Ingredients
Equipment
Method
Macerate and puree the peaches
- Toss diced peaches with 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice, then let macerate for 30 minutes. Stop when juices have pooled and the peaches look glossy.
- Blend 2 cups of the macerated peach mixture smooth, and leave the remaining peaches chunky. Keep the chunky peaches separate for later folding.
Cook the peach custard base
- Heat heavy cream and whole milk until steaming, not boiling. You should see small bubbles at the edges and steam rising.
- Whisk egg yolks with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar until smooth and slightly thickened. The mixture should look pale and ribbon easily off the whisk.
- Whisk the steaming dairy slowly into the egg yolks to temper them. Stream in gradually to prevent scrambling.
- Return the mixture to heat and cook to 175F, stirring constantly. Stop once it reaches 175F and coats the back of a spoon.
- Strain and stir in vanilla extract, cinnamon, and the blended peach puree. Mix until smooth and evenly peach-colored.
Cool, chill, and churn
- Cool completely over an ice bath until the custard is no longer warm to the touch. The surface should feel cool and steady, not hot or steamy.
- Refrigerate at least 2 hours to chill thoroughly. Chill until cold throughout.
- Churn in an ice cream maker, then add the chunky peach pieces in the last 5 minutes. Continue churning just until peaches are distributed with visible chunks.
Freeze until scoopable
- Freeze at least 2 hours until scoopable. The ice cream should be firm but able to scoop cleanly.
Notes
Pro tip: keep the custard at exactly 175F while stirring constantly, since overheating can dull the peach-custard texture. Store in an airtight container in the freezer up to 2 weeks. For a lighter swap, use half-and-half in place of some heavy cream for a slightly softer churn.