Blueberry Mojito Ice Cream
Fashioned after a favorite adult treat, this Blueberry Mojito Ice Cream is a cocktail and a dessert rolled into one!
When I was queried about my interest in participating in a group review of a new book which is all about ice cream with a giveaway of the book to our readers too (after the recipe) I couldn’t put my hand up fast enough. I have to give Cuisinart some credit for this almost knee jerk reaction; without one of their new ice cream makers I would not be quite so enthused. Not having to mess with ice and salt has changed my ice cream life dramatically and it is all good! I have also fallen in love with my choice of Blueberry Mojito Ice Cream but it was not love at first sight!
The book ‘Scoop Adventures‘ arrived and I couldn’t wait to peruse it and see what fun things could be had. Since the author indicated on the front book jacket that this volume is comprised of ‘The Best Ice Cream of the 50 States; I immediately scooted over to see what was from Colorado and found a recipe for Colorado Sour Cherry Ice Cream. Whoa…wait. What? Sour Cherries?
While prolific on the Western slope of the Rockies, they are not so easy to find here in Denver so I was unsure about that choice. Bing cherries are now showing up in abundance but sour cherries are much fewer and farther between so never a guarantee that a trip to the market will result in acquiring these beauties.
As fate would have it, we were given an assortment of recipes from the book that were authorized for us to use and this one was not included. Sort of left me off the hook and for that I was grateful!
Now what? Well, as it turns out the author, Lindsay Clendaniel had hoped we would make some of her creations and had provided a list of suggestions. And that was it. Done and done. You know how sometimes it’s a given; something is so perfect for you? That was me and this recipe for Blueberry Mojito Ice Cream. I do have a reputation you know?
Truth is that as much as I love to create and share cocktails, I also love adding different liquors and liqueurs to foods too. If you picture me in my kitchen with messy, stained clothes and disheveled hair while I work on any multitude of concoctions you might be right…but I really don’t do it with a cocktail always in my right hand!
I might allude, kid, josh and more but, sit down for this one, I really don’t drink a lot. Only with friends and well, the occasional margarita I’ve made in the morning for the blog because after all, it does have juice in it! I do it all for my readers, fans, friends and family; you know, I don’t want to disappoint!
So I set out to make this cocktail as an ice cream. It actually had a fair number of steps; not hard but a bit timely. Fair warning; start this on Friday if you want to serve it on Saturday; there is a fair amount of freezing time involved so unless you’re starting at 5am it would be pushing it to expect it done and sufficiently chilled by evening dessert.
The milk is infused with mint (glad I planted some in a pot? Yes. Should I have planted more? Yes, yes, yes!) which is then combined in a blender with cooked and softened berries and cooled. Before processing in the ice cream maker rum and a lime simple syrup are added and again off to the chiller. There are no chunks of blueberry in this smooth ice cream so save yourself a small handful of berries for garnishing each bowl.
Is it good? I had some still sitting out after finishing the photo shoot when my friend Sandy arrived. I was going to fix a quick dinner for us but she wanted a bite. And then another bite. And then, well, you know what happened right? Hey, if we can’t eat ice cream BEFORE dinner when we’re adults, really what is the point?
What I loved about this ice cream is that it is for adults only. Not because of the rum; alcohol in ice cream has to be kept to such a miniscule amount or it will inhibit freezing. No what I loved was the fact that it wasn’t screaming with sugar; it had that ever so tart bite from the berries and the lime and that was good. I added a small handful of fresh berries for garnish and it was downright perfect!
Speaking of Lindsay? Take a peek at her blog at Scoop Adventures or head over to visit her on Twitter and Facebook. She is passionate about ice cream and it shows.
Want more? Here is a list of what other bloggers have done from the book…this should keep you busy with ice cream making all summer long! You can check out their tweets at #ICTScoopAdventures too and get to know them! For these and other ice cream treats you can also visit Jenni Field’s ‘Ice Cream Tuesday‘ Pinterest Board for LOTS of inspiration. You’ll want to make ice cream all summer too!
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- Berry Goat Cheese Sherbet from Kimberly at Hungry Goddess
- Dark Chocolate Orange Ice Cream from Allison at Decadent Philistines Save the World
- Chocolate Truffle Ice Cream from Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream from Dionne at Try Anything Once
- Hops and Nuts Ice Cream from Sophia at NY Foodgasm
- Chocolate Coconut Macadamia Ice Cream from Betsy at Desserts Required
- Peanut Butter Ice Cream from Donna at Cookistry
- Thai Coconut Ice Cream from Stacy at Food Lust People Love
- Red Velvet Ice Cream Sundae from Kim at Cravings of a Lunatic
PIN IT ‘Blueberry Mojito Ice Cream’
Blueberry Mojito Ice Cream
Ingredients
For the Lime Syrup:
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ¼ cup sugar
For the Ice Cream Base:
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup whole milk divided
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
- ¼ cup packed mint leaves
- 1 ½ Tbsp white rum
Instructions
To Make the Lime Syrup:
- Combine the lime juice and the sugar in a small sauce pan and heat over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved; 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat, pour into a small bowl and refrigerate until completely cool.
To Make the Ice Cream Base:
- Combine the blueberries and the sugar in a small saucepan. Warm over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is simmering and slightly reduced and the berries release their juices. Remove the pan from heat and set aside.
- In a small bowl combine 2 Tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch, whisk and set aside.
- Combine the remaining milk and cream in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. When the mixture is hot and begins to bubble, remove from the heat, add the mint and steep at room temperature for 20 minutes. Pour the mint infused milk into a bowl through a fine meshed sieve, pressing on the back of the mint with a wooden spoon to extract as much flavor as possible.
- Fill a large bowl with ice water.
- Return the mint infused milk to a medium saucepan and bring it to a low boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture.
- Return to a boil and cook over moderately high heat until the mixture is slightly thickened; about 30 seconds.Remove the the heat and pour into a medium bowl.
- Set the bowl into the ice water bath to cool for about 20 minutes, whisking occasionally.
- Combine the blueberry mixture with the cooled cream base in a blender and blend until the berries are fully incorporated.
- Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Whisk the chilled ice cream base and add the lime syrup and rum. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
Nutrition
This is delicious!! We made a dairy-free version with coconut milk to replace both the milk and cream, and cold-infused the mint for 2 days. We don’t always manage to plan ahead that far but it worked out beautifully. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks too for your method for someone who doesn’t drink dairy, great idea.
I can’t wait for my blueberries to ripen so I can make this with my very own berries and mint! This sounds so cool and refreshing. I could use a bowl of this today!
That would be especially fulfilling Dionne; I used my own mint but no blueberries anywhere in sight. Lucky you!
Wow, Barb! This ice cream sounds so amazing and your photos are beautiful. Just pinned!!
Thanks so much Lisa; it really was wonderful. The sweet compliment…icing on the ice cream! 🙂
Love this, Barb, and I want to steal that ice cream scoop – that’s really cool looking! The ice cream sounds amazing, too!
I found the scoop on Ebay. I did a quick search and my biggest surprise was how inexpensive it was…they must have made a ton of them!
Can’t help loving the nostalgia of mint chocolate chip
I liked Scoop Adventures
I would have to say my fave ice cream has become Bourbon Brown Sugar and I get raves every time I make it
Yum! Would you share that recipe? I would love to try it; I’m loving fresh peaches right now and know they would make an amazing sauce for it!
I’d have to choose those elusive cherries you mentioned. GREG
Patience grasshopper. As soon as I find some; it will be done!
It would be hard for me to choose between homemade raspberry and s’more ice cream. They’re both winners!
Lovely ice cream and what a perfect flavor for you! I’ve had ice cream on my mind this week and keep meaning to break out the ice cream machine. I am making progress, the container is now frozen in the freezer and ready to go…next step is to choose a flavor. Maybe strawberry this weekend?
Sounds downright dangerous, Barb. But it also looks downright beautiful. I love anything with chocolate, but I made blueberry last year and it was pretty good! Of course, probably not as good as yours!
My favorite ice cream is chocolate with chocolate brownie chunks in it! It’s the perfect combination for a chocolate lover.
I ‘Liked’ Scoop Adventures Facebook page!
I Love home made vanilla bean ice cream! Yummo!!
Scoop Adventures on FB, liked!
Favorite ice cream, hmm… peanut butter with cocoa nibs? Vietnamese coffee with crushed Heath bar and caramel sauce? Old school cookies and cream? Or maybe vanilla with chocolate covered waffle chunks and caramel swirls? Sorry, there’s no way I can just choose one.
What is the point really? I could not agree more! Beside which, this is healthy, right? Lots of calcium in the milk and cream, antioxidants in the blueberries, vitamin C in the lime juice! Gorgeous photos, Barb! Putting this one of my list of Lindsay’s ice creams to try.
I’m trying to get my head around blueberry mojito and I’m dying to taste it. It sure looks good.
It’s hard to have too much mint, isn’t it? Although planting it in pots is smarts — ours is trying to take over our whole yard! Love the idea of a mojito ice cream — my kind of flavor. 😉 Thanks for this.
Here’s a trick I used that worked for 20 years at my old home John and what I’ll do when I get ready to plant an herb garden. Get a 5 gallon paint bucket from Home Depot; dig a hole the size of the bucket, remove the handles, put the bucket in the hole and fill it with potting soil/dirt mix. Plant your mint in the bucket; except for a few runners that might try to catch hold from cascading stems; it will stop it from spreading.
Oh my! How absolutely divine!
Like your friend Sandy, I don’t think I would have had the patience to wait until after dinner for this neither. A lovely looking dessert *cocktail* ice cream for sure.
You are speaking my language…booze and ice cream. Oh, yes, and the sacrifices bloggers make like margaritas in the morning! I love the gorgeous color of this ice cream, too!
It sounds amazing, Barb! The rum, the touch of tartness, the lovely color! I’ll take a large scoop, please 🙂
Can I just say – yum, yum, yum!! My blueberries are all coming ripe right now and I’ve been wondering what might be the perfect recipe for them. This!
I like Scoop on FB!
I love mint chocolate chip!
Mint Chocolate Chip!!
And I just followed Scoop Adventures on Facebook!
This ice cream looks so delicious. The perfect dessert for 4th of July. Great post and beautiful photos!
What a wonderful recipe! I recently blogged about how much I love making ice cream, and it would be wonderful to have a new cookbook to delve into.
Now that’s an inspired flavor!
OMG Barb this looks sooooo soooooo soooo good! I am psyched you also went for the boozy selection, at least I’m not the only one 😉
I liked Scoop Adventures on facebook:
Joey J.
Thanks!
This looks delicious!!
I have so many favorites lol..But I think homemade butter pecan ice cream is my favorite!
Thank you for the chance to win!!
Joey
Your ice cream creation looks beautiful! And eating ice cream for dinner is one of the perks of being a grown up. My favorite flavor is good old “boring” vanilla topped with fresh fruit.
This came out GORGEOUS! I will raise my glass and say cheers!
Thanks so much and Cheers!
Barb, you are Ever Selfless, making boozy creations for us! And margarita for breakfast sounds perfectly reasonable to me! This ice cream really does sound just about perfect–hooray!
Oh yes that is me all around! I need friends around to share so I CAN make all the boozy treats! 🙂