Blackcurrant cheesecake ice cream

Everyone will love this fruity creamy cheesecake ice cream, perfect for a summer dinner party

  • Prep:15 mins
    Cook:20 mins
    Plus cooling, churning and freezing
  • Serves 6
  • More effort

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 587
  • fat 44g
  • saturates 24g
  • carbs 44g
  • sugars 36g
  • fibre 0g
  • protein 8g
  • salt 0.48g

Ingredients

  • 150g tub cream cheese, beaten
  • 100g blackcurrant conserve
  • 5-6 shortbread biscuits, crumbled into chunks
  • 1 plump vanilla pod
  • 300ml full-fat milk
  • 300ml double cream
  • 100g golden caster sugar
  • 4 egg yolks

Tip

Golden rules
When making homemade custard, you need to cook it as slowly as possible and it must never boil. You are trying to cook the eggs without scrambling them, so put them on the lowest heat possible. You must also stir your custard continuously, making sure the wooden spoon comes into contact with the bottom and all corners of the pan.Tip
For the best flavour, infuse the vanilla in the milk and cream for a few hours if possible.Churning by machine
Simply pour in the cooled custard and churn until it’s frozen, then transfer it to a chilled container.Churning by hand blender
Place the chilled custard in a plastic jug or tall freezer-proof container and put it in the freezer. When it’s slushy, blitz it with a hand blender. Repeat the process two more times and leave to freeze until scoopable.Churning by hand
Put your cooled mix in a metal bowl in the freezer. When it becomes slushy, whisk it hard. Place back in the freezer and repeat the process two more times, then leave to freeze until scoopable. Finally, transfer to a smaller container, adding chunks or ripples if you want.

Method

  1. Place a container in the freezer. Split the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape the seeds out with the point of the knife and tip into a pan with the milk, cream and pod. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and leave to infuse for at least 20 mins. For the best flavour, this can be done a few hours beforehand and left to go cold (see tips, below).

  2. In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and egg yolks together for a few minutes until they turn pale and fluffy. Put the vanilla cream back on the heat until it’s just about to boil. Stir in the cream cheese then carefully sieve the liquid onto the yolks, beating with the whisk until completely mixed.

  3. At this point, get a large bowl of iced water and sit a smaller bowl in it. Pour the custard back into the pan and cook on the lowest heat, stirring slowly and continuously, making sure the spoon touches the bottom of the pan, for about 10 mins until thickened (see rules, below). Strain the custard into the bowl sitting in the iced water and leave to cool, then churn until scoopable (see methods, below).

  4. Sandwich layers of the ice cream in the container with large dollops of blackcurrant conserve and chunks of biscuit. Freeze until solid.

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