Purple Power! No Churn Blueberry Lemon Ice Cream

We recently celebrated Malaysia Day back home on Sept 16. On this date in 1963, the federation of Malaysia was formed with the merger of the Malaya Peninsular, Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak. Huzza! The day is usually marked which much emotional multicultural ads on TV and social media, and a public holiday of course!

So where there is cause for celebration, we gather and …. celebrate! And what’s a group celebration in hot tropical Malaysia, without ice cream? Nothing we tells ya! Now being hot and humid, it really isn’t fun making your French-style custard based ice cream – involving much toil over the stove in a hot kitchen and hours of hand-churning the ice cream (especially if you do not have an ice cream maker). Don’t get us wrong, when you have the time, this form of ice cream really is the best, I mean, just try our Full Bloom Orange Blossom & Ginger Ice Cream Terrine.

So for days when ice cream is called for but when custard isn’t the way to go, it’s always handy to have a great no churn ice cream recipe in one’s pocket. It’s a recipe that can easily be adapted to accommodate other flavours, perfect for a western summer or Asian tropics. And this dessert does not lose any of the smooth, creamy texture we love in its fussier French counterpart, but with quarter the effort.

This is a great make-ahead-worry-not-show-up-looking-fabulous recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh blueberries, heaping
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 cup whipping cream, cold
• 1+ 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk (about 400g)

Instructions

1. Place the berries, sugar and lemon juice in a small pot. Cook the berries down over low heat, stirring frequently, until they have brightened in colour to gorgeous bright purple, released its juices and have soften considerably. This should take 5 to 10 minutes. Just don't burn them.
2. Once done, take the pit off the heat and leave the berries to cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix the condensed milk, lemon zest, cooled berries, and vanilla together.
4. In another bowl, whisk the cream until stiff peaks form.
5. Quickly fold the cream into the condensed milk mixture. Take care not to overmix, but rather, just fold in until everything is well incorporated.
6. Pour ice cream mixture into a freezer-safe container, cover and leave to set for about 6 hours, or overnight.
7. Nothing more left to say other than serve, lick and enjoy.

Tip

When making ice cream, it always helps when you keep things as cold as possible, which can be a challenge when working in hot or warm climates. We usually love working at night, but if that’s not an option, try chilling your mixing bowls, whisks and beater attachments in the freezer beforehand.