I hope you guys are enjoying the July 4th week! I will be spending it in LA with my family lying on the beach. It is so nice to be back in LA. Being in LA makes me feel like I’m really in the midst of summer because of the warm weather and the beautiful beaches. As it is summer, I made more ice cream this week! Ice cream recipe number 3 is blueberry ice cream.
Getting my ice cream making process down solid
I’ve made ice cream so many times now and written about all of them, so I wanted to give you some tips and tricks I use each time. The first thing I do is make sure my ice cream container has a few days to freeze before I need it. The ice cream maker I have has an ice cream container that needs to be frozen because it has liquid that lines the border of the container that has to be frozen. So what I do is put it in the freezer as soon as I am done using it, so it is ready for me when I need it next time. If the liquid doesn’t freeze properly, your ice cream doesn’t form properly.
The difference between the 2 bases
The ice cream base I use for all my ice cream recipes is always the same. It is a custard base with egg yolks, whole milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and sugar. A really simple recipe. I then add flavoring to the base to change up the flavor. If you don’t add flavoring, it becomes vanilla ice cream. Using a custard base means you have to churn the ice cream before freezing it.
There is a no churn method for making ice cream that utilizes condensed milk, sugar, and whipped cream. These 3 ingredients make up the base and then you add flavors to it. After everything comes together, you can put it directly into the freezer. I personally like using the custard base because I love the richness that the eggs add to the ice cream, and I love watching the ice cream machine churn my ice cream. 🙂
Making my blueberry ice cream recipe
I used fresh blueberry puree for flavoring this ice cream. I first added some sugar to blueberries and let them sit for 10 minutes. After they break down a bit from the sugar, I add them to a food processor to puree before adding it to the ice cream base. This is seriously one of my favorite flavors thus far, but I say that about almost all my ice cream recipes. What can I say? I love ice cream!!!
Blueberry Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 6 oz fresh blueberries
- ½ cup sugar divided
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 egg yolks
Instructions
- Sprinkle 1/4 cup of sugar over the blueberries and let sit for 10 minutes.
- While the blueberries are sitting, whisk together whole milk, heavy cream, and vanilla extract in a small sauce pan. Heat over low heat until the milk is warm (about 3-5 minutes). Try some of the milk to test that it is warm. Add a pinch of salt and stir. Turn off the heat.
- Mix the last 1/4 cup of sugar and egg yolks in a small bowl. Add a spoonful of the milk to the egg mixture and whisk until both are well incorporated. We are raising the temperature of the egg mixture, so the heated milk doesn't cook the eggs.
- Add the egg mixture to the milk in the sauce pan and whisk until the sugar melts. Set aside.
- Add the blueberries from step 1 into a food processor. Pulse until the blueberries are broken down. Add the pureed blueberries to the cream and whisk well. Let the blueberry cream cool for 30 minutes.
- Pour the blueberry cream into the ice cream maker. Churn for 20 minutes.
- Pour the ice cream into a freezer safe container and freeze for 3-4 hours or overnight.
I have frozen all of my blueberries…what changes do I make to the recipe so I can use them.
thanks
I would first purée them before adding them to the cream mixture.