Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Feast your eyes on that baby. That little masterpiece, my friends, is Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream from Ezra Pound Cake. Aw yeah.

Not bad for my second attempt at ice cream.

This ice cream tastes exactly like what it says it is. Strawberry cheesecake, in ice cream goodness. Have mercy.

This ice cream takes a tinsy bit more work than your average ice cream as you have to bake a graham cracker crust, and let it get cold in the fridge.  It's worth it though.  Trust me.  That crust is half the cheesecake party in your mouth.

This recipe calls for the zest of one lemon and 1/2 c frozen berries.  I omitted both of them.  I didn't have a lemon and Mrblocko and I aren't big fans of huge chunks of fruit in our ice cream.  The next time I make this I'm going to add the lemon zest to see if it adds anything special to the mix.  As for the fruit, I think if I put frozen berries into a blender to chop them up, that might be ok.  Although, then I'd have to worry about seeds.  I don't want no stinkin' seeds in my ice cream.  Maybe a chunkier seedless jam verses a jelly would be a better route to take.

In case anyone is wondering, I used full fat versions of both cream cheese and sour cream.  I was worried if I altered the fat content, the ice cream might not set up properly.  Next time I think I'll risk a low fat version.

It's such a shame that I've got to do some more experimenting with this recipe.  Oh the things we do in the name of food.

Mixed Berry Cheesecake Ice Cream from Ezra Pound Cake Makes about 3 cups
Graham Cracker Crumble:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 5 crackers)
1/2 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Ice Cream:
Zest of 1 lemon
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup half-and-half
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup red jelly (strawberry, raspberry or currant), warmed in the microwave until melted
1/2 cup frozen berries

For the Ice Cream: Place lemon zest in a food processor .Cut cream cheese into small pieces, and add it to lemon zest. Then add sour cream, half-and-half, sugar and salt. Blend til smooth.
Transfer mix to a bowl, cover it, and chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

For the Graham Cracker Crumble: Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter til moistened. Transfer to a 9" springform pan, pie plate or cake pan. Press crumbs into bottom of pan. (Don’t worry if they don’t cover the entire bottom of the pan.) Bake 7 min. Cool to room temperature. Using a fork, gently break crust into small crumbs. Set aside.

Once the ice cream mix chilled for at least 4 hours, freeze in ice cream maker according to  manufacturer’s instructions. During last few minutes of churning, add 1/4 c Graham Cracker Crumble.
As transfer ice cream from machine to a freezer-safe container, place half of ice cream into  container. Sprinkle half of frozen berries onto ice cream, followed by a few spoonfuls of melted jelly to create a thin layer over the ice cream. (Do not stir.) Then spoon rest of ice cream over jelly. Sprinkle  remaining berries on top and a few spoonfuls of Graham Cracker Crumble. Place a layer of plastic wrap over ice cream, fasten a lid on container, and place container in freezer for at least 4 hours before serving.

To serve, top ice cream with any remaining Graham Cracker Crumble. Or, make a topping for the ice cream by warming leftover jelly in microwave and tossing remaining berries in jelly til well mixed.