Honey Blackberry Mascarpone Ice Cream

Creamy and honey sweetened, this honey blackberry mascarpone ice cream features a dark and jammy blackberry swirl that tastes like the last sunny-gold days of summer. Two full cups of fresh blackberries are cooked down and folded into a churned Philadelphia-style honey mascarpone ice cream. The vibrant color is completely natural!

A few years ago, prior to starting my blog, I made an ice cream from David Leite's site. It was this blackberry ice cream made with creme fraiche.

I went a bit over the top and made my own creme fraiche, which meant dedicating 48 hours to the process as it sat on my countertop and percolated. The end result was completely worth it - both the creme fraiche itself, and the ice cream it became a part of.

This time around, I wanted to make something similar but with a pared down process. I settled on an eggless Philadelphia style ice cream base that uses a combination of heavy cream and whole milk.

Having just purchased a 5 pound tub of mascarpone cheese on a whim, I thought I'd work on a combination of blackberry and mascarpone, with honey as sweetener. The mascarpone provided a rich and creamy texture that made up for the lack of a custard base.

In order to capture the flavor and color of the blackberries, I reduced two full cups of freshly picked berries into a jammy, concentrated sauce.

After passing it through a fine mesh sieve, I had a wonderfully dark and fruity puree. It smelled just like ripe fruit on the vine.

The vibrant purple color that it imparted to the honey mascarpone base was an added bonus. Isn't it striking?

Wherever you are, if you're enjoying those languid, warm summer days...grab a bowl and find yourself a blackberry bush. Pick two cups, and eat the rest with sticky fingers. Make this ice cream before the last of summer slips from your grasp.

Ingredients

• Corn syrup - The small amount of corn syrup in the blackberry puree is there to help keep it from turning icy and hard when frozen.
  • Corn syrup is classified as an invert sugar, which means it is less likely to crystallize.
  • You can certainly omit it if you'd prefer, but the final consistency might be altered from what you see here.

• Mascarpone - After making several desserts with mascarpone, I've found that mixing mascarpone is a sensitive business. It's very high in butterfat and you can easily overmix it, resulting in a grainy or curdled texture. To avoid this, keep mascarpone cold and combine with other ingredients that are similar temperatures.
  • In this case, leave the mascarpone in the fridge until you need it. Don't bring it to room temperature first. Keep the heavy cream and milk in the fridge until you are ready to add them.
  • When combining them, be gentle and patient. Frenzied whisking might negatively affect the texture of the mascarpone. If this does occur, rest assured it won't affect the taste of the final product and you can still proceed.

Technique

This recipe incorporates the blackberry puree by folding it into the churned honey mascarpone base.

Transfer the just-churned ice cream to a large mixing bowl and pour all the blackberry puree on top. Using a spatula, gently fold the mixture several times to partially incorporat the puree.

Small areas of white honey mascarpone should remain. Mix until the purple puree appears approximately 50-75% blended. Pouring it into the loaf pan (or other freezer safe container) will further mix the two together.

📖 Recipe

If you liked this honey blackberry mascarpone ice cream, you might also enjoy:

Lemon Mascarpone Ice Cream with Currant Swirl

Honey Orange Cheesecake with Figs and Rosemary Almond Crust

Pink Apple Tart with Cream Cheese Filling