One of my favorite things about being able to make ice cream at home is trying new flavors I wouldn’t normally order if we went out for ice cream. I can make a really small batch at home so if I don’t like it there’s not much to throw out and I don’t feel as guilty. Recently I tried this cheesecake ice cream from The Perfect Scoop. The recipe is super simple – it’s not custard-based so no egg yolks to temper and cook and thus no worries about scrambled eggs! The only change I made to the recipe was to fold some crumbled graham crackers into the ice cream after I churned it. I thought the ice cream was just ok on the first day I made it. It was a bit too tangy for me. However, over the course of the next few days, the flavor seemed to mellow out and I really began to enjoy the cheesecake ice cream. I was glad I added the graham crackers because those were definitely my favorite bites! I will be making this again and perhaps trying the idea from the book to pair it with blueberry sauce – yum!
Cheesecake Ice Cream
adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
8 ounces cream cheese
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup half and half
2/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
4 graham crackers (1 sheet), coarsely crushed (optional)
Cut the cream cheese into small pieces and transfer to a food processor or blender. Add the lemon zest, sour cream, half and half, sugar and salt to the machine and puree until smooth.
Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If using the graham crackers, gently fold them into the ice cream after it finishes churning.
Makes about 3 cups.
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I ve never had cheesecake ice cream . Looks and sounds delicious though. The graham bits are a nice addition 🙂
Ooh, I love this ice cream. I’ve made it a couple times now. I like it tart, and actually used the juice of a lemon instead of the zest. I also made it with 1/3 less fat cream cheese and reduced fat sour cream and it worked great! I’ll have to try it with some sort of mix-in next time.
I think that the addition of the graham crackers is inspired. I’m not a big fan of cheesecake, but I know a lot of cheesecake lovers. I am definitely going to give this ice cream a shot some time. Great job!
I’ll bet that was delicious with the graham crackers – just like real cheesecake.
Graham crackers are a fantastic addition, great to cut the tang. I’m sure this would be wonderful with blueberry sauce too, that was my favorite part of the SMS cheesecake last month.
This sounds heavenly and I am really liking the no custard part about the ice cream. I really love that you added graham crackers too.
I just made David’s PB ice cream and thought it was wonderful! Cheesecake ice cream is absolutely high up on the list to try, too! Blueberry sauce sounds wonderful!
I wonder if throwing some frozen fruit in it would mellow out the tang? like from raspberries or peaches of strawberries… mmm….
I’ve made this flavor before. It is delicious. I made the suggested blueberry sauce to go with it and I think the sweetness of the berries went well with it. The graham cracker mix-in sounds good too.
Yum-me!
hi
it sounds delicious. Cheesecake is my favorite….
i have 2 questions- I live on the other side of the globe i don’t know what is – half and half – what can i use instead
Since i don’t have an ice cream maker – can just freeze it?
rochellee
Hi Rochellee,
Half and half is just a mixture of one part milk to one part cream. So here, instead of 1/2 cup of half and half, you could do 1/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup cream.
In response to your second question, here’s a link to a tutorial for making ice cream without an ice cream maker: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2007/07/making_ice_crea_1.html
In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve never tried this method, but I know several others have used it with success!
Good luck and let me know how it works out if you give it a shot 🙂
Tracey
Hi Tracey
Thanks for your response I will try and let you know how it came out.
Rochellee