Blackberry Ice Cream

 I used to be wildly opposed to incorporating fruits into desserts. To me, the inclusion of fruit meant the exclusion of two of the world’s most wonderful foods – chocolate and peanut butter. And you couldn’t tell me that a fruit-and-chocolate something made sense. It doesn’t. If there’s more fruit, then there’s less chocolate. So stop it.

 

And then I got into a relationship with a man who grew up eating, and ultimately worshipping, fresh-fruit pies. And makes statements like, “I can’t eat that brownie, it’s too much chocolate” (I think we can all take a moment to acknowledge my maturity in not immediately kicking him to the curb. I mean really, too much chocolate?! Gah!!) However, I can acknowledge that the first time I had one of the pies his mother bakes, well, I discovered something kind of amazing. And it did open me up to the possibility that fruit can be good in desserts – maybe I don’t have to order it myself when we’re out, but I also don’t have to disparage it when it happens (I know, my maturity is unparalleled…)

 

That being said, I still don’t really believe in fruit ice creams (see above comments about chocolate and peanut butter, and add in some thoughts about salted caramel). But with Strudel and Streusel’s ice cream month in full swing, a freezer full of blackberries, a great base for an ice cream recipe, and an extremely enthusiastic partner, I forged ahead. And you know what?! Darn thing is actually pretty tasty. Truthfully, it’s delicious – creamy, tart, and satisfying, the ice cream feels perfect for summer and has helped me (almost) understand the desire.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Blackberry Ice Cream

 

 

2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise and seeds scraped out

1 cup milk

splash of vanilla extract

6 cups blackberries, fresh or frozen

juice of half of a lemon

 

In a medium saucepan, warm 1 cup of the heavy cream, sugar, salt, and vanilla seeds. Stir occasionally, heating until the sugar is dissolved.

 

While the cream heats, prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and cold water.

 

Once the sugar has dissolved in the cream mixture, remove from the heat and add the remaining heavy cream, milk and vanilla. Pour mixture into a zip-top freezer bag and seal. Dunk bag into ice bath and cool mixture completely, about 30 minutes.

 

While the mixture cools, prepare the blackberries. Puree the blackberries in a food processor until smooth, then press through a mesh strainer to remove the seeds. You’ll want to use a wooden spoon to press the berries though. Add lemon juice. (note: my berries were frozen, so after pureeing them, I let them sit until they thawed a bit, which made the straining much easier).

 

Once your ice cream mixture is cool, add the blackberries puree to the zip-top bag and stir/shake until mixed. You may want to cool in the ice bath for another 10 minutes or so – I went ahead and churned in my ice cream maker right away, according to manufacturer’s directions (also – this makes about 2 1/2 quarts ice cream, so I had to make it in two batches).

 

 

 

Posted on May 10, 2015
This entry was posted in desserts, ice cream and tagged blackberry, summer.