Homemade Peach Ice Cream

Nothing says summer to me more than homemade ice cream and fresh fruit , actually churned vanilla ice cream and juicy, sweet peaches to be exact.

There was this peach orchard not far from where I went to undergrad and they had this small store right off the highway that sold flats of peaches, cobbler mixes, peach salsa and other things from their farm.  But by far, the reason you made the trip out there was their homemade soft-serve ice cream mixed with their ripest and juiciest peaches.

It was so creamy and fresh and just screamed summer.

So when I recently bought an ice cream maker, I knew as soon as peach season came along this is what I would be making.   And that’s exactly what I did!

I used the same vanilla ice cream base as I did for this sweet treat.  It’s just so wonderful and creamy, with just enough of a hint of vanilla and sugar, that I knew it would the perfect complement to fresh fruit.

You simply churn the ice cream until it begins to look like soft-served, and then throw in your chunks or puree of fresh fruit.  Let that harden up (if you can wait) and serve with some additional fresh peaches.

This peach ice cream is summertime in a scoop and reminds me of being in college that little peach orchard in middle of nowhere.

Homemade Peach Ice Cream

• 2⅓ cups heavy cream
• 1¼ cups whole milk
• 5 egg yolks
• ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped or pureed fresh peaches

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1. Pour the cream and the milk into a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the sugar and stir until the sugar has melted.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks until they begin to turn a pale yellow.
4. Slowly pour in a ladle or two of the milk mixture into the egg yolks while continuously whisking (this prevents the eggs from scrambling).
5. Once you have tempered the egg yolks, add the egg mixture back to the saucepan with the milk. Turn to medium-low and stir continuously until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 8 to 10 minutes).
6. Stir in the vanilla extract and strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve. Discard anything left in the sieve.
7. Pour the ice cream base into a bowl and refrigerate until cool, preferably overnight.
8. Set up the ice cream maker according to its instructions and begin churning the ice cream.
9. Once the ice cream base starts to resemble soft-serve, add the peach pieces or puree and allow to mix for another 2-3 minutes.
10. Place the mixture into an airtight container and place in the freezer until it hardens.