Homemade Cheesecake Ice Cream

Homemade Cheesecake Ice Cream

I know it’s supposed to be “winter” and all… but it’s 81 Degrees outside right now!  (And last weekend, we had a high of 87 Degrees!!!!)  Has summer started early or something???  I walked outside with my jacket on, promptly took it off, then had to blast the air conditioning in my car…  (My apologies to those people stuck in the “polar vortex”… sending some warm thoughts your way!)

Weather like this calls for ice cream!  Since I got my Cuisinart Ice Cream Machine last summer, I’ve been making all different kinds of ice cream flavors… my all time favorite Strawberry ice cream, and my husband’s favorite Red Bean (Azuki bean) ice cream.  I figured this would be a good time to figure out one of the flavors on my “to-do” list… Cheesecake Ice Cream!

You can eat Cheescake ice cream as is… or for an elegant dessert, you can top with fresh fruit or fruit sauces to make it  similar to “flavored cheesecake”.  For example, top with strawberries and a bit of strawberry syrup to make a “Strawberry Cheesecake” dessert.  Alternately, you can add chopped up fruit into the ice cream itself during the final stages of churning to make something like “Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream”.  Be creative with your favorite cheesecake flavors!

Cheesecake Ice Cream:

Use 4 whole graham crackers for 1 batch of ice cream

• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 1 1/2 c. heavy cream

Hardware needed:

• Ice Cream Machine
• 2 qt. pitcher

1.  The day before making the ice cream, make sure you put your freezer bowl insert for the ice cream machine into the freezer.  Then make the ice cream base:  Dump all ingredients into a blender, and process for 30 seconds.

2.  Pour into a pitcher, cover and store in the refrigerator overnight to chill.

3.  The next day, set up your ice cream machine and turn on.  Pour the cream cheese mixture into the freezer bowl.

4.  Churn for 15-20 minutes until the consistency of soft serve.

5.  While churning, chop the graham crackers into small bits.  (I used 4 normal sized rectangular graham crackers.)  You don’t have to use the graham crackers, but I think it gives a more authentic “cheesecake” touch to the ice cream.  (You can also add 1/2 c. chopped strawberries or raspberries if you want to make “Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream”.)

6.  In the last minute of churning, add the graham crackers to mix in, then turn off the machine.

7.  Remove the ice cream to a plastic container, and freeze for 4-6 hours until solid.

8.  Scoop, and enjoy!   (Storage tip:  if you have leftover ice cream to store, sometimes it can get really hard if stored in a thin plastic container.  I find that if I wrap the container with a thick terrycloth dishtowel in the freezer, it keeps the ice cream texture a bit softer and easier to scoop.)