SS&GF: Simply Sugar and Gluten Free

This is the last of my ice cream series, at least for now. It’s by no means the end of my stir-freezing, just time for something a little different.

A few months ago I got an intense craving for cheesecake. I don’t know why – it’s not as if I have ever been a big cheesecake fan. I knew I could make the cheesecake itself sugar & gluten-free without a hitch but the crust eluded me. Quite honestly, I wasn’t in the mood to make 5 or 10 different versions of graham crackers so that I could make the perfect cheesecake crust. It’s on my list of to-do’s. I just haven’t gotten to it yet.

My compromise…this blueberry cheesecake ice cream. 3 versions later, I got it just right. The process of messing up ice cream is so much more fun than pulling a heavy, deflated cake or hard, gritty cookies out of the oven. I’ve said it before – there’s never a bad batch of homemade ice cream even if there’s room for improvement.

My husband was watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory this weekend while I was working in the kitchen. Do you remember the scene where Wonka sends chocolate bars through his WonkaVision? If I could, I would send you this blueberry cheesecake ice cream over the internet because it’s just that good.

Printer-friendly recipe

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice cream
Makes 2 quarts

For ice cream base:
1 cup heavy cream
3 cup 1% milk
2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1 teaspoon arrowroot
8 ounces reduced fat cream cheese at room temperature
¼ cup sour cream (regular or light)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 extra large eggs
½ cup agave nectar
zest from 1 small lemon

For blueberry sauce:
1 ½ cup frozen blueberries
1/8 cup water
scant ½ teaspoon powdered stevia

1. Prepare your liquid ingredients. Do this by combining milk and heavy cream in a large liquid measuring cup or spouted bowl. Put gelatin and arrowroot in separate, small bowls. Add about 3 tablespoons of milk to each and stir until combined. Set gelatin and arrowroot aside. Add remaining milk to a heavy bottomed sauce pan and heat over medium low heat. After 2 minutes, add gelatin and mix well. Continue to stir milk while gelatin dissolves, heating until milk forms tiny bubbles around the outside of the pan. This is the scalding point. Reduce heat to low, taking care not to boil.
2. While the milk is heating, place Neufchatel cheese, sour cream, and vanilla in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 2 – 3 minutes, until light and absolutely smooth. Stop food processor and scrape down as needed.
3. Beat the eggs in a medium sized bowl for 2 minutes, until light and airy. Add ½ cup agave to eggs and continue to beat on medium for about one minute. Mixture will double in volume.
4. Temper your eggs so that they don’t scramble when you add them to the hot milk. This simple step involves adding 1/3 cup of scalded milk to egg mixture while whisking.
5. Add the tempered eggs to the milk and whisk in arrowroot. Continue to whisk slowly until milk mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. To test, draw your finger across the back of the spoon. Mixture is done when it will hold a line without running. Remove from heat.
6. Strain 1 cup of milk into a spouted measuring cup and then, with the food processor running, add the milk to the cream cheese mixture. Once the milk and the cream cheese are smooth, turn off food processor. Strain remaining milk into a medium sized bowl. Add cream cheese mixture to the milk and combine. Stir in lemon zest. Cover, placing a layer of plastic wrap directly on the ice cream mix. This prevents a skin from forming on top. Refrigerate for 4 -6 hours, preferably overnight.
7. To make blueberry sauce, combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and chill.
8. Remove chilled ice cream base from refrigerator. Place in a blender and mix until smooth.
9. Immediately pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. Add the blueberry sauce during the last minute of stir freezing so that it gets mixed in but not thoroughly incorporated. This will give the ice cream a swirled appearance.
10. Transfer to a chilled, freezer-safe container. Harden for 4 – 6 hours.

Make sure to check out other gluten-free recipes at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang’s Friday Foodie Fix.

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