Fresh Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

A creamy and seasonal mid-summer recipe to cool you down

At the beginning of summer I went to a local farm, here in Massachusetts, to pick strawberries and with those I made a Strawberry Lavender Galette. It was delicious but as temperatures have been raising (I would have never imagined that it would be THIS hot in New England!), turning the oven on for hours is not an option.

I have been picking more berries as the summer evolved, though. June’s strawberries became July’s blueberries. This time, I went to another farm, in Ipswich and spent an afternoon gathering blueberries and blackberries, or rather, photographing my husband Ross do it…

I am not sure I have ever mentioned it here, but my parents own an ice cream shop back in Spain and actually my father has been making ice cream for several years now. So it only seemed appropriate to celebrate the berries with a cool-down homemade ice cream recipe. And I don’t want to brag, but I think this is a good contender to my father’s strawberry cheesecake one!

Some tips

I said we wouldn’t be turning the oven on. Well, I kind of lied. To make the cheesecake crust we’ll need to heat up the mix of graham cracker’s dust and butter, but it’s going to be for 10 minutes only. I promise.

For the ice cream flavor, we’ll need whole milk, heavy cream (what in Spain we call nata) and cream cheese (+ sugar and vanilla extract). I am lactose intolerant so I made this ice cream as easy for my delicate stomach as possible. The only ingredient I couldn’t substitute was the heavy cream. If you know of any lactose-free version, please mention it in the comments! For the cream cheese I used this, and for the milk this. You can of course make it with full lactose power if you want.

The base is delicious in itself, but what makes this ice cream is the blueberry compote. Taste it to adjust the amount of sugar. My freshly picked blueberries were a bit sour, but I think they made a good contrast with the sweet base. If your blueberries are very sweet, maybe add less sugar, or adjust the lemon juice.

The compote is going to be lumpy, but if you want a sauce instead, you can puree the blueberries in a blender and strain them before cooking it with the rest of ingredients.

Ingredients

CHEESECAKE ICE CREAM BASE

• 2 cups (480 ml.) heavy cream

• 1 cup (240 ml.) whole milk

• 1¼ cups (250 gr.) granulated sugar

• 1 8-ounce package (225 gr.) cream cheese, at room temperature

• 1½ teaspoons (7,5 ml.) vanilla extract

• A pinch of salt

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST SWIRL

• ¾ cup (75 gr.) finely ground graham cracker crumbs, about 8 biscuits

• 2 teaspoons (8 gr.) granulated sugar

• 3 tablespoons (45 ml.) melted butter

BLUEBERRY COMPOTE

• 2 cups (300 gr.) fresh blueberries

• 1/2 cup (120 ml.) water

• 2 tablespoons (25gr.) sugar, adjust to taste

• 2 teaspoons (6 gr.) cornstarch

• 1 tablespoon (15 ml.) lemon juice, adjust to taste

• A pinch of salt

Instructions

Cooking time: 30 minutes (+ 20 minutes the day before)

Servings: 6-8

CHEESECAKE ICE CREAM BASE

1. Add heavy cream, milk, sugar, cream cheese, vanilla and salt to the container of a blender or food processor. Pulse until well-combined and creamy, about 30 seconds.

2. Store the mix in the fridge until cold. I kept it overnight, but at the very least it should be there for a couple of hours.

3. Prepare your ice cream machine, and follow the manufacturer's instructions on how long the ice cream mixture should churn for. Mine was on for 25 minutes to get to a creamy consistency.

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST SWIRL

1. Crush about 8 sheets of graham crackers in a bag by hand until finely ground crumbs form.

2. Add sugar and melted butter to graham cracker crumbs and mix to combine.

3. Spread graham cracker crumb mixture into a baking dish and bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 10 minutes.

4. Allow graham cracker crust to cool completely before adding it to the ice cream. I prepared this the day before.

BLUEBERRY COMPOTE

1. Rinse the fresh blueberries under running water to remove any dirt.

2. Add the blueberries, water (leaving some separately), sugar, lemon juice and salt to a small saucepan set over medium heat.

3. Combine the cornstarch and rest of water in a separate cup or bowl to avoid any lumps. Pour this mixture into the blueberry and sugar mixture.

4. Bring to a low boil and cook until the berries begin to burst and the juices have thickened, about 5 minutes. Pour into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. I prepared this the day before.

COMPOSE THE ICE CREAM

1. Add a layer of the churned ice cream base in an appropriate container.

2. Add some of the compote on top and create a swirl with a spoon, pour some of the cracker mix on top.

3. Add another layer of ice cream base and repeat the previous process until the container is full.

4. Store in the freezer if it’s too soft to serve or enjoy immediately!