I know, I know we’re in the middle of winter and homemade raspberry ice cream isn’t the most seasonal dessert ever but I really can’t resist ice cream even in January (as long as I’m all warmed up near a radiator). I grew up eating frozen treats all year long in the Caribbean and having to restrain myself from enjoying ice cream only a couple of months a year seems atrocious, even if I now live near the Alps.
Plus after a heavy, hearty winter meal (think boeuf bourguignon or cassoulet), ice cream is perfect to cool off while ending on a sweet note. Fruity homemade raspberry ice cream is even more refreshing!
COOKING RASPBERRIES
I’m not a fan of sorbets as I usually find them icy, overly sweet or acidic and not at all comforting that’s why ice cream is the way to go for me even with fruits. Don’t worry about the cream and eggs in this homemade raspberry ice cream recipe take nothing out of the taste of raspberries. And that’s because;
1/the raspberries are first ‘cooked’ in sugar to evaporate the water in the fruits that would otherwise dilute the flavor of the ice cream if it had stayed in the fruits,
2/ a part of the fruits is then roasted to the point of caramelization and then tossed into the ice cream. So you get an intense raspberry taste and chunks of chewy caramelized fruits throughout the creamiest ice cream ever. The sticky raspberry chunks also bring out a touch of bitterness, a perfect contrast to the natural berries’ acidity in this sweet homemade raspberry ice cream. Doesn’t it sound heavenly?
INSPIRATION
This homemade raspberry ice cream recipe has been adapted from Cafe Fernando’s roasted strawberry ice cream (p.255 of his great book The Artful Baker). As soon as I read his recipe I wanted to try it with raspberries as I’m not a fan of strawberries in dessert, unless on a tart. I tweaked the recipe a bit to adjust the sweetness to a different fruit and to my taste but the method is all his. His book is full of gems and foolproof recipes that you will want to make time and time again. I’m always learning something new while reading it and no other cookbook made me laugh or cry quite like this one. I can’t recommend it enough!
When I started working on this recipe, it was supposed to be a homemade raspberry ice cream with a raspberry ripple to maximize the berries’ taste. But my ripple only added sweetness and no depth of flavor. That’s when I remembered Cenk’s recipe and how I wanted to try it with raspberry. Obviously, he was right, roasting the fruit really does bring out a more intense taste!
KEEP WATCH
This is probably going to be the shortest list of ingredients any of my recipes will ever have. But it doesn’t mean it’s the easiest recipe ever. It’s quite manageable but you should read the instructions carefully beforehand. Check the photos to get a view of what steps you’ll have to follow to make this homemade raspberry ice cream.
As it’s a custard-based ice cream, you should cook it over low heat in a heavy-based saucepan (better heat conductivity). If you don’t have one keep an eye on your thermometer and keep stirring to make sure you won’t overcook it and end up with scrambled eggs.
➝ Why is vodka added to ice cream? Vodka works as a stabilizer. As vodka doesn’t freeze, it prevents the formation of ice crystals, making the ice cream smoother and silkier. Adding 1 tbsp of vodka to the custard before churning, will make for a creamier homemade raspberry ice cream, without the addition of an alcoholic taste.
➝ What goes with homemade raspberry ice cream? I like to serve scoops of this ice cream with either whipped cream, or a fruit salad on the side (summer fruits: blueberries, quartered strawberries, diced peaches & mangoes drizzled with a squeeze of lemon juice and sprinkled with some bruised mint leaves) or topped with crushed raw pistachios.
Looking for other ice cream recipes? Here are some of my favorites:
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Homemade raspberry ice cream
- Prep Time: 120 minutes
- freeze overnight: 8 hours
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 10 hours 40 minutes
- Yield: 1 quart 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Ice cream maker
- Cuisine: French
Description
Roasting raspberries might sound weird but you’ll get both an intense raspberry flavor out of it and chunks of chewy caramelized fruits in your (very creamy, may I add?) homemade raspberry ice cream.
Ingredients
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650g raspberries (5 ½ cups), I used frozen ones thawed overnight in the fridge
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130g sugar (⅔ cup)
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240g heavy cream (1 cup)
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4 egg yolks
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pinch of salt
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1 tbsp vodka
Instructions
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Macerate the raspberries. Put the raspberries in a bowl or a deep plate and cover them with the sugar. Gently combine the raspberries and sugar together and let macerate for 1h, stirring from time to time. By then the raspberries will have released a lot of juice. Put the content of the bowl into a mesh strainer set over a larger bowl. Drain for 20 min, gently stirring the raspberries from time to time. You’ll need the juice for the rest of the recipe.
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Bake some of the macerated raspberries. Preheat the oven to 140°C (285°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put 75g (⅓ cup) of the drained raspberries (or more if you would like a chunkier homemade raspberry ice cream) on the lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake the raspberries for 30 min or until they start to caramelize. For a deeper and bitterer taste you can leave them 5 min longer. Let the roasted raspberries cool completely, then place them in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
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Puree the rest of the macerated raspberries. Mash the rest of the drained raspberries with a hand blender or a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Put the pureed raspberries in a large mixing bowl.
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Warm up the juice and the cream. Pour the juice of the drained raspberries, the heavy cream and the salt into a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Set it over medium heat and bring to just below a boil, stirring frequently.
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Make the ice cream custard. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl for 3 min, or until they lighten in color. Slowly pour the hot cream mixture over the egg yolks while you keep mixing. When the mixture is smooth, pour it back into the heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook the custard over low heat until it reaches 80°C (176°F), about 5min, whisking continuously. To make sure it’s ready, coat the back of a spoon with the custard and trace a line across the back of the spoon with your fingertip. If the line remains visible, the custard is thick enough. Pour the custard into the mixing bowl with the pureed raspberries and mix thoroughly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the raspberry custard and let stand until it’s at room temperature. Then refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
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Churn the ice cream. Add the vodka to the chilled custard and whisk until smooth. Scrape it into your ice cream maker. Churn according to manufacturer’s instructions. Scrape one-third of the ice cream in a 1-liter (1-quart) container with a tight-fitting lid and spread it evenly. Place one-third of the roasted raspberries randomly over the ice cream. Repeat layering until you run out of ice cream and roasted raspberries. Cover the homemade raspberry ice cream with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the ice cream. Close the lid and freeze for at least 8 hours.
Notes
You can keep this homemade raspberry ice cream for up to 2 weeks in the freezer.
Make sure to let the container sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 min before scooping, and directly put it back in the freezer after serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 scoops
- Calories: 378
Keywords: berry dessert, roasted berries, summer berry dessert, frozen summer dessert
HARRY’S ICE CREAM
The way I visualized Harry’s ice cream after reading the passage was a cone with 1 scoop of chocolate ice cream, 1 scoop of raspberry ice cream and some chopped nuts sprinkled on top. I already had a chocolate ice cream recipe on my blog so I started working on this homemade raspberry ice cream. Nevertheless later, a doubt came over me as I realized that maybe the chocolate and raspberry flavors are supposed to be in the same ice cream. But oh well, what was done was done! I was pretty proud of my homemade raspberry ice cream recipe and I didn’t feel like starting over, especially since I don’t really like the acidity berries bring to chocolate in general.
However Harry’s ice cream is supposed to be composed, we can all agree that Hagrid is a dear. How sweet he is, remembering Harry’s birthday, buying him a gift, an ice cream, and introducing him to the magical world in his abrupt but charming ways. I really took him for granted as a child (kinda like Harry did), but all his kind attentions really touched me while rereading the books.
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