freeze overnight.
4 Dip the top of each cone in melted chocolate. Set at room temperature.
5 Serve 2 scoops of ice cream in each cone.

2. Snickers slice

Deputy food editor, Rose Fooks’ no-churn Snickers slice takes everything you love about the familiar favourite chocolate bar and turns it into a frozen dessert that’s rich, creamy and incredibly easy to make. A whipped cream and condensed milk base keeps it light and scoopable, while layers of chopped Snickers, roasted peanuts, caramel sauce and melted chocolate bring plenty of texture and indulgence throughout.

We struggled to put the spoon down while testing this one! Be prepared to serve out seconds…

Serves 12
Ready in 30 mins, plus freezing
Per serving: 524 cals, 38g fat, 21g sat fat, 40g carbs

Ingredients

600ml double cream
397g tin sweetened condensed milk
4 x 40g Snickers bars, chopped
50g roasted, unsalted peanuts
150g caramel sauce
100g milk chocolate, melted
You will need:
20x27x7cm/4ltr freezer-safe container

Method

1 In a large bowl, whip the cream and condensed milk to soft peaks. Spread half the mixture in the base of a freezer-safe container, then top with half the chopped Snickers and half the peanuts.
2 Drizzle over half the caramel sauce and melted chocolate, then swirl to lightly mix.
3 Spread over the remaining cream mixture, then arrange the remaining Snickers and peanuts on top. Drizzle with the remaining caramel sauce and chocolate, then freeze for at least 4 hrs. Slice to serve.

Lucy is a Food Writer, contributing to Woman & Home, Woman’s Weekly, Woman and Chat. Passionate about food, Lucy feels most at home in the kitchen, experimenting with flavours and sharing meals around the table with family and friends. Within the Food Team at Future, Lucy can usually be found developing and testing recipes, assisting on shoots, and writing food features.

Lucy studied Art History at the University of Edinburgh. After graduating, she pursued a passion for cooking by gaining hands-on experience working as a chef at Daylesford Organic and aboard sailing yachts in the Mediterranean. She continued to develop her practical skills by going on to train at Leiths School of Food and Wine.