We are fully into summer now, which means it’s ICE CREAM SEASON. Though summer isn’t my favorite I do love a good frozen treat. Whether it’s a popsicle, a milkshake, or just a big bowl of ice cream.
What’s your favorite kind of ice cream? I have to say, mine has got to be coffee. Nothing beats a big bowl of creamy coffee ice cream studded with chocolate chips.
I prefer chocolate to fruity desserts in general but for these hot and humid days, a fruity ice cream seems appropriate.
I’ve always loved the idea of making my own ice cream because the flavor opportunities are endless. But I don’t have an ice cream maker, and it just seems like such a commitment to get one. For years I have searched for a good no churn base recipe, but they’ve always turned out to icy, or lumpy, or simply not tasting good. But a few months ago I stumbled across this method. And although it isn’t exactly like your classic ice cream, but it’s pretty close.
How to Make Good No-Churn Ice Cream
There is one secret ingredient to make the best no-churn ice cream: sweetened condensed milk. By itself, this stuff is pretty yucky because it’s very very sweet. But it’s the key to getting a creamy, not icy, ice cream. It also helps to thicken it to a scoop-able consistency. To balance out the sweetness, there is very little sugar in the blueberry sauce and lots of tangy lemon juice in the ice cream.
Describe this Ice Cream to Me
Taste: Simply put, this tastes like summer with juicy wild blueberries, sweet vanilla, sour lemon, and floral lavender. It’s the perfect balance of creamy and refreshing. A few scoops of this in a waffle cone on a hot summers day is truly the best thing.
Texture: Many no-churn ice cream recipes are very hard and icy. I have also encountered so many recipes that make no-churn ice cream with bananas and nut butters as an attempt to make it more healthy. But this just doesn’t give you the same texture or flavor. This one uses pillowy whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk to create a fluffy and creamy treat. Plus, it’s studded with juicy wild blueberries to make it even more interesting.
Ease: No-churn ice cream truly is one of the most simple things to make. However, this one takes a touch longer because we have to make a blueberry compote, but it’s so worth it. Once you’ve made that compote, all you have to do is whip up some cream, whisk sweetened condensed milk with your blueberries and other flavors, fold it all together, and throw it in the freezer.
Flavor Profile
Let’s talk about flavors, starting with wild blueberries. What’s the difference between wild blueberries and regular old blueberries? The most noticeable thing is that they are smaller. This is great for ice cream because you get little chunks of blueberry instead of big hard chunks of frozen blueberries. They also have less water content, leaving you with a more flavorful berry. Again, perfect for ice cream. Now what about lavender. I looooooveeee lavender. I use it a lot, from lemon lavender shortbread to blueberry lavender compote . As much as I love it, it can be difficult to get real lavender flavor without it tasting like soap. The trick is to take a little dried culinary lavender and mash it up a little in a mortar and pestle. This releases the oils which house most of the flavor, as well as breaking it down some so you don’t have to bite into a piece of lavender.
So Many Opportunities!
Though this is a fruity ice cream, you can easily make it all sorts of flavors. Taking the base of sweetened condensed milk mixed with whatever your flavorings are, and folding in whipped cream will work with pretty much anything. You could add chocolate, mint, strawberry, coffee, really anything. I’ll probably have more ice cream recipes coming using this very same base!
Ok I feel like this post was kind of short but I don’t really have anything else to say. This is such a simple recipe, but definitely a must this summer.
Side note: As I’m writing about summery flavors and ice cream, I’m romanticizing about fall. Fourth of July has passed which means stores like Target and Michaels are starting to put up pumpkins, apples, and all things spooky! I’m so excited!!!
Wild Blueberry and Lavender Ice Cream
Ingredients
Method
- In a small bowl whisk together the cornstarch and lemon juice. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the blueberries, sugar, and lavender. Allow this mixture to come to a simmer. Stir with a wooden spoon, and try to break up the blueberries some. After 3-4 minutes, pour in the cornstarch mixture. Cook for another 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. It will thicken up into a sauce. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt.
- Pour mixture into a bowl and cover with cling wrap. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour before making the rest of the ice cream. Mixture will thicken as it cools.
- In a medium bowl, whip the cream with the lemon juice and vanilla bean paste until stiff peaks form. Stiff peaks mean the cream should hold its shape when a whisk is lifted from the bowl. You can do this by hand or use a hand or stand mixer. The whipped cream will not be sweet yet, all of the sweetness comes from the sweetened condensed milk. Set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk the sweetened condensed milk with all of the blueberry compote until combined.
- Fold half of the whipped cream into the sweetened condensed milk mixture until just combined. Try not to deflate the whipped cream too much. Add the rest of the cream and fold until just combined. Add the ice cream to a loaf pan and spread into an even layer. Place in the freezer and freeze for at least 5 hours, but overnight is best.
- To prevent ice from forming on top, cover the ice cream with cling wrap while you store it in the freezer. Ice cream will stay good like this for up to 2 months.
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