This pear and blue cheese ice-cream was inspired by an ice-cream that I tried at Salt & Straw in Portland earlier this year. It might sound like and odd combination at first, ill suited to ice-cream but when you try it you’ll soon realise just how well it all comes together. The beauty of this ice-cream is how the mild blue cheese flavour is complimented by the sweetness of the roasted pears, resulting in a semi-sweet yet savory ice-cream which is great paired with a small glass of muscat or topaque.
Preparation Time: 20 minutes / Cooking Time: 10 minutes / Waiting Time: About 3 hours / Makes 1.5 litres
Ingredients
- 200g caster sugar
- 300ml full cream milk
- 1.2L thickened cream
- 2 large (56g) eggs
- 150g Philadelphia cream cheese
- 150g mild blue cheese
- 4 pears, peeled and cut in half
Method
- Place the cream cheese, cream, blue cheese, milk, and sugar into a heavy bottom pot and whisk with an electric beater.
- Add the eggs and cream and continue to whisk for 5 minutes.
- Place the pot onto the stove on a medium heat. Stir regularly to stop the cream cheese sticking to the pot.
- Heat the cream to 60°C and hold it at this temperature for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
- Strain the mixture.
- Refrigerate the mixture for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C
- While the mixture is chilling, place the pear on a lined tray and bake at 220°C for 30 minutes.
- Remove the pears from the oven and cut into 1cm cubes. Allow to cool.
- Transfer the mixture into an ice-cream maker and churn as per the manufacturers instructions.
- Once the ice-cream has churned, mix in the pear cubes.
- Place the ice-cream into the freezer for at least 2 hours, and enjoy.
Notes
This ice-cream is a great alternative to the classic cheese platter to finish off a meal.