Blueberry ice cream is one thing (believe me, it’s delicious!) But roasted blueberry ice cream? That’s on an entirely different wavelength altogether. There’s something about the act of roasting berries that intensifies every aspect: flavor, sweetness, aroma, color.
To make it even more interesting I tossed these berries with a bit of balsamic vinegar and muscovado sugar (my latest obsession thanks to Shauna), and also replaced some of the granulated sugar with muscovado in the ice cream base; just two tablespoons of which gives the final ice cream a light caramel color and a subtle molasses flavor that only enhances the flavor of the blueberries.
I swirled this roasted goodness into the final ice cream at the very end when it was done churning, choosing to do so by hand rather than with the beater blade to keep the swirl in tact. I felt like King Midas of the blueberries: everything I touched instantly turned deep purple. If you want a similar effect I recommend swirling it in by hand a little bit at a time as you transfer the ice cream to the final freezer container. Of course, you could stir in the blueberry more thoroughly for a gorgeous fuchsia hue throughout and a more consistent overall texture (nothing wrong with that), but I found the blueberry swirl gave the ice cream a nice textural contrast, with the creamy rich ice cream punctuated with ribbons of icy frozen berries.
You could make this with frozen blueberries as well, just throw them right in the oven with the sugar and balsamic vinegar. And because of the nature of frozen berries you’ll probably get even more delicious juices than with fresh berries… so swirl away! And while I strongly recommend getting yourself some muscovado sugar (once you try it you’ll want to use it in everything) you can also use dark brown sugar in its place.
I’m really digging this blueberry week thing, and hope you are too. And I’m just getting started! Total Time: 24 hours
