Boysenberry ice cream is the perfect sweet treat for summer. Vanilla ice cream is filled with swirls of sweet boysenberry jam and homemade streusel crumbles.
Recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Creamy, rich vanilla ice cream is swirled with sweet boysenberry jam and homemade streusel crumbles.
What's a boysenberry? It's a reddish-purple berry with a sweet-tart flavor, like a sweeter blackberry.
Easy to customize: Don't have boysenberry jam? Make it with your favorite strawberry or raspberry jam instead.
Yield: About 7 cups
Similar to: Strawberry Jam Ice Cream, Butter Pecan Ice Cream, Christmas Cookie Ice Cream
Jump to:
Ingredients and substitutions
- Heavy cream - Necessary to make no churn ice cream. Heavy cream, or heavy whipping cream, is whipped and folded with the other ice cream ingredients to make a fluffy, aerated base.
- Sweetened condensed milk - Sweetens your ice cream base and adds creaminess. You're welcome to make your own from scratch or use a can from the grocery store.
- Vanilla extract - Flavors the ice cream base.
- Boysenberry jam - You may find boysenberry jam at local farmers markets. Otherwise, it can be purchased online from Smucker or Amazon. If you have fresh boysenberries on hand, you can also make your own. Here's a recipe: Rudy's Original - boysenberry jam recipe. Boysenberry jam can also be substituted with any flavor of jam, like strawberry jam or raspberry jam.
- Butter - Unsalted butter and salt can be substituted with salted butter if desired. A full stick of butter is shown in the photo, but you'll only need half a stick for this recipe.
- All-purpose flour - The base of the streusel, necessary to hold the other ingredients together and give it a crumbly texture.
- Sugars - We're using a combination of granulated and brown sugars for best flavor and texture.
- Salt - A small amount of salt is added to the streusel to enhance the flavor.
How to make boysenberry ice cream
- Add streusel ingredients to a bowl.
- Mix the streusel ingredients together until tiny balls form. They should feel a little sandy and dry.
- Spread your streusel out on a parchment lined sheet pan and bake for about 15 minutes.
- Allow it to cool completely before adding to the ice cream base. Hot streusel pieces will cause the ice cream to melt and deflate.
- Add heavy cream to a large bowl and use a hand mixer with a whisk attachment to whip until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk and vanilla, then add whipped cream and fold to incorporate.
- Pour half of the vanilla ice cream into your pan and top with half of the jam and half of the streusel.
- Use a butter knife or a skewer to swirl your mix-ins into the ice cream.
- Top with remaining ice cream base, jam, and streusel, swirling with a knife to incorporate. Freeze for about 4-5 hours, or until firm.
Tips and tricks
Pan size - You'll need a 9x5 loaf pan or any freezer safe container that holds about seven cups. Ice cream can also be prepared and divided between two containers if needed.
Use cold heavy cream - Make sure your heavy cream is very cold before beginning. Cold cream whips up much more easily than warm cream.
If needed, chill your bowl and whisk - If your home is very warm, you may also want to chill your bowl and whisk before beginning.
Variations - Can't find boysenberry jam? Try this recipe with your favorite strawberry or raspberry jam. Add raspberry sprinkles to the streusel mixture for a fun birthday twist. Add a dash of cinnamon to the streusel for a hint of warmth.
Frequently asked questions
The boysenberry is a cross between four berries: raspberry, blackberry, dewberry, and loganberry. In the 1920s, a horticulturist for the USDA, George Darrow, found some reddish-purple berries (abandoned experiments) on a California farm formerly owned by Rudolph Boysen. George enlisted the help of nearby berry expert, Walter Knott, who was able to nurture the few frail vines back to health and commercially cultivate the berry. He named the berry "boysenberry" after the originator. The family's small restaurant and pie business eventually grew to become the Knott's Berry Farm amusement park we know today.
Boysenberries are notoriously difficult to cultivate, with short growing seasons and susceptibility to disease. The berries are soft with thin skin, resulting in a short shelf life.
It's kind of like a mix between a blackberry and a raspberry.
Depending on the time of year, you may find fresh boysenberries at small markets in California, Oregon, and New Zealand. Otherwise, it's common to see them processed into products like jams, syrups, juices, and pies.
It will keep for three months or more in a tightly sealed, freezer safe container. After that, flavor begins to diminish.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Boysenberry Ice Cream
Ingredients
Streusel
- ¼ cup (56 g) unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup (90 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons (40 g) brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons (25 g) granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Ice cream
- 16 ounces (454 g) heavy cream
- 14 ounces (396 g) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 ounces (227 g) boysenberry jam
Instructions
Streusel
- Preheat oven to 300℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, add melted butter, flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt. Mix with a hand mixer until mixture clumps together and forms small balls. Pour out onto prepared baking sheet and spread into an even layer.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before adding to your ice cream.
Ice cream
- In a large bowl, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks are achieved, up to 3 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, add sweetened condensed milk and vanilla and stir to combine. Fold whipped cream into condensed milk mixture until fully incorporated.
- Pour half of vanilla ice cream into a loaf pan (or other six-cup freezer-safe container) and top with half of the jam and half of the streusel. Using a butter knife or skewer, swirl to partially incorporate. Top with remaining ice cream, jam, and streusel, again swirling to incorporate.
- Freeze for about 4 to 5 hours, or until firm.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Freezing: Depending on the temperature of your freezer, ice cream may need to be frozen overnight to freeze solid.
- Jam substitutes: Jam can be substituted with any flavor of jam you'd like - strawberry jam and raspberry jam are great choices.
- Storage: Ice cream will keep in the freezer for up to three months in a tightly sealed container.
Comments
No Comments