This silky smooth goat cheese ice cream tastes a little like cheesecake thanks to fresh goat cheese. Honey makes it naturally sweet and adds lovely floral notes. Serve this savory-sweet ice cream on your favorite fruit desserts (shown here with baked figs - yum!)This recipe takes just 30 minutes of active time; for best results, chill the ice cream base for several hours before churning, and freeze until solid afterward for at least 2 hours.
Prep Time: 20 minutesminutes
Total: 20 minutesminutes
Servings: 6to 8 servings (makes about 3 cups)
Ingredients
3ouncesfresh goat cheese, softened(about 2/3 cup crumbled / 85 grams)
1 ¼cupsheavy cream(10 ounces / 300 ml)
1 ¼cupswhole milk(10 ounces / 300 mL)
½cuphoney (6 ounces / 170 grams)
⅛teaspoonfine sea salt
4large egg yolks
Instructions
Place the softened goat cheese in a medium bowl, and gradually whisk in the cream until smooth (being careful not to over-whisk and make whipped goat cheese butter). Place a strainer over the bowl and set aside.
In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan set over medium heat, warm the milk with the honey and salt until steamy and hot, stirring frequently. Don't let the mixture simmer or boil or the acids in the honey could cause the milk to curdle.
Place the egg yolks in another medium bowl set on a damp kitchen towel. Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly.
Return the milk mixture to the pot and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof silicone spatula, until the mixture thickens slightly and/or registers 170ºF on an instant-read thermometer.
Immediately pour the milk & egg yolk mixture through the strainer and into the goat cheese & cream mixture.
Place the bowl with the warm custard in it over an ice bath and stir until cold. Cover and chill the mixture for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight or up to 2 days. This allows the milk proteins to relax and makes for a smoother ice cream.
Churn the chilled ice cream base in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Scrape the churned ice cream into a jar or pan, cover with a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper pressed directly to the surface of the ice cream, and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours.
The ice cream will keep for up to 2 months.
Notes
Use a light-colored honey and fresh, mild goat cheese here; I like Cypress Grove's Ms. Natural and Sierra Nevada's fresh chèvre the best. For a milder goat cheese experience, decrease the amount of cheese to 1.5 ounces and up the cream by 1/4 cup.