With the humidity rising and the temps hovering around 100 degrees for the past few days, we figured it was time to finally bust out the good ol' ice cream maker! Why we waited this long to make ice cream I'll never know, but I have a feeling we will be making another batch of this Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream again soon.
Whenever I make a custard-based ice cream, I always allow it to rest overnight in the refrigerator so it can get very cold before churning it - we find that it takes less time to process and the texture is better. When you are tempering the eggs with the hot milk mixture, don't be disappointed if you find little bits of cooked eggs. It can easily happen, but you don't have to be too concerned if it does - you can just strain the cooked base through a fine sieve to ensure an ultra-silky texture. I actually started the base yesterday morning while I was waiting for that honey-oatmeal bread to rise so I could get the ice cream done and in the freezer before we left for the market.
Without being cloying, this ice cream is definitely on the sweeter side, however the richness of the cream cheese helped tone it down a bit. Giving the ice cream its deep and dazzling lavender color are fresh blueberries that have been cooked with powdery confectioners' sugar and a touch of water. This allows the berries to break down, add a little sweetness and thicken up its juices. With a creamy texture and bursting with blueberry flavor, this is a perfect use of those fresh blueberries flooding the market. If you happen to freeze some of those fresh berries to enjoy later in the year, I'm betting that this recipe would work just as well with those frozen blue orbs!
Beautiful ice cream, I'll be right over with a bowl and a spoon.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Brilynn :) So I have a silly first time blogger question for you, kind of embarrassed! How are you able to put the recipes in a different place and yet link them to your entry? Am I missing something? I don't know other bloggers so I have no idea who to ask! Thank you for any help you can give.
ReplyDeleteThe texture is definitely different wih a heat-based custard eh Joe? Yours looks perfect.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you on chilling the ice cream overnight. When I made mine, I rushed it, so the texture was off.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you got to make ice cream after all.
ReplyDeleteIt looks nice and creamy - hard to find in a lower fat ice cream. Were you pleased with the texture and did it hold up? I'm picky about ice cream and don't like it when it's icy.....
Brilynn - Thank you! Unfortuntely it would have been gone before you got here, but I would have loved to make you a fresh batch!
ReplyDeleteCityliving - I replied via email!
Cynthia - I think so, but I guess it depends on how you like your ice cream!
Emilie - I've had to rush it before too and while it was certainly still good, the overnight chill works much better!
Alysha - We ate it within a day or two since it was a fairly small batch, but it worked well for us. I wouldn't say it is as rich and creamy as if you used cream, but it was very good considering it was "light".
Hey Joe,
ReplyDeleteIt's been forever since I have been cruising food blogs - missed you! The ice cream looks fabulous but I don't get the color. Literally. I have blueberries and when I make ice cream it is this weakly mauve stuff (like the background of the page I am on right now) and not horribl blueberry tasting either. I checked your recipe and I use about the same amount of berries, no cream cheese and a couple more egg yolks. Got a clue about the reasons for the difference?
Kitchenmage - Hello! Good to see you again! I'm not sure what is producing the color difference... maybe the berries we got just had more punch?
ReplyDelete