Blackberry Ice Cream

I saw this recipe over on Pioneer Woman & decided it was time to break out my new cuisinart ice cream maker. I am pretty glad I did too. This ice cream was amazing! Its a bit more time consuming than the kind you jut throw together, but it was well worth it. I am sure you could substitute the blackberries for a variety of fruits, but we seriously loved it! I also loved the gorgeous color of the finished product, & my 3 year old loved helping create the pretty color. Delicious!!

Blackberry Ice Cream

2 Pints Blackberries

1/2 of Lemon, juice of

1/4 Cup Sugar

1 1/2 Cups Half-and-Half

1 Cup Sugar

5 Large Egg Yolks

1 1/2 Cups Heavy Cream

Put blackberries in a saucepan with 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice. Cover and cook over low heat for 20-25 minutes. Drain berries using a fine mesh strainer, pressing the berries to make sure you get all the goodness out of them. Set aside {I did this step TWO days before I intended to make the ice cream}.

Heat the half-and-half and 1 cup sugar in a separate saucepan over low heat. Turn off heat when mixture is totally heated and combined.

Add heavy cream to a separate bowl and set aside.

Beat egg yolks with an electric mixer until yolks are pale and slightly thick.

Temper the eggs by slowly drizzling in 1 1/2 cups of the hot half-and-half mixture, whisking constantly. When yolks are tempered, pour mixture back into the pan containing the remaining half-and-half mixture. Cook over low to medium-low heat until quite thick, stirring constantly. Drain custard using a fine mesh strainer, then pour into the separate bowl with the cream; stir until combined.

Add blackberry sauce to custard mixture and stir. Chill mixture completely {I chilled mine for over 24 hours}, then freeze in an ice cream maker until thick {mine took about 25 minutes}. Put ice cream in a freezer safe container and place in freezer for at least 2 hours to harden up. You can eat the ice cream as a soft serve option, but beware, it melts fast. Its delicious either way!