Cheesecake Ice Cream

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh lemon zest or 2 teaspoons fresh orange zest
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 3 graham crackers, crumbled

Recipe

• 1 in a bowl, beat the sugar and cream cheese until smooth and creamy; beat in the egg and vanilla; set aside.
• 2 bring the milk to a boil in a medium saucepan; slowly beat the hot milk into the cheese mixture.
• 3 pour the entire mixture back into the pan and place over low heat.
• 4 stir constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon until the custard thickens slightly (don’t let the mixture boil or the egg will scramble).
• 5 remove pan from heat and pour the hot custard through a strainer into a large clean bowl.
• 6 let the custard cool slightly, then stir in the lemon zest and cream.
• 7 cover and refrigerate until cold or overnight.
• 8 stir the chilled custard; freeze in 1 or 2 batches in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions, adding the crumbled graham crackers to the machine when the ice cream is semifrozen; allow the machine to mix in the crackers.
• 9 when finished, the ice cream will be soft but ready to eat.
• 10 for firmer ice cream, transfer mixture to a freezer-safe container and freeze several hours.
• 11 * chocolate cheesecake ice cream: omit the lemon zest; add ½ cup melted chocolate to the custard along with the vanilla; proceed as directed.
• 12 *oreo cheesecake ice cream: omit the lemon zest; substitute crumbled oreos for the graham crackers; proceed as directed.