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The dream combination of rhubarb pie and luscious homemade ice cream!
One of the best parts of summer is the excuse to bring out the ice cream maker and start whipping up homemade ice cream in every flavor you can imagine! I love experimenting with what goes great in ice cream, and as I'm sure you can imagine, everyone in the family is a pretty big fan, too.
One of my all-time favorites? Sweet-and-tart fresh Rhubarb, simmered into a pink and delicious rhubarb compote before being swirled into a rich vanilla custard base. The tart rhubarb beautifully complements the sweet and creamy ice cream, making for a flavor combo you'll want to keep coming back to!
Looking for a dessert with even more luscious flavor? Add a few sliced strawberries into the compote for a strawberry rhubarb pie ice cream. It's exactly as amazing as it sounds!
Jump to:
- The dream combination of rhubarb pie and luscious homemade ice cream!
- What is Rhubarb, and what is it good for?
- Ingredients for Rhubarb Ice Cream
- How to Make Homemade Ice Cream with Rhubarb
- Also try...
- Isabel's Favorite Summer Treats
- Homemade Ice Cream Tips
- How to Store Homemade Ice Cream
- FAQ
- Delicious Rhubarb Recipes
- Rhubarb Ice Cream
- Reviews
What is Rhubarb, and what is it good for?
Rhubarb is a pink and green stalk often sold in spring and summer, during its growing season. It has a bright and tart flavor that pairs beautifully with sweeter ingredients like sugar, cream, and (famously) strawberries or other berries.
If you've been following me for long, it may not come as a surprise that rhubarb is one of my favorite summer flavors! You just can't beat that sour tang combined with sweet pies, cookies, and more. I even like it in a savory rhubarb chutney. It's a classic, rustic ingredient I hope never goes out of style!
Ingredients for Rhubarb Ice Cream
- Fresh Rhubarb: Fresh, whole rhubarb stems will have the brightest flavor! I often find them at local farm stalls, but you can get them at the grocery store while they're in season, too.
- White Sugar: I wouldn't recommend other sweeteners for ice cream. White sugar will have the cleanest flavor!
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream is a necessity for unbelievably creamy, luscious ice cream! It's balanced with whole milk for a perfect consistency.
- Whole Milk: Whole milk helps balance out the thick, rich cream, and helps temper the eggs!
- Egg Yolks: Egg yolks are what set apart custard-style ice cream! They add a beautiful golden color and an incredibly rich and creamy texture that's totally worth the extra effort. Get them local and pasture-raised for the best flavor.
- Vanilla: You can use imitation vanilla, vanilla extract, vanilla beans, or vanilla bean paste! I used extract, but if you're using whole beans, slice them down the middle first and add them into the heating milk to infuse it with flavor.
- Water: You'll need just a few tablespoons of water to cook down the rhubarb into a thick compote!
- Salt: I like adding just a pinch of salt to ice cream to help balance the flavors.
Isabel's Top Tip
This recipe uses a French-style custard ice cream base, but you can make it with an egg-free Philadelphia style base, too! Adjust as you see fit! I prefer the richness of the French base, but the Philadelphia style is certainly a lot easier.
How to Make Homemade Ice Cream with Rhubarb
1: Make the Compote
Combine the rhubarb and half the sugar in a small saucepan with 1 Tablespoon of water over medium-high heat, and let it soften to a fall-apart paste. Add more water as needed until it's super soft but not runny, then add it to a blender.
2: Mix the Egg Yolks, Divide Cream
Place the egg yolks, unbroken, into a large bowl. It's okay if they break, but try to avoid it!
3: Heat the Milk
Combine the remaining heavy cream, the milk, salt, and the rest of the sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat until it's starting to steam, mixing in the sugar until dissolved.
4: Temper the Eggs
Strain the hot milk mixture into a separate bowl. Using a teaspoon measure, add the hot milk into the egg yolks a teaspoon at a time, then once most of it is added, mix the yolks in until the mixture is creamy and golden yellow.
5: Heat the Custard
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan, and add in the vanilla. Continue cooking over medium-low heat until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, no more than 160°F. You want to be very careful to constantly mix it so there's no chance of it getting chunky! (strain it, blend w/ rhubarb, chill 8 hr, churn)
6: Strain and Blend
Remove the custard from the heat once thickened, and pour it through a fine-mesh strainer into the blender with the rhubarb compote. Blend until well-mixed! You can add a drop of red food coloring for extra pink color if you want.
7: Chill until Completely Cool
Place the mixture in a bowl (or keep it in the blender!) and cover it with plastic wrap, then place it in the fridge. Let it chill until it's completely cool, 4-8 hours. It won't churn at all if it's not cold! If it's still too hot to put in the fridge, quick-chill it in an ice bath.
8: Churn and Serve!
Once the custard mix has chilled, pour it into the basin of your ice cream maker and churn according to your mixer's instructions. Then scrape it into a pint-sized loaf pan, and enjoy!
Isabel's Favorite Summer Treats
Homemade Ice Cream Tips
- Completely chill the custard before adding it to the ice cream machine! If it's still warm, it won't churn and runs the risk of melting the ice in the machine.
- Add more flavors! Homemade ice cream is the perfect blank canvas for making your dream flavor. I recommend adding chunks of pre-baked pie crust, candied pecans, and sliced strawberries! You can swirl in my Strawberry Rhubarb Jam at the end of the churning process for an even more beautiful scoop of ice cream.
- Be patient with tempering the eggs. It takes a while to add in all the milk and cream, but the slow process ensures that the resulting custard is dreamily smooth and creamy.
How to Store Homemade Ice Cream
My favorite way to store homemade ice cream is in a loaf pan! It's pretty much the perfect size for a pint of ice cream and the metal sides keep the ice cream nice and cold. Pour it in directly out of the machine, then cover it tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 4 months!
FAQ
You can absolutely make this ice cream without any egg yolks by making a Philadelphia-style ice cream base, which is made by leaving out the eggs entirely and just mixing together the milk, cream, vanilla, sugar, and salt, then chilling and churning it. It won't be as rich and creamy, but it's incredibly fast!
You can, but the ingredients will be fairly different to get the right kind of consistency. I recommend using canned full-fat coconut creme instead of heavy cream, and your favorite nondairy milk instead of whole milk. Mix it with the vanilla, salt and sugar, then blend with the compote, chill, and churn!
Delicious Rhubarb Recipes
Rhubarb Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh rhubarb - sliced into one inch pieces
- 1 cup sugar - divided
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 4 egg yolks
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine the rhubarb and half the sugar in a small saucepan with 1 Tablespoon of water over medium-high heat, and let it soften to a fall-apart paste. Add more water as needed until it's super soft but not runny, then add it to a blender.
- Place the egg yolks, unbroken, into a large bowl. It's okay if they break, but try to avoid it!
- Combine the remaining heavy cream, the milk, salt, and the rest of the sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat until it's starting to steam, mixing in the sugar until dissolved.
- Strain the hot milk mixture into a separate bowl. Using a teaspoon measure, add the hot milk into the egg yolks a teaspoon at a time, then once most of it is added, mix the yolks in until the mixture is creamy and golden yellow.
- Pour the mixture back into the saucepan, and add in the vanilla. Continue cooking over medium-low heat until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, no more than 160°F. You want to be very careful to constantly mix it so there's no chance of it getting chunky!
- Remove the custard from the heat once thickened, and pour it through a fine-mesh strainer into the blender with the rhubarb compote. Blend until well-mixed! You can add a drop of red food coloring for extra pink color if you want.
- Place the mixture in a bowl (or keep it in the blender!) and cover it with plastic wrap, then place it in the fridge. Let it chill until it's completely cool, 4-8 hours. It won't churn at all if it's not cold! If it's still too hot to put in the fridge, quick-chill it in an ice bath.
- Once the custard mix has chilled, pour it into the basin of your ice cream maker and churn according to your mixer's instructions. Then scrape it into a pint-sized loaf pan, and enjoy!
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