homemade peach ice cream

Nothing reminds us of summer more than fresh peach ice cream, especially when paired with our deliciously sweet Maple Syrup Johnnycakes (here)! It’s important to use fresh peaches so you can use the skins and pits to infuse the cream-milk mixture. Although you can use frozen peaches, there will be no pits or skins for infusion: the ice cream will still be good but not as peachy. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can simply mix everything together, pour it in a Pyrex dish, and freeze it. It won’t turn out as creamy, but it will still taste fantastic!

MAKES 1 QUART

INGREDIENTS

1¼ to 1½ pounds ripe peaches

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup whole milk

Seeds from ½ vanilla bean pod split lengthwise and scraped out

2 large egg yolks

cup granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

STEPS

Fill a medium-size bowl with water and add ice cubes.

Fill a medium-size saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Place the peaches in the boiling water for 1 minute. Transfer the peaches to the ice water to cool.

Once the peaches are cool, drain again. Working with one peach at a time, remove the skin and pit, setting these aside in a small bowl.

Cut each peach into medium-size chunks and toss in a separate bowl with the lemon juice. When all the peaches are in the bowl, refrigerate.

In a medium-size saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream, milk, vanilla bean seeds, and peach skins and pits to a simmer. Remove immediately from the heat, cover, and let sit for approximately 20 minutes.

While the cream mixture is infusing, thoroughly whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a medium-size bowl.

Strain the infused cream mixture into a second bowl.

Stir half the infused cream into the egg yolk mixture to temper the yolks. Once the cream is incorporated, transfer the mixture along with the remaining infused cream to a clean saucepan.

Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.

Strain the custard mixture into a clean bowl and refrigerate until thoroughly cooled, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.

Setting about a quarter of the peach chunks aside, puree the remainder in a blender along with half the cooled custard mixture. Pour the puree back into the bowl with the remaining custard and stir to blend.

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions, folding in the peach chunks as instructed by the manufacturer as well. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, simply fold the peach chunks into the mixture, pour it all into a large Pyrex dish, and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.

Transfer the ice cream to a plastic container, placing cling film directly on the ice cream’s surface. Freeze until ready to use.