One day our girls decided to pull interesting looking cookbooks from the shelves, to go through them like their mom does. They flipped through each chosen book, page by yummy page, adding a colored Post-It Flag to every recipe they’d like to make some day.
When I found their bright yellow flag on the cheesecake ice cream recipe in The Perfect Scoop, right beside my own previously placed green flag, I knew this ice cream needed to be made in our kitchen.
And ever since Allison tempted me with her version last month, I’ve had cheesecake ice cream on my mind. With an abundance of fresh blueberries from our day of picking at Rush River Produce, it posed the perfect opportunity to make this Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream with Graham Cracker Sprinkle.
The cheesecake ice cream is rich, creamy, and indulgent. And the layer of blueberry sauce is intensely berry flavored. Its dark contrast makes for an oh-so-pretty ribbon running through the ice cream’s middle. But what puts this treat over the top is a sprinkling of graham cracker crust. It seemed like just the perfect thing to do! All the flavors and textures of an actual piece of cheesecake are there. In ice cream form! What fabulous summer fun!
Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream & Graham Cracker Sprinkle
Ingredients
- for the cheesecake ice cream:
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- zest of 1 lemon save the juice for the blueberry sauce, below
- 1 c. sour cream
- ½ c. half-and-half
- ⅔ c. sugar
- pinch of salt
- for the blueberry sauce:
- 2 c. blueberries fresh or frozen
- ¼ c. sugar
- 1-1/2 tsp. cornstarch
- 1 T. cold water
- 1 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tsp. raspberry liqueur or cherry liqueur
- for the graham cracker crust sprinkle:
- ½ c. graham cracker crumbs
- 1 T. unsalted butter melted
- 1 T. sugar
Instructions
for the cheesecake ice cream:
- Cut cream cheese into small pieces and place into a blender or food processor. Add the lemon zest, sour cream, half-and-half, sugar, and salt. Puree until very smooth. No chunks!
- Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- To get the blueberry ribbon effect that I achieved when scooping the ice cream, spread half the cheesecake ice cream onto the bottom of a small to medium sized flat-bottomed bowl (mine had a 7″ diameter). Spread 1 cup of the blueberry sauce over the ice cream. Then gently spread the remaining ice cream over the top of the blueberry sauce. Freeze for at least 3 hours to firm up the mixture. Alternatively, you could just freeze the cheesecake ice cream on its own and then spoon the blueberry sauce over it when serving.
for the blueberry sauce:
- Heat the blueberries and sugar in a medium nonreactive pan over medium-high heat until the blueberries begin to release their juices. Mix the cornstarch with the cold water and lemon juice until the mixture is lump-free. Then stir the cornstarch mixture into the blueberries.
- Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the liqueur. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. You will need just 1 cup of the chilled blueberry sauce for this ice cream recipe. Spoon the rest over some yogurt, a slice of pound cake, or a waffle!
- Yield: about 1-1/2 cups
for the graham cracker crust sprinkle:
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Stir together all ingredients and then spread crumbs out in a 9″ x 13″ pan. Bake for 5 minutes and then stir. If the crumbs have started to brown, take the pan out of the oven. If not, return to the oven and check after each minute of baking time. Once the crumbs start to brown, they do so very quickly.
- After scooping the ice cream into bowls or cones, top with some of the graham cracker crust sprinkle. Just like a piece of blueberry cheesecake!
- Yield: 1/2 cup
Notes
Nutrition Information:
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Sounds devine ! I made vanilla ice cream with huckleberry swirl but the huckleberry swirl part came out icey after it had been frozen – it did not have a smooth creamy consistancy. The second time I tried corn syurp in the huckleberry syurp but the same thing happened. Is there a way to keep the swirl part smooth without an icey consistancy ?
Thanks
Hi Debbie – the blueberry swirl had a touch of iciness to it, too, but I actually like it that way. I think it’s a nice contrast to the creamy cheesecake ice cream! Using fresh fruit in frozen treats tends to give that icy texture because of the water content.
This ice cream looks fabulous! I absolutely love The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz and I think your adaptation of his recipe looks like pure perfection. I just might have to try this out this weekend!
I hope you like it, it’s on our list to make this week as well! :)
This looks so good! I need an ice cream maker…putting it on my list!
It’s yummy! Our girls bring it up every once in awhile, asking me to make it. It was a hit around here!
Hatti and Tessa are soooooooo lucky!
:) If you can believe it, Owen, there’s still one good helping left. It’s yours if you come visit me!!
the cheesecake ice cream looks tasty. Am left craving for it. great photos.
Thank you so much – great to hear from you!
Oh man, that blueberry sauce sounds fantastic! I just made a batch of blueberry liqueur and it’s simple to make. I’ll have to try this recipe.
Ohhhhh, and it is!! Just that little bit of liqueur brightens and intensifies the sweet berries. Nice to hear from you, Josh!
Your photograph of the ice cream cone is art!
Thanks bunches, Paula! :)
Talk about one awesome recipe! Wow! That photo of the ice cream is goddarn gorgeous, each separate part sounds like my kinda heaven :)
Hello Sasha – great to hear from you! This is awesome – every single person in our house was asking for more.
That top photo makes me giggle because it totally resembles a face- the blueberry eyes, then the strip of berry in the ice cream is the mouth.
I know… silly me. Then I read the post and now I want ice cream for breakfast.
Yes, silly Kate. I never saw it before, but can now that you mention it. :)
This look amazing! I love that it has the graham cracker crust sprinkle too!
Hi Cindy – thank you! That sprinkle just finishes it off perfectly!
These are such beautiful photos. I love the sprinkling of graham crackers on top. Perfect finishing touch for this yummy summer treat.
Hi Christina – so nice to hear from you again. Hope you’ve been having a great summer!