Fresh whole milk ricotta blended into a rich and creamy egg-free ice cream. Sweetened only with honey and infused with lemon thyme, this ricotta ice cream is luscious and aromatic. Serve topped with warm vanilla peaches for a summer sundae to celebrate National Ice Cream Month this July!
The repetitive hum of rock salt spinning in an old wooden ice cream maker was my soundtrack to backyard parties in July in the mid 1990s. When I finally got my own ice cream maker nearly 20 years later, I was no stranger to homemade ice cream. Only back then, we ate it soft like frozen yogurt, straight from the metal churning bowl. Ice cream soup. I've since upgraded my mom to her own KitchenAid stand mixer ice cream maker attachment just like mine so we no longer have to throw barbecues just for an excuse to churn ice cream on the back porch.
In collaboration with Rodelle, I'm celebrating National Ice Cream Month with this homemade honey and lemon thyme ricotta ice cream. And by celebrating, I mean making and eating ice cream all month long.
I'm on a ricotta spree right now - the kind where you go to the market for all the things, but come home with a basket of ricotta for dinner instead. I think I'm making up for lost time, all the years of my life where I didn't much care for ricotta (and always said I hated that chalky texture of cooked ricotta). That was the old me. The one who hadn't yet discovered fresh whole milk ricotta and its stretchy pillowy texture that's almost burrata-like.
The new me finds excuses to eat ricotta for every meal/snack of the day. Blended into ice cream, fresh ricotta gives a unique slightly savory taste and achieves a creamy texture without an egg custard.
With only ¼ cup of honey and 2 tablespoons of cane sugar, I've kept this ice cream only mildly sweet so you can taste each of the components - ricotta, lemon thyme, honey, and vanilla bean. To get in the full summer spirit, I topped the scoops with warm ripe peaches flecked with vanilla bean. And it all feels so indulgent.
Infusing whole vanilla beans into ice cream or cooking it with fresh peaches adds a deep creamy sweet note that's definitely worth the investment.
If you're new to using whole vanilla beans, here's a quick video Alanna and I made for Rodelle a couple years ago:
With so little sugar in this batch, I reasoned, I couldn't help but sneak a couple first bites of ice cream to Zoella. Though she doesn't have much anything to compare it to, one bite of this ricotta ice cream and she started dancing around the room. Grooving to the sweet subtle marriage of honey, vanilla bean, and cheese (her favorite).
Though to be fair, T Swift's Shake it Off was also on the stereo and that's her summer jam (17 months old - going on 16 years). Whenever that specific song comes on (often), Zo hollers for everyone to join her while she bounces, twirls, and kicks her feet in rhythm. While she may not grow up with a summer rock salt soundtrack, this kid's got homemade honey & lemon thyme ricotta ice cream served in her great-great grandma's pink dessert cups and T Swift family dance parties to fill her July memories.
What's your ice cream & song summer beat combo?
Disclosure: Special thanks to Rodelle for sponsoring this post! Find more Rodelle inspiration on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. And thanks to you for supporting the brands that keep Snixy Kitchen cooking.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- 4-6 sprigs fresh lemon thyme, or regular thyme works too!
- 1 whole vanilla bean, scraped
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 12 ounces (1-⅔ cups) fresh whole milk ricotta, (I like Bellwether Farms)
- 3 tablespoons full-fat cream cheese (blocked), room temperature
- ½ teaspoon flaky salt, such as maldon
- 1 tablespoon vodka, optional
- 3 medium peaches
- ½ tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ tablespoon honey
- 1 whole vanilla bean, scraped
INSTRUCTIONS
Honey & Lemon Thyme Ricotta Ice Cream
- Whisk the corn starch in a small bowl with about 3 tablespoons of the milk to make smooth slurry. Set aside.
- Bring remaining ¾ cups + 1 tablespoon whole milk and heavy whipping cream to boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat, add the fresh thyme and vanilla bean seeds and pod, cover, and let steep for 20 minutes.
- Strain the milk into a heat proof bowl to remove the thyme and vanilla bean. Scrape the inside of the warm vanilla bean into the milk and cream. Return the steeped milk and cream to the saucepan.
- Give the corn starch slurry one last whisk to make sure it's completely incorporated. Slowly whisk the corn starch slurry into the milk and cream saucepan, and bring it back to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Cook, stirring, until it thickens about 1 minute.
- Pour in the honey and sugar, stirring just until it dissolves. Remove from heat.
- Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice cubes and water.
- Add the honeyed milk to a blender or food processor with fresh ricotta, cream cheese, vodka, and salt. Blend until completely smooth.
- Pour the ice cream base into a large 1-gallon Ziploc bag. Seal it and submerge the mixture in the ice bath until cold, about 30 minutes.
- Churn according to the manufacturer's instructions and freeze over night.
- Serve with warm vanilla peaches.
Vanilla Peaches
- Peel the peaches. Either do this with a vegetable peeler or blanch the peaches in boiling water for 20 seconds, dunk them in an ice bath, and slide the skin off. Slice into 8-12 wedges.
- Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add the peaches, honey, and vanilla bean scrapings. Cook just until the honey melts and the peaches begin to soften, 3-5 minutes.
- Serve warm or cold over scoops of ice cream.
Jennifer R -
Love the sound of all these fresh ingredients! Is there any way to make it with less fat? If I substitute the whole milk for an almond milk or something of that nature, I'd think that would be okay, but I'd like to substitute the cream cheese and heavy whipping cream with something heathier....any suggestions? Thanks!
Sarah Menanix -
The problem with subbing out for fat is that you really need fat to make ice cream creamy - without it, the ice cream will be icier and harder to scoop. You could sub out the heavy cream and whipped cream for coconut cream and sub out the whole milk for full-fat coconut milk. I'm not sure if this solves the fat issue though because both of those necessarily have fat in them to make the ice cream creamy. If you do use almond milk, for example, it will still be icy, I would definitely use the vodka to keep it softer for scooping!
Melanie Adams -
I literally bought the ice cream maker attachment for my kitchen aid so I can make this. Can’t wait!
Erin Clarkson -
Yummmmmm this looks SO amazing! I love ricotta so much, I can only imagine blended into ice cream how epic it would be. I got sucked into buying a lemon thyme plant at the market the other day and it's just been sitting there looking at me - maybe it needs to go into this!
x
Rachael @ Rachael's Foodie Life -
Oh my this ice cream looks beyond amazing! i need to make this asap!!
Trina Smith -
Oh yum! This is definitely giving me a sugar rush crush! Thanks
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christiann koepke -
Ok ricotta and ice cream -- CANNOT go wrong!!! This look soooo good. Must make soon! -CK
Karen @ The Food Charlatan -
Haha I need video of Zoella dancing to TSwift!! And eating ice cream please :)
Alanna -
Rodelle vanilla is THE BEST and this ice cream is pure heaven! I grew up with the rock salt ice cream maker for summer family parties too. Also, Bellwether ricotta is EVERYTHING.
Carla -
Feeding this to me twice just made me want it more than any other ice cream. MAKING IT. The ricotta is PERFECT.