Blueberry Mojito Ice Cream

When I was queried about my interest in participating in a group review of a new book which is all about ice cream with a giveaway of the book to our readers too (after the recipe) I couldn’t put my hand up fast enough. I have to give Cuisinart some credit for this almost knee jerk reaction; without one of their new ice cream makers I would not be quite so enthused. Not having to mess with ice and salt has changed my ice cream life dramatically and it is all good! I have also fallen in love with my choice of Blueberry Mojito Ice Cream but it was not love at first sight!

The book ‘Scoop Adventures‘ arrived and I couldn’t wait to peruse it and see what fun things could be had. Since the author indicated on the front book jacket that this volume is comprised of ‘The Best Ice Cream of the 50 States; I immediately scooted over to see what was from Colorado and found a recipe for Colorado Sour Cherry Ice Cream. Whoa…wait. What? Sour Cherries? While prolific on the Western slope of the Rockies, they are not so easy to find here in Denver so I was unsure about that choice. Bing cherries are now showing up in abundance but sour cherries are much fewer and farther between so never a guarantee that a trip to the market will result in acquiring these beauties. As fate would have it, we were given an assortment of recipes from the book that were authorized for us to use and this one was not included. Sort of left me off the hook and for that I was grateful!
Now what? Well, as it turns out the author, Lindsay Clendaniel had hoped we would make some of her creations and had provided a list of suggestions. And that was it. Done and done. You know how sometimes it’s a given; something is so perfect for you? That was me and this recipe for Blueberry Mojito Ice Cream. I do have a reputation you know? Truth is that as much as I love to create and share cocktails, I also love adding different liquors and liqueurs to foods too. If you picture me in my kitchen with messy, stained clothes and disheveled hair while I work on any multitude of concoctions you might be right…but I really don’t do it with a cocktail always in my right hand! I might allude, kid, josh and more but, sit down for this one, I really don’t drink a lot. Only with friends and well, the occasional margarita I’ve made in the morning for the blog because after all, it does have juice in it! I do it all for my readers, fans, friends and family; you know, I don’t want to disappoint! Speaking of Lindsay? Take a peek at her blog at Scoop Adventures or head over to visit her on Twitter and Facebook. She is passionate about ice cream and it shows.

So I set out to make this cocktail as an ice cream. It actually had a fair number of steps; not hard but a bit timely. Fair warning; start this on Friday if you want to serve it on Saturday; there is a fair amount of freezing time involved so unless you’re starting at 5am it would be pushing it to expect it done and sufficiently chilled by evening dessert.

The milk is infused with mint (glad I planted some in a pot? Yes. Should I have planted more? Yes, yes, yes!) which is then combined in a blender with cooked and softened berries and cooled. Before processing in the ice cream maker rum and a lime simple syrup are added and again off to the chiller. There are no chunks of blueberry in this smooth ice cream so save yourself a small handful of berries for garnishing each bowl.

Is it good? I had some sitting out after finishing the photo shoot when my friend Sandy arrived. I was going to fix a quick dinner for us but she wanted a bite. And then another bite. And then, well, you know what happened right? Hey, if we can’t eat ice cream BEFORE dinner when we’re adults, really what is the point?

What I loved about this ice cream is that it is for adults only. Not because of the rum; alcohol in ice cream has to be kept to such a miniscule amount or it will inhibit freezing. No what I loved was the fact that it wasn’t screaming with sugar; it had that ever so tart bite from the berries and the lime and that was good. I added a small handful of fresh berries for garnish and it was downright perfect!

Want more? Here is a list of what other bloggers have done from the book…this should keep you busy with ice cream making all summer long! You can check out their tweets at #ICTScoopAdventures too and get to know them! For these and other ice cream treats you can also visit Jenni Field’s ‘Ice Cream Tuesday‘ Pinterest Board for LOTS of inspiration. You’ll want to make ice cream all summer too!

• Berry Goat Cheese Sherbet from Kimberly at Hungry Goddess
• Dark Chocolate Orange Ice Cream from Allison at Decadent Philistines Save the World
• Chocolate Truffle Ice Cream from Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream from Dionne at Try Anything Once
• Hops and Nuts Ice Cream from Sophia at NY Foodgasm
• Chocolate Coconut Macadamia Ice Cream from Betsy at Desserts Required
• Peanut Butter Ice Cream from Donna at Cookistry
• Thai Coconut Ice Cream from Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• Red Velvet Ice Cream Sundae from Kim at Cravings of a Lunatic
• Chocolate Sesame Brittle Ice Cream from Jenni at Pastry Chef Online

Blueberry Mojito Ice Cream

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 1 1/2 pints

Ingredients

For the Lime Syrup:
• 1/4 cup (59ml) lime juice
• 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
For the Ice Cream Base:
• 1 cup (230 g) fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup (100g) sugar
• 1 cup (237 ml) whole milk, divided
• 1 Tbsp (9g) cornstarch
• 1 1/4 cups (295ml) heavy cream
• 1/4 cup (24g) packed mint leaves
• 1 1/2 Tbsp (22ml) white rum

Preparation

To Make the Lime Syrup:
1. Combine the lime juice and the sugar in a small sauce pan and heat over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved; 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat, pour into a small bowl and refrigerate until completely cool.
To Make the Ice Cream Base:
2. Combine the blueberries and the sugar in a small saucepan. Warm over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is simmering and slightly reduced and the berries release their juices. Remove the pan from heat and set aside.
3. In a small bowl combine 2 Tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch, whisk and set aside.
4. Combine the remaining milk and cream in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. When the mixture is hot and begins to bubble, remove from the heat, add the mint and steep at room temperature for 20 minutes. Pour the mint infused milk into a bowl through a fine meshed sieve, pressing on the back of the mint with a wooden spoon to extract as much flavor as possible.
5. Fill a large bowl with ice water.
6. Return the mint infused milk to a medium saucepan and bring it to a low boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture.
7. Return to a boil and cook over moderately high heat until the mixture is slightly thickened; about 30 seconds.Remove the the heat and pour into a medium bowl.
8. Set the bowl into the ice water bath to cool for about 20 minutes, whisking occasionally.
9. Combine the blueberry mixture with the cooled cream base in a blender and blend until the berries are fully incorporated.
10. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.
11. Whisk the chilled ice cream base and add the lime syrup and rum. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

2.5http://www.creative-culinary.com/blueberry-mojito-ice-cream/This recipe brought to you by Creative Culinary | A Food and Cocktail Blog | Website: www.creative-culinary.com

 BOOK GIVEAWAY!!

To Enter to Win SCOOP ADVENTURES: 

You must be 18 to enter and win. Limited to US and Canadian residents only. Contest ends on Monday, July 7th at midnight.

• This one is mandatory! Leave a comment; I would love to know what your favorite ice cream is.
• For a 2nd entry go ‘Like’ Scoop Adventures Facebook page and leave me a SEPARATE comment letting me know that you did.
• The winner will be drawn using Random.org and once notified will have 48 hours to respond with a mailing address or another winner will be drawn.

I was provided with a copy of the book ‘Scoop Adventures’ but I was not compensated for this post and all commentary is my own.