Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

You knew I couldn’t let Blueberry Week pass without sharing an ice cream recipe, right? After all, July is National Ice Cream Month!

The dog days of summer are officially here. After one of the rainiest Junes ever, July has brought one heatwave after another to Rhode Island. Today will be the 4th straight day of humid, 90+ degree weather with heat indexes over 100. Everywhere I go it seems people want to talk about how miserable this weather is, and I almost feel guilty when I tell them how much I love it. Yesterday I spread a blanket in my back yard and spent an hour reading and soaking up the sun; it was the kind of afternoon that makes me wish summer would never end!

Besides, hot summer days provide the perfect excuse to enjoy lots and lots of ice cream. Not that I really needed one I’ve been filling my freezer with homemade ice cream for months, and I don’t see an end in sight. Most of the time I try to keep things on hand that Shane and I both like (mostly because his metabolism allows for a lot more ice cream consumption than mine!), but occasionally I throw caution to the wind and make a flavor I know he won’t go near, a flavor like blueberry cheesecake ice cream.

So, one of the best things about this blueberry cheesecake ice cream is that it’s crazy easy to whip up. There aren’t any eggs to cook – you simply throw all of the ingredients in the food processor and give it a whirl. And just like that, your base is made. It only takes a few more minutes to make the homemade blueberry sauce you’ll swirl into the ice cream after churning. You can have the whole recipe prepped in not much more than 15 minutes, gotta love that!

I didn’t know what to expect from this blueberry cheesecake ice cream, but I was very pleasantly surprised upon taking my first bite. The ice cream itself includes sour cream as well as cream cheese; it’s tangy and creamy, with a flavor that really does mimic that of cheesecake. It might even be *too* tangy for me were it not for the sweet blueberry sauce running throughout. It’s the perfect complement to the cheesecake base! And how gorgeous is that purplish-blue color? I also added some crushed graham crackers to the ice cream because you definitely can’t have a cheesecake without a graham cracker crust. This blueberry cheesecake ice cream was such a nice change of pace from the ice creams I usually make, I really did love it!

I’m kind of bummed Blueberry Week is almost over. I hope you guys have been enjoying it as much as me. See you tomorrow for one last new idea!

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
barely adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

{Note: You will probably have leftover blueberry sauce after making the ice cream. You can use it on pancakes or waffles, to top your ice cream, on a cheesecake, etc.}

Blueberry Sauce
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons amaretto

Ice Cream
8 oz cream cheese, cut into 4 pieces
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup half-and-half
2/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup crushed graham crackers

To make the sauce: In a medium saucepan, combine the blueberries and sugar. Set over medium heat and cook until the blueberries begin to release their juices. Meanwhile, in a small bowl stir the cornstarch together with the cold water and lemon juice until well combined and smooth. Once the blueberries have started to release their juices, stir in the cornstarch mixture. Bring the blueberries to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 minute. Turn off the heat under the pan and stir in the amaretto. (The sauce will be slightly chunky, you can leave it like that or mash the berries. I mashed them because I didn’t want big chunks of blueberry in the ice cream.)

To make the ice cream: In the bowl of your food processor, combine the cream cheese, lemon zest, sour cream, half-and-half, sugar, and salt. Process until smooth. Transfer to an airtight container and chill in the refrigerator for several hours (or overnight, which is what I did).

Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When the ice cream reaches soft serve consistency, add the crushed graham crackers and continue churning until incorporated, another minute or two. Transfer about half of the ice cream to an airtight container then dollop about 4 tablespoons of the blueberry sauce (you can use more or less, it’s entirely up to you) on top. Use a thin knife to swirl the ice cream and sauce together. Top with the remaining ice cream and then another 4 tablespoons of blueberry sauce, and again use the knife to swirl together. Store in an airtight container in your freezer. (This ice cream freezes pretty hard, you’ll probably want to let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes before scooping.)

Makes about 3 cups of ice cream