no churn roasted rhubarb and vanilla bean ice cream
Why yes, I’m still on a roll with rhubarb recipes! I have a few more up my sleeves, and will continue to share them over the next few weeks. However, rhubarb can be replaced by most fruit as well! In this recipe for example, you could simply use any roasted fruit if you’d like! On our farm, we just mowed down our rhubarb field after the first big harvest of the season to help it start fresh (and also control the weeds!). So sad that I’ll go a couple weeks without rhubarb, but I love that it means we’ll have a fresh crop for July and into August. Hurray!!
Now today we’re talking about a simple no churn vanilla bean ice cream with roasted rhubarb chunks mixed in. Seriously amazing! The sweetness of the vanilla base combined with the tartness of the roasted rhubarb is a match made in heaven. It is so quick to whip up, and just needs a few hours of chilling time before serving. And if you’d prefer a custard based ice cream (with egg yolks to make it creamy!), I have an ice cream machine version of roasted strawberry rhubarb ice cream HERE.
Because of the high rhubarb content (and therefore water content!), this ice cream may get a bit icy if stored for more than a week or two! So I suggest enjoying it within a few days of making it for the best experience.
no churn roasted rhubarb & vanilla bean ice cream
recipe: Kelsey Siemens
ingredients
roasted rhubarb
1 cup diced rhubarb (approx 1/2 inch cubes)
1 tablespoon sugar
ice cream base
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
2 cups whipping cream
1 vanilla bean pod (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
pinch of salt
roasted rhubarb (from above)
directions
to make the roasted rhubarb
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Dice the rhubarb into 1/2 inch cubes, and transfer the the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until a fork can pierce the rhubarb easily. Remove and allow to cool completely. Rhubarb may be stored in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.
to make the ice cream base
In a medium bowl, whip the whipping cream on high speed until medium-soft peaks form.
Note: I prefer slightly underwhipping my cream - if you overwhip and move towards a butter texture, you’ll end up with a very strange mouthfeel from the fat in the cream changing texture!
In a separate medium bowl, add the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla bean from the pod (or vanilla extract), and a pinch of salt. Then spoon about half a cup of the whipped cream into the sweetened condensed milk, and use a spatula to gently fold in the whipped cream. This process helps lighten the consistency of the sweetened condensed milk, so it doesn’t deflate the whipped cream when you combine the two. Pour the sweetened condensed milk mixture into the remaining whipped cream, as well as the roasted rhubarb pieces, and carefully fold them together.
Transfer the mixture to an airtight container, and freeze for at least 3-4 hours before serving.
tips:
Try not to overwhip the whipping cream - or it may cause the fat to separate (aka: making butter) and form a strange mouth feel once frozen!
Sub in any roasted fruit you’d like - strawberries or blueberries work really well too.
Frozen rhubarb can be roasted, although it may fall apart a bit more than fresh. Don’t thaw before roasting either!
