Blueberry Ice Cream

My niece the blueberry fiend.  Ever since she was old enough to have them, she has absolutely adored  “fwesh boo-bewwies” (as she called them).  She loves them in oatmeal, pie, smoothies, salads, and by themselves.  I’m pretty sure she’d like them in any and every incarnation possible.

She came to visit me last week and had only one request–that we make blueberry ice cream.  How could I say no to something as simple as making blueberry ice cream?  I immediately set out to find a recipe to make with her.  I wanted to keep it simple because I was pretty sure her six-year-old attention span might not be excited about making a custard base.  Once I found this five ingredient version, I knew I’d found a winner.  I thought the recipe had four steps–cook, refrigerate, churn, freeze–but my niece helped me realize I was missing the most important step.  “When do we taste it, Aunt Kelsey?” she asked.  If that’s not a good question, I don’t know what is.

As you can see, it was a hit.  No surprises here–she loved it.  Every. single. purple. bite.  The rest of the family loved it, too.    

Blueberry Ice Cream

from epicurious

Ingredients:

2 c. blueberries, picked over to remove stems

3/4 c. sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

1 c. milk

1 1/2 c. heavy cream

Directions:

1.  In a medium pot or large saucepan, bring blueberries, sugar, and salt to a
boil over moderate heat, mashing berries and stirring with a fork.  
Simmer mixture, stirring frequently, 5 minutes and cool slightly. 

2.  In a
blender purée mixture with milk just until smooth.  Stir in cream.  If desired, pour purée through a sieve into a bowl, pressing on solids with back of a
spoon. (I skipped this step because I like having the bits of blueberry in the ice cream.)  Chill mixture, covered, at least 2 hours, or until cold, and up
to 1 day.

3.  Freeze mixture in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer ice cream
to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden at least two hours.  Ice cream may be
made up to one week ahead.  Serves 8.