This blueberry cheesecake ice cream is another huge hit from Cooking Light (with one major, delicious, and completely un-light addition). Everyone who tries it loves it.
There’s a lot to love about blueberries in this recipe–they don’t completely freeze, so you get little bites of frozen blueberry, similar in texture to frozen grapes, and it’s delish. Also, the color is beautiful and blueberries just pack a lot of flavor punch and they hold their own very nicely in this recipe.
I actually think it’s a little misleading to call this “Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream.” I think non-cheesecake fans will be scared away and die-hard cheesecake-in-my-ice-cream fans may be disappointed. Honestly, you can hardly taste the cream cheese and there are no cheesecake bits. The cream cheese does, however, add a little zing and a lot of richness.
I won’t lie, this recipe is quite time-consuming. But it’s SO worth it.
Ingredient Notes
- Fresh or Frozen Blueberries
- Powdered Sugar
- Granulated Sugar
- Cream Cheese –Full fat or light will work. Avoid fat-free.
- Egg Yolks
- Whole Milk – 2% would also be ok.
- Heavy Cream – Half and half will work as well.
- Optional: A Prepared Graham Cracker Crust
How to Make Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
- In a small saucepan, combine some blueberries, powdered sugar, and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes and then remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
- In a large saucepan, combine milk and half and half (or cream and whole milk if you’re taking that route). Bring to a boil and then remove from heat.
- While milk is heating, combine cream cheese, egg yolks, and sugar in a bowl and mix well.
- After you have removed milk mixture from heat, very slowly pour half of the milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture while the beater is running. This is called tempering the eggs, meaning that you’re slowly acclimating them to heat so you can cook them without them curdling. Mix the egg mixture well and then add the tempered egg mixture back into the hot milk mixture. Over medium-low heat and stirring very often, cook to 160°F (use a candy thermometer; 160°F is considered safe for most animal products, eggs included). Remove from heat.
- Place pan in ice–I actually just put the pan in my sink and then dumped a whole bunch of ice all around it; hey, it’s one less dish for me to clean!
- Allow to cool to a touchable temperature and then add those gorgeous blueberries and all of the liquid with them. Combine completely and put in the fridge for several hours until well chilled. Because this ice cream is a little more labor intensive that most, I make it up to this step one or even 2 days ahead of time. That way when you’re ready to freeze it, it’s well chilled and will be ready faster!
- Freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. After churning it will be like soft-serve. Place in an air-tight container in the freezer to let it set up for at least 3 hours. This ice cream is pretty soft and seems to have a lower melting temperature than most commercial ice creams. Even after an overnight in the freezer, it’s pretty easy to scoop up.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished ice cream in a freezer-safe airtight container in the freezer and eat at your leisure.
- If you’re adding graham cracker crust to your ice cream: While the ice cream maker is working its magic, you’ll go ahead and break up the graham cracker crust. Leave some bigger chunks–the ice cream maker will break them down and the texture in the frozen ice cream is awesome! When the ice cream is very thick, add the pieces of graham cracker crust and then stop the motor as soon as the crust pieces have been mixed in.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’m not the biggest blueberry fan. Can I use another fruit?
I’ve only mad this ice cream with blueberries. I had a friend try it with strawberries and she did not love the finished product. The blueberries truly do add something special here! Feel free to try other fruits if you’d like, just know they haven’t been tested with this recipe.
Can I make this ahead of time?
This recipe is fairly labor intensive as far as ice cream recipes go. Feel free to complete the steps through freezing up to two days ahead of time. You could also make the ice cream all the way through and freeze for several days before serving. It gets better as it sits!
Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
This cream cheese custard ice cream is dotted with sweet blueberries to create an incredibly smooth, rich frozen treat.
Servings servings
Ingredients
- 3 cups blueberries fresh or frozen
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 cups sugar
- 6 ounces cream cheese full fat or light, avoid fat-free
- 4 egg yolks
- 3 cups whole milk 2% is ok
- 1 cup heavy cream half and half or regular cream will work as well
- 1 prepared graham cracker crust optional
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine blueberries, powdered sugar, and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes and then remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
- In a large saucepan, combine milk and cream. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat.
- While milk is heating, combine cream cheese, egg yolks, and sugar in a bowl and mix well.
- After you have removed milk mixture from heat, very slowly pour half of the milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture while the beater is running. This is called tempering the eggs, meaning that you’re slowly acclimating them to heat so you can cook them without them curdling. Mix the egg mixture well and then add the tempered egg mixture back into the hot milk mixture. Over medium-low heat and stirring very often, cook to 160°F (use a candy thermometer; 160°F is considered safe for most animal products, eggs included). Remove from heat.
- Place pan in a larger bowl or container of ice (I actually just put the pan in my sink and then dump a whole bunch of ice all around it). Allow to cool to a touchable temperature and then add those gorgeous blueberries and all of the liquid with them. Combine completely and put in the fridge for several hours until well chilled.
- Freeze according to ice cream machine manufacturer’s instructions. After churning it will be like soft-serve. Place in an air-tight container in the freezer to let it set up.
- If you’re adding the graham cracker crust: While the ice cream maker is working its magic, go ahead and break up the graham cracker crust. Leave some bigger chunks–the ice cream maker will break them down and the texture in the frozen ice cream is awesome! When the ice cream is very thick, add the pieces of graham cracker crust and then stop the motor as soon as the crust pieces have been mixed in.
- Transfer to a freezer-safe container (I just use a plastic food storage container) and freeze for at least three hours.
Notes
- Because this ice cream is a little more labor intensive that most, I make it up to step 5, 1-2 days ahead of time. That way when you’re ready to freeze it, it’s well chilled and will be ready faster!
- The REAL beauty is that for about a week, the longer this sits in your freezer, the better it tastes. So you can make this well in advance if you’re having a party.
- Another reason why you want to freeze this for as long as possible is because this is pretty soft and seems to have a lower melting temperature than most commercial ice creams. Even after an overnight in the freezer, it’s pretty easy to scoop up.
- Nutrition facts are approximate and were calculated using full fat cream cheese, heavy cream, and whole milk.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.5cup, Calories: 249kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 82mg, Sodium: 58mg, Potassium: 124mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 33g, Vitamin A: 515IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 84mg, Iron: 0.2mg
Calories: 249kcal
Cost: $15
Did You Make This Recipe?Snap a picture, and hashtag it #ourbestbites. We love to see your creations on our Instagram @ourbestbites!
Questions & Reviews
Erika, I think that most of the basic electric table top models have a 1.5 qt. capacity. It seems to be pretty standard, because most recipes make just enough to fit in there.
Do you need to thaw the blueberries or can you just use them frozen?
I must try this with blueberries instead of strawberries to give this recipe a fair chance.
I think it makes 2 quarts and I have a 1.5 quart ice cream maker. I either half the recipe or I fill it about 3/4 full, refrigerate what I don’t use, and then make the rest the next day after my cannister has had a chance to re-freeze. I reaaaaaaally want a Cuisinart 2 qt. maker, especially after the motor on my little cheap-o one kept pooping out on me last night!
What size ice cream maker do you use? I don’t have one, but want to get one after seeing this recipe!! About how much does this recipe make?
What size ice cream maker do you use? I don’t have one, but want to get one after seeing this recipe!! About how much does this recipe make?
What size ice cream maker do you use? I don’t have one, but want to get one after seeing this recipe!! About how much does this recipe make?
okay, after writing the word “met” in quotations, I realize I look like a wacky internet stalker or something. So just to clarify for everyone, Kate and I DO know each other in real life! We just happened to reconnect on-line after a few years, lol.
Yes Becca, this is the one. Mmm…and home made cones…
This is one of my very favorites too. And Kate, I totally agree about the blueberries. After Lisa tried it with Strawberries, I tried it that way too, and it SO wasn’t as good as the original blueberry.
Random memory for you Kate…remember when we first “met” and were talking on IM maybe for the first time after discovering that we both loved to cook and had such similar tastes and styles, including a mutual love of CL. And one of us said, “oh my gosh, have you tried the blueberry cheesecake ice cream? And the other was like, “It’s totally our favorite!” okay, something like that, lol. (and then we started talking about banana breads…) That’s when we knew we were destined for food-bloggerness. Okay, or at least friendship, haha. Anyway, because of that, this ice cream always reminds me of you!
I have made this before (I bleieve on Sara’s insistence??) and it is WONDERFUL!! Especially with homemade cones 🙂