No Churn Lemon Curd Ice Cream

Consider this recipe a farewell to this summer’s berry season, a final hurrah if you will. I can’t believe February (and summer) are almost over already, this year is already flying by! Berries are making way for stone fruit, figs and grapes, and soon we’ll be seeing new season autumn fruit like pears and apples. While I can’t play favourites with summer fruit (I love it all), blueberries are right up there, and a cobbler is a delicious way to serve them.

Unfussy, perfect for a crowd, with just a few simple accompaniments and a baked top that is half way between an American style biscuit and a cake. I really meant it when I said I’d be happy to only bake these kinds of fruit/pastry desserts for the rest of time!! But of course, this recipe can be adapted to almost any fruit. Nectarines or peaches would be quite lovely here too I think.

This recipe comes courtesy of The Bucket List on Sydney’s famous Bondi beach via February’s issue of Gourmet Traveller. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to make it! The clam bake story was beautifully photographed and actually made me wish I liked clams… Anyone who knows me, knows about my aversion to oysters, mussels and clams. And as someone who used to dislike all seafood I’ve come a long way in the last 5 years, but I can’t imagine ever enjoying eating an oyster!!

I scaled the recipe back as I only had two punnets of blueberries in the fridge, but kept roughly the same quantity of booze and vanilla. I was intrigued when I saw dark rum in the mixture as I’d never thought to pair it with blueberries, but it was really delicious.

Something else that goes wonderfully with blueberries is lemon, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to try out the lemon curd ice cream recipe that had been floating around in my head. I truly love that my favourite no churn ice cream can be adapted soooo many different ways, and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to go back to making proper custard based ice cream!

I hope you have all enjoyed the summer as much as I have, and can make the most of the late season fruits in a recipe like this one soon!

Blueberry Cobbler with No Churn Lemon Curd Ice Cream

Adapted from Gourmet Traveller
Serves 4

Lemon Curd Ice Cream

2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
165g caster sugar
80g chilled butter
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups cream

Cobbler topping

60g plain flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
20g unsalted butter
1/4 cup raw caster sugar
1 egg
20ml buttermilk
Raw sugar (extra) and cinnamon for scattering on top
Icing sugar, to serve

Blueberry Mixture

350g blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 tablespoon raw caster sugar
1 tablespoon plain flour
1 tablespoon dark rum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract

To make the lemon curd, whisk whole eggs, yolks and sugar in a saucepan until smooth, then place pan over a low heat. Add the butter, juice and zest and whisk continuously until thickened. Strain through a sieve into a sterilised jar. Lemon curd keeps, covered, in the fridge for 2 weeks. You will need 1 cup of lemon curd to make the ice cream.

To make the ice cream, place the condensed milk into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold the cream into the condensed milk with a spatula until incorporated. Place 1/4 of the cream mixture into a loaf pan or container and then place dollops of lemon curd on top. Swirl with a skewer or chopstick, and then repeat with more cream and more lemon curd. Freeze overnight.

To make the cobbler topping, preheat the oven to 180°C. Sift flour and baking powder together in a small bowl. Beat butter and raw caster sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg, beat to combine, and then add half the flour mixture and beat to combine. Add buttermilk, remaining flour mixture, beat until smooth and set aside.

To make the blueberry mixture, combine all ingredients in a bowl, stir to combine and then spoon into an ovenproof dish. Dollop over the cobbler topping batter. Sprinkle top with sugar and cinnamon. Bake until golden on top and a skewer inserted into the batter withdraws clean – about 30-40 minutes. Dust with icing sugar, and serve warm with lemon curd ice cream.

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