Fresh Peach Ice Cream
You probably won’t be surprised when I tell you that I eat a lot more candy-filled and chocolate ice cream than I do fruit-based ice creams. However, sometimes there’s nothing better on a sweltering summer day than a few scoops of fresh strawberry or peach ice cream. A few years ago, I made a really fabulous strawberry ice cream, and a couple of months later I added peach to my to-do list. We’ll ignore the fact that it’s been three years and celebrate the fact that it’s made, right?! Peach ice cream just screams summer, and since we’re smack dab in the middle of the season, it seemed like the perfect time to finally churn it up.
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I mashed together a few different recipes to pull this one together, but it’s primarily a riff on my favorite vanilla ice cream recipe. To accent the creamy vanilla, I macerated chopped peaches in sugar and lemon juice overnight, then whisked the resulting juice into the custard base before churning. When the ice cream is almost done freezing, all of the chopped peaches get thrown in. The sweet peach juice flavors the ice cream in a wonderfully subtle way; that, along with the chunks of peaches throughout makes it feel like spoonfuls of summer in every bite.
While I’ll always gravitate toward the ice creams loaded with chunky candy add-ins, I am in absolute love with how refreshing this ice cream tastes. I’ll be eating it all through the dog days of summer!
One year ago: Banana Split Ice Cream Cake and Homemade Butterscotch Sauce
Two years ago: S’mores Cupcakes
Three years ago: Snickerdoodle Blondies
Four years ago: Chocolate Ice Cream
Five years ago: Hearty Whole Wheat Bread
Six years ago: Bacon, Cheddar and Green Onion Scones
Fresh Peach Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1½ to 2 pounds (680 to 907 g) fresh peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped finely into tiny pieces
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar, divided
- 4½ teaspoons (4.5 teaspoons) lemon juice
- 1 cup (244 ml) whole milk
- 2 cups (476 ml) heavy cream, divided
- Pinch of salt
- 6 egg yolks
- ¾ teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine the peaches, ½ cup of the sugar and the lemon juice in a medium bowl. Stir well, cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Warm the milk, remaining ¼ cup sugar, 1 cup of the heavy cream and the salt in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
- Pour the remaining 1 cup heavy cream into a large bowl and place a fine-mesh sieve on top. Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Slowly pour the warmed milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Scrape the mixture back into the saucepan.
- Place the saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly with a rubber spatula, being sure to scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula, a few minutes. The mixture should register 170 to 175 degrees F on an instant-read digital thermometer.
- Pour the custard through the fine-mesh sieve and stir it into the cream. Stir in the vanilla extract and place the bowl over an ice bath. Stir occasionally, until the mixture is cool. Cover and transfer the custard to the refrigerator until completely chilled, at least 8 hours or overnight.
- When ready to churn the ice cream, place a fine-mesh sieve over the bowl with the custard and pour the peaches into the sieve, allowing the accumulated juice to strain into the custard. Whisk the juice into the custard and set the peaches aside. Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions, adding the peaches when the churning is about three-quarters complete. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and store in the freezer.
Notes
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Ohmygosh! I need this in my life!
what’s better than peach ice cream in summer?
I’ve been looking for a really yummy-looking peach ice cream recipe—It appears as if I have just found it! Looks great! :D
This recipe is great for Summer and the peaches are a great Summer fruit. It also seems really easy to make. This is going on my to make list. Thanks for sharing.
In my opinion, chocolate candy-filled ice cream is always better, but your peach ice cream looks fabulous!
I love fruit ice cream, I am not a fan of fruit pie yuck. I love when summer comes the peaches are at there best..
Homemade peach ice cream is the best this time of year!! We always grab some when we hit up the peach stand!
Oh man, I was browsing your website last week looking for a peach ice cream recipe!!! Now you post it :P haha. I made mine very similar to yours, but mine was a brown sugar peach ice cream. Turned out better than I thought it would. I am sure yours will be much tastier!!!
Peace.Love.Lauryn
You have me totally craving peach ice cream! Yummy and so refreshing!
Your photography is beautiful! I love peach ice cream as it reminds when my mom would make it for it us growing up. One question: David Lebovitz often uses a wee bit of alcohol to ensure that fruit mix-ins don’t get too icy. Do you recommend this? My hubby is all about chocolate and won’t eat fruity ice cream much, and so I anticipate having a stash of this for myself and would like for it to stay fresh in the freezer for as long as possible.
Hi Katie, You could do that; I’d add it in to the peach/sugar/lemon juice mixture. If there are larger chunks they could get icy, but the ice cream itself is quite creamy, not icy at all.
That looks really good!
Sounds awesome and can’t wait to try this. If you can get your hands on some Chambersburg peaches they are the absolute best, so sweet and juicy! Hopefully in the next couple weeks I’ll start seeing them at the roadside stands and McGinnis Sisters Markets.
The stone fruits in ice cream have me craving summer weather. I love the idea of peaches and ice cream, so why not combine them? Genius!
I can only imagine how delicious and refreshing this is. I LOVE peaches so much. I’m really a sucker for anything peach!
I made peach ice cream a couple days ago, but it turned out a little icy. Wish I had this recipe. I think the extra yolks and cream would have made the difference.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this recipe! I’ve been craving peach ice cream, but wanted to try to make it at home. This is exactly what I was looking for!
I’m not usually a fruit ice cream fan either, but this looks delicious. I love the idea of using the juice to flavor the ice cream!
Fresh fruit ice cream like this is sooo fabulous! Looks awesome!
Gorgeous, Michelle! I am with you…I’m all about chocolate, caramel, nuts and other goodies in ice cream. But, when I take a break from the goodies in homemade ice cream, I always enjoy the refreshing change with fresh seasonal fruit. Thanks for sharing! Already pinned! xo
Peaches are so amazing right now. I bought some white peaches the other day and they’re so juicy and sweet. This ice cream recipe sounds awesome and seems super simple to make too!
I am on such a peach kick right now and your peach ice cream will be perfect to satisfy my cravings!!
Ice cream is my greatest weakness. And this looks positively delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
looks great!
Quite possibly the only prettier thing than a fresh peach would be that peach in ice cream form. Everything is better that way:)
You’re the second blogger I know in a week who’s made peach ice cream and I am now officially craving it – I bet it is SO refreshing!
This does look like summertime in a bowl. Totally delicious.
Love this! It is gorgeous!
I’m with you – I actually love ice cream with chocolate and/or candy over fruity ones, but when I’m in the mood for fruity, nothing beats it. It’s so refreshing on super hot days without a doubt, and a little chocolate or caramel sauce never hurts, either.
I am currently obsessed with peaches (donut variety, of course) so this is a perfect treat! Great recipe, thank you!
I love peach ice cream. I have a sensitivity to the raw fruit, so ice cream is right up my alley.