Dessert Recipes

No-Churn Lemon-Blueberry Ice Cream

Earlier in the year, we tried our hand at making a chocolate no-churn ice cream, and it turned out awesomely good — think rich, chocolaty soft-serve meets marshmallow fluff. Needless to say, it was a huge hit, and ever since then we’ve been itching to get back into the test kitchen and mess around with the recipe. So here we are with a summery update!

For this one, we make a very lemony blueberry compote, allow it to cool, and then swirl it through a creamy base of whip cream and sweetened condensed milk. In the freezer, the blueberries crystalize into crunchy, sweet-tart streaks that taste amazing with all that rich, fluffy cream. Its deep purple marbling is so stunning, and it tastes so impressive, it’s definitely the kind of dessert you could roll out after any fancy dinner, but we also kind of like it for an afternoon snack — and it’s such a low-key project, it doesn’t feel crazy indulgent.

Truly, one of the best things about no-churn ice cream is that it’s super easy to make: you don’t have to sweat a fussy egg custard or break out the ice cream machine — if you can push a button on your mixer, you can make this ice cream. That makes it a fun summer cooking project to do with the kids. If they’re little, you can put them in charge of measuring, dumping, and whirring. If they’re a smidge older, they can probably do the whole thing themselves with some supervision. And if they’re teenagers, you should definitely add a couple batches of no-churn ice cream to their weekly chore list. (No, we’re not kidding.)

Servings: 8

Ingredients

4 cups blueberries

¼ cup granulated sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 lemon

3 cups heavy cream

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

Mint, for garnish

Directions

  1. In a food processor, purée the blueberries until fully blended, scraping down the edges of the bowl as needed, about 30 seconds total.

  2. Transfer the puréed blueberries to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until slightly reduced, about 15 minutes.

  3. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and allow it to cool completely in the refrigerator, about 1 to 2 hours.

  4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.

  5. Fold in the sweetened condensed milk until fully combined.

  6. Fold in the chilled blueberry purée until the mixture appears marbled.

  7. Transfer the mixture to a 9x5” loaf pan and freeze until firm, about 5 hours. Note: the ice cream can be stored in a sealed container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

Recipe adapted from: Delish

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