Lemon Verbena Goat Cheese Ice Cream with Blackberry Sauce

By Cannelloni&Cayenne • August 26, 2012 • 0 Comments

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Author Notes: This is an adaptation on Jeni's ice cream base - goat cheese paired with a rich, fruit-intense blackberry sauce. I'm granulated sugar-free these days, so I've utilized coconut palm sugar here; it has a richer, more complex flavor than white sugar and works to mellow out the goat cheese. The lemon verbena serves as a nice accent flavor to the goat cheese, and complements the blackberry sauce with a bright lift. - Cannelloni&Cayenne

Makes 1 quart

2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch, plus 1 teaspoon
4 ounces goat cheese, mild
3 tablespoons cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
2/3 cups sugar (I used coconut palm sugar)
1 tablespoon lemon verbena leaves, torn

In a small bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch. Whisk together the goat cheese, cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.
In a large saucepan, combine the remaining milk, cream and sugar. Bring to a boil, boil for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and add lemon verbena leaves; let steep 10 minutes.
Bring mixture back to a boil, then remove from heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring to a boil, and stir until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Gradually whisk the ice cream base into the goat cheese mixture until smooth. Pour into a 1-gallon freezer bag and submerge in the ice bath for 30 minutes.
To make the blackberry sauce: Combine 2 cups of fresh blackberries with 3/4 cup sugar (again, I used coconut palm sugar) and bring to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Let cool completely (can make ahead).
Pour the ice cream base into your ice cream machine and run until thick, about 25-30 minutes.
When ice cream has frozen, pack into a storage container, alternating layers of ice cream with pools of blackberry sauce (make sure to scoop some sauce into the base of the container.) Freeze at least 4 hours; enjoy!