No-Cook Peach Ice Cream

I love this time of year, when we can go to our local orchard and get fresh peaches. I am not crazy about the summer months, I am more of a fall/winter girl. However, I do love all the fresh fruits, and vegetables that are a product of the summer. As soon as I saw this no-cook ice cream recipe, I immediately knew that I wanted to make it with peaches. I have been having those peach milkshakes from Chick-Fil-A all summer, and they are delish, but I wanted to make some ice cream for everyone to enjoy. We had some friends over for dinner on the day I made this, and they seemed to enjoy it- as did Heath. I think he has eaten the majority of it on his own. =) I adapted this recipe from Spork or Foon. I thought with all the half-and-half, that it would be too icy or watery. So I switched the amounts of heavy cream, and half-and-half, and I think it turned out great- so my recipe below reflects those changes. FYI- you can leave this recipe as is for plain vanilla ice cream, or add other fruits or flavorings to it. It seems to be pretty versatile. I made some more for my dad with bananas, and it was good as well.

~No-Cook Ice Cream~

1 cup of half and half
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
2 cups of heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 very ripe peaches (or if using bananas- use 2 very ripe ones)
2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice (I didn't use this for my peach, but I did for the banana)

1.) Mix together the first four ingredients until combined, making sure the condensed milk is well blended with the other liquids. Chill until cold.
2.) Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze accordingly.
3.) Mash the peaches and add to the ice cream maker 2 minutes before it's finished. ( I went ahead and mixed the peaches in and skipped the refrigerating part, and it turned out fine.) 4.) Transfer ice cream to a freezer safe container, cover and freeze for at least 3 hours.

The Best Chocolate Ice Cream...EVER!

I have been having so much fun with my new ice cream bowl attachment for my KitchenAid mixer. Heath has been after me to make him some chocolate ice cream with "only marshmallows" for a few weeks now, so a couple of days ago, I made it for him. I have read such great things about David Lebovitz and The Perfect Scoop, so it seemed like this would be the recipe to use. I knew this ice cream was going to be a dream not long after it had started churning. It was so smooth and creamy, and made up beautifully as soft serve, or frozen and scooped. I served it to Heath's parents after dinner that night, and they both really loved it (his mom is not even really a fan of chocolate). I am thinking now, of all the possibilities for add-ins to this recipe: peanut butter cups, crushed oreos, brownie pieces... Dangerous!

~Chocolate Ice Cream~ from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1.) Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 cup cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

2.) Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk unto the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

3.) Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

4.) Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions (If the cold mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin out).

Makes about 1 quart