Cuisinart Fast Freeze Frozen Dessert Maker Launch

If I could only have one dessert for the rest of my life, it would be ice cream. It’s my rain-or-shine treat-of-choice, no matter where I am in the world or what I’m doing. I feel so strongly about it that I originally scoffed at the idea of the Ninja Creami. It seemed like a way to healthify my favorite treat, which has never been my priority when eating dessert. Plus, I already owned a fancy Breville model that I received as a wedding gift a few years ago, so it made sense that I was immune to its charms.

My stance on the Creamis of the world changed a few weeks ago when Cuisinart offered to send me its new Fast Freeze Frozen Dessert Maker. I’ll admit that I initially said yes with the intention of trying it out for a month or two before passing it along to my sister-in-law. She has a sweet tooth and a toddler, and I thought it could be a fun activity for the two of them to do together. The joke was on me, though, because my husband and I fell in love with this little device and have no intention of parting with it anytime soon.

Cuisinart Fast Freeze Frozen Dessert Maker

While I can’t speak to how Cuisinart’s version compares to Ninja’s operationally, I can report that it has a smaller footprint and price tag than the latter. The machine looks more like an immersion blender than an ice cream maker, with a detachable power handle, separate mixing assembly, and three dessert cups. All told, it only stands about 16 inches tall, takes up a scant 4.5 inches of width, and weighs less than 5 pounds.

After reading the instructions and familiarizing myself with the pieces, I got to work. I started with the vanilla ice cream recipe included in the instruction manual, combining the milk, cream, vanilla, sugar, and salt in the dessert cup, covering it with the lid, and transferring it to the freezer to sit for 24 hours. When I was ready to blend the mixture the next day, I let it defrost on the counter for 10 minutes, as per the instructions, before locking the cup into the mixing assembly, attaching the power handle, and selecting the ice cream function. All that was left to do was to press and hold the power button and apply gentle pressure until the blades hit the bottom and the light turned red. It took approximately 30 seconds to produce about 1 cup of smooth, creamy, and decidedly delicious ice cream.

What I love most about the Fast Freeze Frozen Dessert Maker is how easily I can experiment with new flavors. It’s one thing to make a large batch of ice cream in my Breville machine only to discover that the recipe was a bust, but another to spend less than 5 minutes stirring together a base and 30 seconds processing it the next day. It takes the pressure off and allows my creative juices (excuse the gross imagery) to flow freely. There are also so many fewer dishes to clean since the dessert cups are top-rack dishwasher-safe and the blade on the mixing assembly requires only a quick rinse.

Since my inaugural voyage into the realm of fast-freeze desserts, I’ve experimented with the four additional settings: sorbets, slushies, milkshakes, and mix-ins, although ice cream is my favorite. But no matter which setting you choose, my advice is to leave the prepared cups in the freezer in anticipation of a craving because the base needs to freeze for at least 24 hours. Now, when I want ice cream, all I have to do is grab a frozen container and churn.

I’m not often surprised by an appliance, but Cuisinart’s answer to the Ninja Creami proved me wrong. Not only have I bequeathed precious drawer space to the frozen dessert maker, I also refuse to give it away like I originally intended. While it can’t completely replace an ice cream maker, it’s a fun and (somewhat) affordable option for half-pint cravings on demand. Find it at Williams Sonoma.

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At the time of publishing, the price was $120.