You are likely familiar with one of the first laws of Midwestern cooking: Add cream cheese, and the end product will be delicious.

Why did it take me so long to realize that formula would work with ice cream? On Sunday night, I was thinking about making ice cream (a common thought in my little brain) and trying to figure out what we had in the fridge. Whole milk. Cream cheese. Lemon curd. Half a lemon. I did some quick Googling and realized I could whip up something amazing. I used a Food & Wine recipe as my base but tweaked it to accommodate what we had in the apartment.

The cream cheese and sour cream provided an awesome texture and a rich mouth-feel that coats your tastebuds. The lemon provides a nice hint of tanginess, which is perfect with cream cheese, and I didn’t miss the heavy cream (as the above recipe calls for). This is a dessert that BEGS to be topped with fresh fruit or some dark chocolate sauce. If you are feeling generous, you could share with friends. Your personal trainer or dietitian or doctor would not approve of this recipe. Cheesecake ice cream is not for the faint of heart–or the delicate waist line.

Cheesecake Ice Cream

• 6 oz. cream cheese
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 spoonful lemon curd

OPTIONAL: Top with blueberries! This would also be delicious with some caramel sauce or hot fudge or graham cracker crumbles or fresh fruit.

Instructions: Let cream cheese get to room temperature (or stick it in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds). Beat it with a  mixer until it is whipped, then gradually beat in sugar. Beat in all other ingredients. Pour into ice cream maker and wait 30 minutes. Then, grab a large spoon and eat it all straight from the ice cream maker bowl. OR freeze until you are ready to eat.

PS: I’m thinking about trying a similar recipe that uses goat cheese. Would you eat goat cheese ice cream?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 29th, 2011 at 12:40 pm and is filed under taste. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.