Peaches & Cream Ice Cream
When peaches hit their moment in the spotlight-- end of July, early August-- jump and eat them with everything. In case you have a few in your fridge that have too many soft spots, the perfect solution is to make some rich and creamy peach ice cream. Ice cream base inspired by Jeni's.
At least 1 day before you plan on making ice cream, freeze your ice cream canister base (not the whole machine, just the canister with the frozen liquid inside.) It needs to be frozen solid for it to churn the ice cream properly.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then drop in peaches (if you're using harder peaches, cut a small x into the skin on the bottom, non-stem end.) Boil for 1 minute, and then drop into an ice water bath. Rub off the skin, and discard it. Squeeze off all the flesh and juice into a bowl, and discard the pit. Add in the honey, vanilla and nutmeg if using, and using your already peachy-hands (or ask for a helper who doesn't mind getting sweet and sticky paws) mash gently by squeezing pulp through your fingers, or purée in a blender or food mill. You want about 1.5-2 cups peach purée.
In a small bowl whisk together a half a cup of milk and the cornstarch. This is your slurry-- set aside.
In a medium-sized pot, begin to cook your ice cream base: bring the remaining 1 cup of milk, the sugar, and the 1.5 cups heavy cream to a bubbling, rolling boil over medium-high and keep it there for 4 minutes. Turn off heat, and then whisk in the cornstarch-milk slurry. Bring back to a boil and stir with your whisk or a spatula for just one minute as it begins to thicken. Remove from heat.
While the base is cooking, set a medium-sized, heat-resistant bowl inside a larger bowl. Add a bunch of ice and some water into the large bowl, around the perimeter of the medium-sized bowl, to make an ice bath.
Pour the cooked ice cream base into the smaller bowl inside the larger ice-bath bowl, then add in yogurt-salt mixture and peach purée. Allow all this to cool for about 30 minutes, or until cold to the touch.
Set up your ice cream maker, and turn it on. Begin to pour in the ice cream and allow to churn until it bulks up and pulls away from the sides of the machine (about 25-30 minutes.) If you under-churn, there will be a thick coating of ice cream against the walls of the machine. If you over-churn, your ice cream will begin to melt as you churn it, and will taste icy when you eat it. Stick to about 25-30 minutes (or following the directions of your particular maker) and you should be fine.
Pack it into a freezer safe container and press a sheet of parchment paper to the top so that no air touches it (and makes freezer burn.) Freeze at least 4 hours before serving.
Ingredients
Directions
At least 1 day before you plan on making ice cream, freeze your ice cream canister base (not the whole machine, just the canister with the frozen liquid inside.) It needs to be frozen solid for it to churn the ice cream properly.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then drop in peaches (if you're using harder peaches, cut a small x into the skin on the bottom, non-stem end.) Boil for 1 minute, and then drop into an ice water bath. Rub off the skin, and discard it. Squeeze off all the flesh and juice into a bowl, and discard the pit. Add in the honey, vanilla and nutmeg if using, and using your already peachy-hands (or ask for a helper who doesn't mind getting sweet and sticky paws) mash gently by squeezing pulp through your fingers, or purée in a blender or food mill. You want about 1.5-2 cups peach purée.
In a small bowl whisk together a half a cup of milk and the cornstarch. This is your slurry-- set aside.
In a medium-sized pot, begin to cook your ice cream base: bring the remaining 1 cup of milk, the sugar, and the 1.5 cups heavy cream to a bubbling, rolling boil over medium-high and keep it there for 4 minutes. Turn off heat, and then whisk in the cornstarch-milk slurry. Bring back to a boil and stir with your whisk or a spatula for just one minute as it begins to thicken. Remove from heat.
While the base is cooking, set a medium-sized, heat-resistant bowl inside a larger bowl. Add a bunch of ice and some water into the large bowl, around the perimeter of the medium-sized bowl, to make an ice bath.
Pour the cooked ice cream base into the smaller bowl inside the larger ice-bath bowl, then add in yogurt-salt mixture and peach purée. Allow all this to cool for about 30 minutes, or until cold to the touch.
Set up your ice cream maker, and turn it on. Begin to pour in the ice cream and allow to churn until it bulks up and pulls away from the sides of the machine (about 25-30 minutes.) If you under-churn, there will be a thick coating of ice cream against the walls of the machine. If you over-churn, your ice cream will begin to melt as you churn it, and will taste icy when you eat it. Stick to about 25-30 minutes (or following the directions of your particular maker) and you should be fine.
Pack it into a freezer safe container and press a sheet of parchment paper to the top so that no air touches it (and makes freezer burn.) Freeze at least 4 hours before serving.