Dondurma, Turkish Chewy Ice Cream

Name: Dondurma, Turkish Chewy Ice Cream
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 600ml whole milk; 200ml double cream; 100g caster sugar; 3 tbsp cornflour; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 0.25 tsp ground mastic, optional, from Turkish or Greek shops; 0.25 tsp salt

Thick, creamy ice cream with the chewy, stretchy texture of Turkish street dondurma, made without a machine.

Time45 min plus freezing
LevelMedium
Costabout £0.57 a head

Cost is worked out from Aldi and Tesco shelf prices in October 2026. Your shop and brands will differ.

6 servings

Ingredients

Tick what you need to buy. It goes on your shopping list.

600 mlwhole milk
200 mldouble cream
100 gcaster sugar
3 tbspcornflour
1 tspvanilla extract
¼ tspground masticoptional, from Turkish or Greek shops
¼ tspsalt

Method

1
Mix the cornflour with 100 ml of the milk until smooth. Heat the rest of the milk, the cream, sugar and salt in a pan until steaming, stirring so the sugar dissolves.
2
Whisk in the cornflour mixture and cook over a medium heat, stirring all the time, for 6 to 8 minutes until as thick as double cream.
7 min
3
Take off the heat and stir in the vanilla and the mastic if using. Pour into a bowl, press clingfilm onto the surface and cool completely, then chill for 2 hours.
120 min
4
Pour into a shallow freezer tub. Freeze for 45 minutes, then beat hard with a fork or whisk to break up the ice crystals. Repeat twice more at 45 minute intervals.
45 min
5
Freeze until firm, about 4 hours. For the classic stretch, beat or knead the scooped ice cream with a strong spoon for a minute before serving.
240 min

Double check before you cook. Recipes can contain mistakes. Any diet labels come from the ingredients as written in this recipe and are a guide, not a guarantee. Always check every ingredient and the packet label for allergens and cross contamination, and ask your doctor or dietitian what is right for you, especially with coeliac disease, diabetes or a serious allergy. This is not medical advice.