Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

"It's not vanilla ice cream with cheesecake chunks; the whole thing is cheesecake."

Such was the description of my sister-in-law, who deftly articulated what I could not about the goodness of this recipe.

She and my husband liked this ice cream, but I think it's a little sour; I also think it could benefit from a half teaspoon of vanilla (which I added to the recipe below).

With that disclaimer, it's still very very good, and I do recommend it.

If nothing else it's photogenic.

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop

For the ice cream:

8 ounces cream cheese
1 lemon
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup half-and-half
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Cut the cream cheese into small pieces, zest the lemon and add all of the ingredients to a blender or food processor. (I think it goes a little better if you put the 1/2 and 1/2 in the blender first.) Puree until smooth and chill thoroughly before freezing in your ice cream freezer.

For the blueberry sauce:

2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons kirsch (cherry brandy... optional I'm sure but adds an incredible brightness to the sauce and helps keep it from freezing too hard)

In a medium, nonreactive saucepan, heat the blueberries and sugar until the blueberries start to release their juices. Mix the cornstarch, water and lemon juice in a small bowl until it's smooth and add to the blueberries. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for a minute.
Remove from heat and stir in kirsch. Let cool to room temperature.

To assemble:

Choose your adventure:

A) Make ice cream according to the freezer manufacturer's directions. Spoon about 1/2 of the finished ice cream into a quart sized container (I use my quart Pyrex bowl). Pour 2/3 of the cooled blueberry sauce on top. Spoon the remainder of the ice cream on top and spread as much as you can. Pour remaining blueberry sauce on top (need not form an even layer; it makes a prettier swirled presentation if you only pour it on one side... see pictures above).

Freeze overnight.

B) Spoon all of the finished ice cream into a quart sized container. Freeze 4 hours (or overnight for best results) and serve with blueberry sauce drizzled on top.

Enjoy!

This post is linked to: Sweet as Sugar Cookies