Fresh Peach Ice Cream

The "season" may be over here on Long Island, but as far as I'm concerned summer doesn't end until September 21. So, I'm still churning out ice cream (as if it needs to be summer to make ice cream...I think not.)

My latest ice cream inspiration is the fresh local peach.  These local peaches -- still available at farm stands -- are so juicy and sweet that I've been looking for any excuse to eat them.  I eat them with yogurt and honey for breakfast.  I conjured up a kind of upside down caramelized peach cheesecake and actually attempted to reproduce this dream dessert, which is, how can I say this, still a work in progress. And I made a few batches of peach ice cream.

I made a few batches, because I wanted the ice cream to be really peachy.  Several recipes I reviewed didn't use very many peaches or obscured the peaches with other flavors. I wanted pure peach and this recipe I concocted delivers.

Fresh Peach Ice Cream

2 cups cream
2 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 pound peaches
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon rum
Juice of one lemon

1. Whisk the the cream and milk together with the sugar in a saucepan and heat just until bubbles form around the edges.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks thoroughly. Temper with about a cup of hot cream mixture. Whisk then add back to the rest of the cream mixture.

3. Cook over medium heat, stirring steadily, until the custard reaches 170 degrees F and coats the back of a spoon. Do not let it boil. Stir in the vanilla, cover and put in the fridge to cool overnight.


4. Remove pits from peaches and peel. Chop the half of the peaches into 1/4 inch pieces and puree the other half in a food processor or blender. Combine the pureed and chopped peaches, and stir in the 1/4 cup of sugar, rum, and lemon juice. Put in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Simmer for about 5-7 minutes, until slightly reduced and shiny. Refrigerate overnight.


5. Run the cream mixture through the ice cream machine for about 30 minutes. Toward the end, pour in the cold peach mixture or fold in by hand, if necessary. Freeze for at least four hours before serving.

Makes about 2 quarts.