Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

I told myself that I wouldn’t post any more recipes from Our Best Bites, because I have already tried and posted too many of them, but this one was just too good not to post. This ice cream is divine! It is the best ice cream I have ever had ( I say that a lot, don’t I), but then again ice cream and  blueberry cheesecake are my top-two favorite foods. The texture is wonderful and the graham cracker crust mixed in makes it really taste like a cheesecake. This recipe takes a little more time and effort than most, but it is so worth it!!! It is also amazing with raspberries instead of blueberries!
Ingredients:

• 3 C. fresh blueberries (frozen is fine too)
• 1/4 C. powdered sugar
• 1/4 C. water
• 2 C. sugar
• 6 oz. cream cheese
• 4 egg yokes
• 3 C. 2% milk (or whole if you want it to be REALLY creamy and wonderful)
• 1 C. half and half (or heavy whipping cream if you want it to be REALLY thick and tasty)
• 1 prepared graham cracker crust

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, combine blueberries, powdered sugar, and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes and then remove from heat.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine milk and cream (either half and half or heavy whipping cream). Bring to a boil and then remove from heat.
3. While the milk is heating, combine cream cheese, egg yolks, and sugar in a bowl and mix well. After you have removed milk mixture from the heat, very slowly pour half of the milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture while the beater is running. This is very important! It is called TEMPERING the eggs. If you don’t slowly get the eggs used to the heat, you will have scrambled egg ice cream.
4. Mix the egg mixture well and then and then add the tempered egg mixture back into the hot milk mixture. Over medium-low heat and stirring very often, cook to 160 degrees (use a candy thermometer. 160 degrees is considered safe for animal products, including eggs). Remove from heat.
5. Place pan in ice. You can either place it in the sink with ice all around it or in a larger bowl filled with ice. Allow this to cool to a touchable temperature and then add blue berries with all the juice. Combine completely and put in the fridge to cool further. Leave it there for at least 2 hours, but you can leave it there for up to 2 days.
6. Freeze according to the ice cream maker instructions. After churning in the ice cream maker, it will be like soft-serve. Place in an air tight container in the freezer to let it set up.
7. If you want to add the graham cracker crust: while the ice cream maker is churning, break up the crust. Leave some in bigger chunks, the ice cream maker should break them down some. When the ice cream is very thick, add the pieces of crust in and let it churn for a minute. Shut off the ice cream maker. Freeze in a large plastic container for at least 3 hours.

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Recipe from www.ourbestbites.com