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Pros
takes up little space on the kitchen counter, fast
Cons
difficult to check on the progress, no timer

Available from: Amazon (£44.99), Vonhaus (£44.99)

Read our full guide to the best ice cream makers

What is the Vonshef Stainless Steel Ice Cream Maker like to use?

This ice cream maker is pretty simple to use. It has a single on/off button and no timer, so you’ll need to keep an eye on this machine whilst it’s churning. The manual says it takes 15-20 minutes to make ice cream; we found it needed the full 20 minutes to produce the texture we were after.

It’s not the easiest model to put together. When assembling it, you need to build the housing around the freezer bowl, rather than just slotting the bowl in. It’s a little fiddly and definitely took some getting used to. It’s worth doing a couple of practice runs before freezing the bowl.

Of all the ice cream makers we tested, this is the only model that doesn’t allow you to check on the progress of your ice cream. While you can try to peek in through the feeding chute, it’s very dark because of the solid black lid. This, coupled with the fact that you need to take the ice cream maker apart to see inside, is a frustrating design feature.

For this model, you need to rely on your senses, namely hearing, to work out when the ice cream is done. You’ll be able to hear a soft brushing sound when the ice cream has firmed up.

How did the Vonshef Stainless Steel Ice Cream Maker perform?

To put this model through its paces, we tested it using two classic recipes: olive’s vanilla ice cream and smooth mango sorbet. A pretty clever feature of this ice cream maker is that it turns the paddle in both directions to help create a smoother texture.

After 20 minutes of churning, the ice cream had a soft, whipped texture, though we did spy some visible ice crystals. It was smooth overall and lighter than we expected. It was very soft though, and too loose to serve straight away, but after an hour in the freezer it had firmed up and was perfect.

The mango sorbet also needed some extra time in the freezer before serving, but the flavour and texture afterwards were faultless. The sorbet was brilliantly smooth, with a slow-melting, lingering texture: everything we wanted from a sorbet.

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olive's take: should you buy the Vonshef Stainless Steel Ice Cream Maker?

Vonshef’s Stainless Steel Ice Cream Maker is a great option for the super-organised. Whether you’re looking to make a personal stash to save for a rainy day or you like to have your desserts ready before your guests even arrive, this model is the choice for you. It’s not the quietest, so we’d recommend not having it on when guests are round.

It’s small, making it easy to store, or if you want to keep it on the countertop, it won’t take up much space there either. This ice cream maker requires a lot of trial and error, not only when it comes to assembling the machine but also learning the sounds that it makes, because you won’t be able to easily check on the progress.

But once you’ve fully got to know this model, it produces delicious and creamy desserts.

Available from: Amazon (£44.99), Vonhaus (£44.99)

Vonshef Stainless Steel Ice Cream Maker specifications

Bowl capacity: 2L
Accessories: none
Pre-set functions: none
Dimensions (cm): H:31 x W:24 x D: 23.6
Colours: black

This review was last updated in May 2021. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at oliveweb@immediate.co.uk.

Lydia AndersonProduct Testing Lead

Vonshef Stainless Steel Ice Cream Maker review

Pros

Cons

Vegetarian recipe ideas

Easy baking ideas

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