I’ve got a few first world problems, and if you don’t mind hearing me out, I’ll be quick. First, my husband got rid of my slow cooker. Second, in this same purge, he ousted my ice cream maker. At the time, I was like ‘good riddance!’ My slow cooker was outdated and my ice cream maker had seen better days (I scratched the bottom with a knife trying to get the last bit out. In my defense, it was this peanut butter ice cream and you woulda done it, too). Then, the weather heats up, and all I want in life is instant pot taco soup and ice cream for dessert. The only two things in the world completely out of my reach. It.stings. But, I proceeded onwards, not because I’m tenacious but because I’m stubborn–subtle difference, and I made blackberry chip no-churn ice cream. (But I also proceeded because the temptation to make ice cream that matched my pants was too strong-scroll down for that one).
No churn ice cream is easy to make, but it relies on a can of sweetened condensed milk to keep it creamy. But here’s a secret: I don’t love sweetened condensed milk. It’s just too, um, sweet. It has a funky canned milk taste that I just can’t get over. The only acceptable use for it is tres leches cake, which is my birthday cake of choice each year. So, I not only wanted to make ice cream without an ice cream maker, I wanted to make it without condensed milk. Ready for this?
It actually took me a few batches to get the flavor right. There’s a local dairy down the street from me that has blackberry chip ice cream on their summer menu, and I painstakingly endured several trips for flavor comparison. Camille came with me on each trip. It’s borderline child labor, making this kid eat so much ice cream, you know. After a few trips, Camille and I have decided we’re purple ice cream eating experts, and we have some wisdom to share. In our professional blackberry chip ice cream eating experience, we believe:
- Blackberry ice cream should not contain vanilla extract. It distracts. Let the berries shine.
- Lemon juice is essential for the blackberry flavor to shimmy and shine.
- The straining of the blackberry puree is entirely optional. My current batch has seeds, the previous one didn’t. We’ve plowed through both containers at the same speed. One final thing: get the best quality blackberries you can, and yes–you can use other berries. Oh, and the chips! They should be your favorite dark chocolate bar, chopped largely. The bigger the chunks, the better. I’m in love with this method for no churn ice cream made without sweetened condensed milk. In a nutshell: make the blackberry compote, add cream & milk and bring to a simmer. Temper the egg yolks with the hot cream mixture, cool, freeze, and beat with a hand mixer a few times over the first 2 hours. Easy! You also might like my coconut milk ice cream.
