Peach Ice Cream

My wifes favorite fruit is peaches. But I find it very difficult to find ripe sweet peaches in the grocery store. When I do find them I tend to go crazy and all sorts of dishes with peaches. We were able to go out to western North Carolina and go peach picking this year and find some sweet ripe fruit. However, they quickly started to overripen so I had to act quickly making peach jam and peach ice cream.

Ingredients

2 C Ripe Peaches (pitted and cut into ½ “ chunks) *

1 ¼ C Sugar (divided)

1 TBS Lemon Juice

2 TBS Peach Schnapps

2 C Heavy Cream

1 C Whole Milk

½ tsp Vanilla Extract

4 Egg Yolks

In a medium bowl, mix the sliced peaches ½ cup sugar, lemon juice, and peach schnapps. Cover and let them macerate for 2 to 12 hours. This will draw out some peach juices to help concentrate the peach flavor.

Preheat oven to 425F and adjust the oven rack to the middle position.

Cover a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and cover with cooking spray. Spread the macerated peach chunks in a single layer on the cookie sheet and bake until the juices start to caramelize and turn brown at the edges of the sheet, about 20-25 minutes.

Remove the peaches to a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, place them in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining ¾ cup sugar, heavy cream, milk, and vanilla. Bring to a light boil stirring frequently.

In a separate medium bowl whisk the egg yolks. Slowly stream in 1/3 of the boiled cream mixture while whisking. This will temper the eggs, preventing them from scrambling. Return the remaining cream mixture to the stove with the heat on. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the cream mixture, whisking constantly. The custard mixture will thicken as it comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and pour through a strainer into a bowl set over ice. This will remove any clumps that may have formed. Stir the custard until cold.

Transfer the cold custard to an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturers instructions. When the ice cream is almost completely set add in the peach chunks and continue to frre until done. Place in a covered container in the freezer for at least two hours before serving.

Intensifying Peach Flavor

Peaches have been breed for their ability to resist bruising and be shelf stable. This has resulted in a lack of peach flavor. This was especially evident in North Carolina this summer where we had record amounts of rain. I saw a peach in a roadside stand that was 2 ½ pounds and the size of a small ball. The oven drying that I did in this recipe concentrates the flavor and makes any dessert “peachier”. The addition of the Peach schnapps also intensifies the peach flavor and makes the ice cream creamier.

* Pronto Substitutes

Peaches – You can peel the peaches if you prefer but I did not for this recipe. Only use ripe peaches, do not use overripe squishy peaches.

Peach Schnapps – You can also use Peach Brandy.

To print a copy of this recipe go to Peach Ice Cream.