Blackberry Ice Cream

Makes 1 quart.

3 cups fresh blackberries
1 cup whole milk
1 cup sugar, divided (1/2 + 1/2)
2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided (1/2 + 1 1/2)
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Prepare an ice bath in large bowl, set aside. Place a 1 quart-size freezer safe container with a tight fitting lid in the freezer to chill.

Place blackberries in a blender and puree until smooth. Pass purée through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl, set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, ½ cup sugar, ½ cup of cream and salt. Bring just to a simmer and remove from heat. Place the remaining 1 1/2 cups cream in a large bowl, set a fine-mesh sieve over the bowl, set aside.

In a medium bowl add the egg yolks, remaining ½ cup sugar and vanilla bean paste; whisk to thoroughly combine. Using a whisk, constantly stir and slowly add warm milk mixture into the egg yolks. Transfer the mixture back into the saucepan.

Place the saucepan on the stove over medium heat. Using a silicone spatula and scraping the bottom as you stir, heat the mixture until it thickens and reaches 175°F on an instant-read thermometer and coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. (Do not allow the mixture to boil or the eggs will scramble.)

Remove the saucepan from the stove, still stirring constantly, and pour mixture through the fine-mesh sieve set over the bowl of remaining cream. Place warm custard over prepared ice bath. Add blackberry puree and lemon juice; stirring occasionally until cold. Pour the ice cream base into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer ice cream to chilled container. Freeze for about 2 hours or until ice cream is firm enough to scoop.

Blogged about here.