What is the best way to make two batches of ice cream in my 1 1/2 quart Cuisinart ice cream maker?

An ice cream loving friend of mine bought an extra bowl on Amazon for this exact reason. I think she waited until it went on sale.

I run into this problem all the time because sometimes I have to make enough to serve 20 people or more. What I've tried to do---without success so far---is to order a second freezer bowl from Cuisinart, but when you call them at customer service they refer you to tech support. Huh? I just want a "replacement" bowl and not a whole second machine. I do agree though that the bowl should freeze overnight.

Thanks for your suggestions, everyone. Making two batches is a lot more work than I realized! I came up with an alternative: I'm going to stretch one batch by using it to fill buttery profiteroles, topped with chocolate sauce and lots of whipped cream. David Lebovitz has a recipe in "The Perfect Scoop."

Anita-

I misspoke. Amanda's Ice Cream maker is this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Simac-GC4000-1-8-Quart-Cream-Maker/dp/B0000CDCMS

...which doesn't have a price on Amazon but in digging around the web it seems to cost many hundreds of dollars. (Good thing I can borrow Amanda's!) I guess I was thinking it was affordable as compared to what I see pastry chefs use in the backs of restaurants.

me, too, Peter.

the only way I know to prep the Cuisinart bowl is to freeze it for 24 hours. When I've tried to use it sooner, it doesn't freeze the custard properly.

Peter, I would love the details on that not *too* much ice cream maker please!

Dry ice is available at most grocery stores. I always use a cooler that's large enough so that the base is not actually touching the dry ice.

Wow. I would have been afraid of using dry ice -- I'd be afraid it would freeze the plastic outer bowl too cold and it might crack. But if you've tried it then good to know!

(Now if I only had a handy source of dry ice...)

If I am in a hurry, I will put my base in a cooler with some dry ice for a few hours. It freezes up nicely and then I can make my ice cream. The base has to be really frozen otherwise you will end up with a soupy mess which turns icy when you refreeze it instead of nice and creamy.

1. You'll have to clean it after the first batch. Otherwise the remnants will freeze rock-hard to the bowl and the scraper/blade will have problems with them.

2. Sadly, in my experience the bowl has to be returned to the freezer for a LONG time. For my 15 year old Krups machine, it's overnight. For a much newer Krups machine it's a few DAYS. I'm guessing they changed the formula of the liquid in the bowl. It takes longer to freeze, but it also does a better job of freezing the ice cream base.

If you really *have* to make both batches back to back I'd recommend 1) chilling the base as cold as possible before churning (keep it in the fridge for hours and hours, especially if it started as a heated custard.) Even consider some time in the freezer. Finally, and this is a wacky step I've taken a few times when making multiple batches for Thanksgiving, if you have room stick the entire machine -- while running -- in the fridge. Running in that colder environment takes less heat out of the bowl.

P.S. When I got tired of jumping through all these hoops I just bought several extra freezer bowls for my ice cream maker. They were too expensive new but I bought used machines -- bowl, machine and all -- from eBay for $15 or so each and now I have extra machines in case mine died.

P.P.S. If ice cream becomes a bigger part of your life, Amanda has a semi-professional ice cream maker that I don't think cost *too* much. It's capable of making endless batches back-to-back. Let me know if you're interested and I'll dig up the specifics.