Blueberry-buttermilk ice cream

Awhile back, my friend (fellow BBA challenger and all around great cook and baker), Phyl suggested that several of us do an ice cream week: post a different ice cream recipe each day for five days, beginning this Monday. Which sounded great, until I realized that….

Today is Tuesday! Where has the week gone?! I’m late!

Wait. Relax, Rebecca. It’s summer. Things are allowed to be just a little late. Right?

Okay, so today is my Monday and the official start of my ice cream week. If I feel ambitious, maybe I’ll give you two recipes in one day and get myself back on track.

Maybe.

Today’s—er, Monday’s—theme is Summer Fruit, and my recipe is a riff off of the delicious strawberry-buttermilk ice cream from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home (if you want to make ice cream, you definitely need to get your hands on a copy of Jeni’s book). Note that fellow ice cream churner Abby chose to make the strawberry version, so if you’re interested in making that one, check out her post (see below).

The method for making this ice cream is all Jeni’s, so if you’re familiar with her technique, you’re already most of the way there. My only real changes were to use blueberries (and lots of ’em), and to roast them longer than the original recipe called for. If you use a pint of blueberries (fresh, if you can get them), you might end up with a bit more puree than you’ll need for the ice cream, but that’s okay. It makes a very nice sauce to drizzle on your scoop.

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Theme for the real Tuesday: Frozen yogurt

Be sure to check out the summer fruit ice cream offerings from my fellow Ice Cream week participants:

Phyl’s Citrus Beet ice cream
Di’s Sweet and Sour sorbet
Margaret’s Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake Crumble ice cream
Abby’s Strawberry Buttermilk ice cream

Roasted blueberry and buttermilk ice cream

adapted from Jeni’s recipe for Roasted Strawberry & Buttermilk Ice Cream in Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home

Makes about 1 quart

1 pint blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. Mix blueberries and sugar together, put in an ovenproof pan and roast for 25 minutes or until the blueberries are soft and broken down. Let cool.
3. Put blueberry mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove skins and set aside.
4. In a bowl, stir together 1/4 cup of the milk and the cornstarch and set aside.
5. Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a low, rolling boil, and cook for four minutes.
6. Stir in the cornstarch mixture, return to a boil, and cook, stirring, until the mixture is slightly thickened, for one or two minutes.
7. Add one cup of the blueberry puree to the base (reserve any extra puree for sauce).
8. Stir in the salt and the buttermilk.
9. Chill mixture overnight (or use Jeni’s quick-cool method).
10. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.
11. Place in a freezer-safe container, cover with a sheet of parchment cut to size, seal container tightly, and freeze for several hours until hard.