Saskatoon Ice Cream

Ever had a Saskatoon berry? They are close to a blueberry but still not a blueberry. The taste is quite tangy. We usually use the berries from our tree to make jam or pie (see our recipe Saskatoon Pie HERE) but this year I wanted to try something different. 

Let me tell you... they make for an incredibly tasty ice cream. The flavor is quite mild and would pair up beautifully with a vanilla or angel food cake for a light summer dessert. And the color? SO pretty! 

Saskatoon Ice Cream

Ingredients

4 cups Saskatoon berries, fresh

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp water

2 cups whipping cream

1/2 cup sugar

4 egg yolks, beaten

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 cup half and half

Directions

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, Cook the berries, 1/4 cup sugar, and water until berries start breaking up and are soft. You can squish the berries around as you stir. 

Once cooked, transfer the puree to a blender and process until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine, mesh strainer. This should yield you about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of puree. Set it aside. 

In the saucepan, heat the whipping cream and sugar until steaming, stirring the whole time. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks and salt. When the cream is steaming, slowly whisk it into the egg yolk - whisking the entire time. Be sure to do this slowly so as not to cook the eggs. Pour the egg/cream mixture back into the pan and place back over medium-low heat. Cook and stir, until mixture thickens to coat the back of a spoon. 

Place the lemon juice and half and half in a bowl. Stir in the Saskatoon puree. 

Place the strainer over this and pour the hot egg/cream mixture through the strainer to get out any cooked egg bits. Stir well to combine. 

Chill ice cream base for at least 3 hours. When thoroughly chilled, place in ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's directions. 

Place in freezer when done. 

You can sprinkle with a few more berries to add a little more color. 

It can freeze a bit hard so just let it sit out at room temp for 5 minutes before serving. 

I used 1 1/2 cups of Saskatoon puree but you can use up to 2 cups. Any more than that you will want to save for another use OR you could even swirl it into the ice cream after churning. 

How do you use up your Saskatoons?