This blueberry ice cream recipe is fresh, creamy and full of bright blueberry flavour. The blueberry puree gives is a striking bluish/purple colour.
Jump straight to the recipe!
Blueberry ice cream is one you don't really see in stores. I don't know why? The ice cream is so good, and look at that colour! The best part is that this is not a seasonal ice cream. You can use frozen blueberries or fresh and it will taste equally as good.
Ingredients
- Blueberries - you can use either fresh or frozen
- Granulated sugar
- Lemon juice - for brightening up the blueberry puree
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Milk - I recommend using 3% milk. You could use 2% but the ice cream will not be as rich.
- Salt - just a pinch
- Egg yolks - you will need 6 for this recipe
- Vanilla extract
How do I make blueberry puree?
Combine the blueberries, lemon juice and half the sugar to a small saucepan over medium heat. The blueberries will burst open as they heat up. Bring this to a boil, stirring occasionally. Puree the blueberries with a blender. Strain the puree into a bowl, cover, and store in the refrigerator until cool.
How do I make ice cream?
Pour half the heavy whipping cream in a medium bowl and place a fine mesh strainer over top. Whisk egg yolks together in a small bowl and set it aside. Combine the rest of the heavy whipping cream, milk, sugar and salt together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Heat the mixture until it is hot. You do not want it to boil.
Once the milk mixture is hot, ladle some slowly into the bowl with the egg yolks, whisking continuously. The object is to temper the eggs (raising the temperature of the eggs slowly so they don't turn into scrambled eggs). Pour the egg yolks into the saucepan and whisk continuously until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, or reaches a temperature of 170°F. Take it off the heat and pour through the fine mesh strainer into the cold heavy whipping cream. Stir it together. This helps lower the temperature so they eggs stop cooking. Again, we do not want scrambled eggs here either.
Place the bowl into an ice bath, or a some cold water. Stir occasionally until the custard has come to room temperature. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator until it is ready to churn, 4 hours or overnight.
Making blueberry ice cream
When the custard has cooled and is ready to churn, stir in vanilla extract. Stir in the blueberry puree and pour the custard into your ice cream maker. Churn according to your manufacturer's instructions. Once churned, scoop your ice cream into a freezer safe bowl. Cover and store it in the freezer until it freezes to ice cream consistency.
Tips
- Save fat and calorie cutting for later. Ice cream needs a high fat content to create a creamy texture. Using less fats will create a grainy texture.
- The custard needs to be chilled before going into the ice cream maker. 4 hours to overnight is the recommended time.
- If you don't have an ice cream maker, I highly recommend one. You can still make this recipe without one though. Rather than pouring the mixture into a machine, pour it into a shallow container and place it in the freezer. Mix it every 15 minutes until is the consistency of soft served ice cream. Cover and store in the freezer until it is ready.
Frequently asked questions
When the ice cream comes out of the ice cream maker, it is soft serve consistency. Scoop the ice cream into a container, cover, and place it into the freezer. The ice cream will be of the right consistency after about 8 hours. Store the ice cream in the freezer for up to 3 months.
A white chocolate sauce would be really tasty.
Alcohol will soften the ice cream a bit, but not too much. If you would like to add alcohol, 1 tablespoon is recommended.
Possibly, however I have never tried making dairy free ice cream myself.
Yes, you can use frozen blueberries in place of fresh.
After the blueberries have come to a boil, lightly mash them and store in the refrigerator until cold. Do not puree them. Stir the mashed blueberry mixture to the custard before churning.
Yes, I like to make the custard base the day before churning the ice cream. Store it covered in the refrigerator over night. The blueberry puree can be made 1-2 days ahead.
Other ice cream recipes
- HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM
- HOMEMADE MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM
- HOMEMADE VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM
- ORANGE SHERBET RECIPE
📋 Recipe
Blueberry Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups blueberries fresh or frozen
- ⅔ cups granulated sugar divided
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream divided
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 large egg yolks
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Start by making the puree. Combine blueberries, ⅓ cup of granulated sugar and the lemon juice in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally. The blueberries will release their juices and will slowly come to a boil. Take the blueberries off the heat once they reach a boil. Lightly mash the blueberries with a potato masher.
- If you would like smooth ice cream, puree the blueberries in a blender. Pour the puree into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and cool in the refrigerator. If you would like tiny chunks of blueberries in the ice cream, pour the mashed blueberries into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and cool in the refrigerator. This can be done a day or two ahead.
- To make the custard base, combine milk, 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, the remaining ⅓ cup granulated sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. You want to heat the milk mixture up until hot, but not boiling.
- Meanwhile, pour the remaining 1 cup of heavy whipping cream into a medium size bowl and top it with a fine mesh strainer. Set aside.
- Whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl and set aside.
- When the milk mixture is hot, slowly ladle an amount into the egg yolks, whisking continuously to temper the eggs. Pour the tempered eggs into the saucepan with the rest of the milk mixture, and whisk constantly over medium heat. The mixture will be ready when it has thickened and coats the back of a spoon, or the temperature reaches 170°F.
- Immediately strain the custard into the prepared cold heavy cream and stir to stop the custard from cooking. Place the bowl of custard over an ice bath and allow the custard to cool completely, about 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until ready to churn, 4 hours or overnight.
- When you are ready to churn the ice cream, stir in the vanilla extract to the cooled custard base. Then stir in the blueberry puree. Transfer the ice cream to an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacture's instructions.
- Store the ice cream in an airtight container and place it into the freezer for several hours or until it is ice cream consistency.
Notes
- Save fat and calorie cutting for later. Ice cream needs a high fat content to create a creamy texture. Using less fats will create a grainy texture.
- The custard needs to be chilled before going into the ice cream maker. 4 hours to overnight is the recommended time.
- If you don't have an ice cream maker, I highly recommend one. You can still make this recipe without one though. Rather than pouring the mixture into a machine, pour it into a shallow container and place it in the freezer. Mix it every 15 minutes until is the consistency of soft served ice cream. Cover and store in the freezer until it is ready.
Theresa S.
I made this today and put everything together based on the instructions. Everything looks good but the custard is not sweet. I am thinking that the other 1/3 cup sugar should have been included but this is not in the instructions. I am hoping that the blueberry sauce will be sweet enough to sweeten the ice cream. I don’t have enough ingredients leftover to make another custard (plus it is too expensive to go back to do it again). You may want to correct your directions for others.
Nina
Hi Theresa, thanks for pointing that out and sorry I missed that. I fixed the recipe instructions to include the missing sugar. You can top the ice cream with some sweet toppings if you need to, like sweetened whipped cream or a blueberry ice cream sauce. Let me know how it turns out please.