In honor of my 19th wedding anniversary today (yay!), I am sharing a recipe for some fresh peach ice cream. Enjoy!
Nineteen years ago, Hurricane Katrina devastated the country. We all know the saying – after a storm, there is a rainbow. The rainbow that ensued was my wedding day. We had clear skies, beautiful weather, and the most perfect day. I married my best friend that day, and we are still happily eating our way through life together.
It’s no secret that I am an ice cream fiend. If you gave me a choice (and a larger set of elastic pants), I would happily consume ice cream every day. My go-to flavors are usually some type of dark chocolate or mint chip. I’m talking about REAL mint chip and not the fake green stuff.
Today, I am sharing a fresh peach ice cream recipe with you. My skating friend S went to the orchard and picked lots of peaches. She offered me some, and I promptly made some peach crumble for my family and this fresh peach ice cream. The peaches we received were ripe and ready to be enjoyed.
Admittedly, I had a bit of trouble churning my ice cream, as it didn’t fluff up like usual and was fairly liquidy (likely from the abundance of peach nectar in the custard base). Of course, I got a bit antsy and did not chill my custard for a full 24 hours before churning. What can I say – I am impatient when it comes to ice cream.
This fresh peach ice cream was very smooth and creamy. Although I used 3 gigantic peaches, I still feel like there wasn’t enough peach flavor. I also felt that the ice cream was a little bit too sweet, so I’d recommend cutting down on the sugar by about 1/4 cup or so. Otherwise, this was a fun, fresh summery treat and one we all enjoyed.
Husband’s rating: 4 out of 5
Addie’s rating: 4 out of 5
My rating: 4 out of 5
Fresh peach ice cream
Ingredients
- 3 medium sized peaches peeled and sliced (about 2 cups)
- 1 and ¼ cups granulated sugar divided
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 large eggs yolks
- 1 and ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 and ½ cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a small bowl, toss the peeled and sliced peaches with ½ cup of the sugar. Add the lemon juice and allow to rest for about 30 minutes.
- Using a fork or a masher (I used a pastry blender), mash the peaches into very small chunks. You do not want large chunks of peaches because they will freeze and crystallize into your ice cream, which you do not want!
- Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the peaches so that you have separate containers for the peach juice and the mashed peach bits (you're going to use both). Place both of these in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- In a medium saucepan set over medium low heat, add the heavy cream, milk, ½ cup of the sugar, and the salt. Stir continuously until the mixture is hot but not boiling.
- In a measuring cup, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining ¼ of sugar until pale and fluffy.
- Once the heavy cream mixture is hot, pour some into the measuring cup with the egg yolks. Stir vigorously until it is uniform. Then pour this back into the saucepan and stir well.
- Continue heating the mixture until it is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon or spatula. Do not let it boil.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Place a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl and pour the custard through the strainer. Discard any cooked egg bits. Then stir in the reserved peach juice that you placed in the refrigerator.
- Allow the custard to come to room temperature before placing in the refrigerator to chill overnight (it's best to let it chill for 24 hours before churning).
- Once the mixture has chilled, prepare your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Pour the custard into the ice cream container and churn it. Once it's done churning, fold in the reserved mashed peaches.
- Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 4-6 hours before enjoying.