Oh my goodness, summer has finally arrived in Vancouver and I am SO happy about it! The weather has been absolutely gorgeous the last couple of weeks and it is such a treat after the “Juneuary” we were subjected to here this year. Thus, I have been desperately trying to soak up every ounce of sunshine that I can while it lasts – on my lunch breaks I walk down to the waterfront and literally lay in the grass for 45 minutes, and my boyfriend and I try to squeeze a nice walk down by the river every night after dinner but it still doesn’t seem like not enough!
Alright so, in case you haven’t realized, I just love the summer, and I can never seem to get enough of this gorgeous sunshine! You will also never catch me complaining about the heat either because I LOVE when the temperatures reach 30 degrees and higher! My boyfriend likes to say that I am basically a lizard because while everybody else is seeking shade on hot days like this, I love to just sit and bake outside in the sun – give me some sand, a chair, a patch of grass, heck, basically anywhere that I can lie down somewhat comfortably on a hot summer day, and I will do just that!
I wouldn’t venture as far to say that basking in the sun is my favourite summer activity… but it is certainly at the top of my list. For me there is only one thing that can make a hot sunny day even more perfect, and that would be with the addition of an extra large scoop of sweet, creamy ice cream! Oh yes! And what is even better than store bought ice cream… that’s right, homemade ice cream!
This year I basically made all of my ice cream dreams come true when I finally purchased my very own ice cream maker! Yipee!!! After years of wanting one but humming and hawing over whether or not this would be a justifiable purchase, I finally made the executive decision that although it would be a bit of a luxury to own one, it would OF COURSE be worth it to be able to make my own frozen treats! So on a rare day when I was feeling like frivolously spending some money was a good idea, I went to Home Outfitters with my 20% off coupon (courtesy of our weekly flyers) and purchased the Kitchenaid Ice Cream maker attachment for my stand mixer.
It was truly an epic occasion for me, and although I normally find myself wallowing in some “buyers remorse” after such an expensive purchase, I can honestly say that I could not be more thrilled with this purchase. This was my very first attempt at making homemade ice cream and I have absolutely no complaints about the ice cream maker itself and the ice cream turned out even more delicious than I could have imagined! So if you are like me and find yourself contemplating whether or not you should buy one, allow me to be a terrible influence and persuade you that you most definitely SHOULD buy one, because they are quite simply way too much fun for you to go another day without one!
Okay, so I may be being a touch dramatic but just look at how beautiful this ice cream turned out and how cute my little ice cream maker is!!! That’s right, I really did just use the word “cute” to describe my ice cream maker, (which is an inanimate object)… is that a weird thing to do? I say no – it’s definitely cute! I can’t lie, I was positively giddy while watching my little ice cream maker churn this cheesecake ice cream – it was beyond exciting to watch it slowly change from a custard consistency into full on, real homemade ice cream!!! Needless to say, I had an absolute blast making my first batch of homemade ice cream!
I cannot continue this post without mentioning my darling boyfriend who was instrumental in helping me actually figure out how to attach my ice cream maker to my Kitchenaid mixer because sadly this legitimately stumped me. Not to mention, I’m pretty sure my glee over the ice cream making process could have easily been registered as a cause for concern, but my boyfriend just smiled and helped me clean up the mess I was leaving in my wake, because I may have been leaving ice cream drips all over the kitchen in the process, which I tried to blame, (although I was unsuccessful,) on my inexperience with my new machine. (Quick moment of truth, I am a messy baker and my boyfriend is well aware, no matter how much I try to justify my messiness with sad excuses each time.) But my boyfriend is all too good to me, and can often be found trailing behind me with a wet rag and a loving grin on his face. Such a good man!
So basically, I really don’t think I can put into words just how excited I was about this purchase. Not only was I excited about the ice cream maker itself and the seemingly endless amount of ice cream flavour combinations that I would now be able to make (and eat) on a whim, but I was also extremely excited about being in complete control about exactly what was going into my ice cream. Have you ever actually read the ingredients of your favourite ice cream and been like “What??? Wow, these ingredients really don’t sound quite as simple as the title of “Ice Cream” would lead you to believe.
Since I made this shocking discovery I have been in search of a store bought ice cream that is 1. made with natural ingredients, 2. tastes delicious and 3. is not going to break the bank with each purchase – and I have to say, this was not an easy task! Although I love me some Haagen Daz, I just can’t be spending $7 – $8 for a 14oz carton of ice cream, because left to my own devices I could easily consume one of those little tubs in one sitting! This is simply just not a good financial option for me. And yes, for those of you living in the US who are questioning my sanity right now – this is indeed how much Haagen Daz costs up here in Canada, unless of course you happen to stumble upon it being on sale for a dollar off – Craziness, I know!
So I had been left with a little bit of an ice cream debacle over the past few months. However, I thought that I had finally found my answer to all of my ice cream problems when my boyfriend and I made a trip down to Seattle to do some discount shopping last month. Now while most Canadian women get excited about shopping for shoes and clothes down in the US because of the AMAZING prices, I was getting triple excited about how much cheaper food is down South. So while I was running wild in Safeway aisles I came across the most delectable looking ice cream that I had never seen before. It was called Talenti and the packaging alone was enough to hook me into buying a carton to try – (not to mention is was only $3.99 and is made from all natural ingredients!) SCORE! So after I had finished drooling in the ice cream aisle at all of the amazing flavours Talenti had to offer (such as German Chocolate Cake, Caramel Apple Pie and Raspberries & Cream… seriously drool), I snapped up a pint of their Caramel Cookie Crunch double quick time and bought a package of plastic spoons so that we could of course eat the ice cream in the car on the way home – that’s right, I went there.
So after my boyfriend and I polished off that quart in about seven minutes flat, I decided that we needed to immediately find this ice cream at home and get some more. Now if you have never tried this delicious Talenti ice cream, let me be the first person to tell you just how incredible it was!. Seriously, just reading the flavours is enough to make you drool over these adorable little quarts of ice cream but the ice cream itself was oh so creamy, fresh and tasted like it was completely homemade. However, after making my boyfriend drive me to literally every grocery store in Metro Vancouver, (seriously, such a good man,) it was clear that Talenti ice cream was not being sold in Canada. This realization was literally enough to make me cry (although I didn’t) but I did thoroughly mourn the fact that I would have to wait until our next trip to the US in order to get some more Talenti for a solid week.
Thus, my discovery of all of the crazy ingredients in typical store bought ice cream, coupled with the devastating reality that Talenti ice cream is not sold in Canada (Grrrrr!) pushed me over the edge and made me finally decide to buy my own ice cream maker. So now I will know exactly what is going into my ice cream and I can make all of my own delicious flavours without having to worry about overpaying at the store. What could be more perfect?
I decided that for my first attempt at homemade ice cream I would go all out and make a Raspberry Cheesecake Swirl Ice Cream! Mmmmmmmm! This is without a doubt my favourite ice cream flavour of all time – I just love the rich, creamy cream cheese ice cream that is complimented so well by that tangy raspberry swirl, and honestly who can argue with some cheesecake chunks thrown in there for good measure? I certainly can’t!
So here is the recipe and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Raspberry Cheesecake Swirl Ice Cream
Things you need…
Ice Cream
3 cups Whipping Cream (You could also use 1 1/2 cups Whipping Cream and 1 1/2 cups Whole Milk)
2/3 cup Granulated Sugar
5 Egg Yolks
1 tsp Vanilla
1 strip of Orange Peel (1 inch wide by 2 inches long)
1 (8oz) package of Cream Cheese, at room temperature
Graham Cracker Crumbs for swirling
1 cup Cheesecake Chunks for swirling
(leftover from a homemade cheesecake or store bought is good)
Raspberry Swirl
2 cups Raspberries
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
1/3 cup Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste or Vanilla
1 tsp cornstarch
How to make…
Raspberry Swirl
In a medium sauce pan, combine raspberries, lemon juice and sugar. heat over medium-high heat until the berries begin to break down. Using a potato masher, crush the berries until they are completely broken down. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Stir the cornstarch with 1 tbsp of cold water and once it is completely incorporated add it to the berries. Stir in Vanilla and cook the sauce until it begins to thicken, stirring regularly for about 3-5 minutes. Remove the sauce from heat and pour the sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a heat proof bowl to remove the seeds.
Please plastic wrap directly on the surface of the sauce and refrigerate until completely chilled – this should take 1-2 hours.
Tip: I cooked my raspberry sauce the night before along with my ice cream so that it would have lots of time to chill, however if you are making it the same day as your ice cream and you want to hurry the process along, you can place the sauce into a water bath and this should speed up the process significantly.
Ice Cream
In a medium heat-proof glass bowl, beat the package of cream cheese until fluffy and there are no lumps.
In a medium heat proof glass bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and 1/3 of the granulated sugar; set aside.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the cream, orange peel and the remaining 1/3 of a cup of the granulated sugar. Stir the mixture until it just starts to bubble around the edges and then reduce to a medium heat. Remove the Orange peel.
Pour 1/4 of the hot cream into the beaten egg mixture, whisking constantly to temper the eggs. Slowly add another 1/4 cup of the hot cream to the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Add the egg mixture into the remaining hot cream in your sauce pan and place over medium heat.
Stir the egg & cream mixture with a heat proof spatula until it starts to thicken – this should take about 10 minutes. To test if your cream is thick enough, run your finger along the back of the spatula – if there is a trail left by your finger, the cream is ready to remove from the heat.
Pour the now custard mixture through a fine mesh strainer into the heat proof bowl with the cream cheese. Using a whisk, beat the mixture until it is smooth. Place the bowl into an ice water bath, stirring occasionally to cool. Once the custard has cooled to room temperature place in the refrigerator to chill over night or for at least 6 hours.
Once the custard has chilled, stir in the vanilla bean paste or vanilla. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and churn according to your manufacturers instructions. I have the Kitchenaid Ice Cream maker attachment and I churned my ice cream for 25 minutes and this created a nice consistency.
In the last two minutes that your ice cream is churning, add 1/2 cup of the cheesecake chunks. Once your ice cream is done churning, fold in the remaining cheesecake chunks (and some more if desired!)
Assembly
Now to assemble that beautiful raspberry cheesecake swirl ….
Pour about 1/3 of the churned ice cream into a 2 L freezer proof glass container; using a flat spatula you can create some peaks in your ice cream layer. Next, sprinkle a light layer of graham cracker crumbs on top of the ice cream. Pour a layer of the raspberry sauce on top of the crumbs.
Repeat this process again, pouring another 1/3 of the ice cream on top of the raspberry sauce. Sprinkle with the graham crumbs and top with another layer of the raspberry sauce.
Pour the remaining 1/3 of the ice cream on top and sprinkle again with graham cracker crumbs. You can gently use your spatula to swirl the top of the ice cream with the graham crumbs. Finally, dollop 3-4 small spoonfuls of the raspberry sauce sporadically on top of the ice cream and gently swirl through the top of the ice cream, being careful not to mix the sauce into the ice cream as this will take away from the swirl and just combine it into a raspberry ice cream.
Tip: Don’t overdo it, just run your spatula through your spoonfulls once or twice and this should be enough.
Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.
Finally, after you have waited those excruciating 4 hours, remove the entire tub from your freezer, grab a big spoon, sit on your deck in the sun, and dig in! This is will be impossible for you not to enjoy!
** This recipe adapted from Canadian Livings “Voluptuous Vanilla Ice Cream” **
There it is! A recipe for Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Ice Cream that is sure to satisfy your summer ice cream cravings!
You will notice that I went the extra fatty route and used all whipping cream in my recipe (clearly my plan of making healthy ice creams did not come into play with this first homemade ice cream attempt). I chose to use full whipping cream for this recipe because I find that it absolutely makes this recipe! When I go looking for a cheesecake ice cream, I want a nice rich, creamy ice cream base that is counterbalanced by the light, tangy fruit swirl and that is exactly what this recipe delivers.
However, if you want you ice cream to have less fat in it, you can certainly substitute the whipping cream with whole milk or milk, but keep in mind that the more fat that is in the dairy you use, the creamier your ice cream will be. For the best substituted results, I would recommend using 1 1/2 cups of whipping cream and 1 1/2 cups whole milk, but at the end of the day it is your ice cream and you can do exactly what you want with it! And that is the beauty of having your own ice cream maker!
Please let me know how your results turn out! Happy ice cream making!
KP xoxo
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