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.
I love a good no churn ice cream recipe. Strawberry jam ice cream and butter pecan ice cream are two of my favorites. If you have a jar of boysenberry jam on hand, you'll want to give this boysenberry ice cream a try next.
Never had a boysenberry before? It's a reddish-purple berry with a sweet-tart flavor, kind of like a sweeter blackberry. Paired with a streusel crumble in a vanilla ice cream base, boysenberry jam makes this the perfect summer treat.
The best part about no churn ice cream is that all you need is a hand mixer to get started - no fancy ice cream machine needed! With a few minutes of prep and about 4 to 5 hours in the freezer, your treat will be ready to enjoy.
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, made by farmers fresh from their harvest. 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.
What is a boysenberry
Is a boysenberry a real berry? While it may sound like a fictional fruit, it is indeed real. 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. If you're local, 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.
Homemade streusel
- 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 your streusel to cool completely before adding to the ice cream base. Hot streusel pieces will cause the ice cream to melt and deflate.
What size pan to use
To make one batch of no churn ice cream, you'll need a 9x5 loaf pan or any freezer safe pan that holds six cups.
Use a freezer safe tupperware container with a lid for easy storage. Or, separate your ice cream mixture between several smaller tupperware containers before freezing.
Variations
This no churn ice cream is easy to customize and alter to suit your tastes. Here are a few variations to try:
- Substitute boysenberry jam with your favorite flavor, like strawberry jam or raspberry jam.
- Omit the streusel for a simple vanilla ice cream with jam ribbons, like my strawberry jam ice cream.
- Add rainbow sprinkles to the crumble mixture for a pop of color - perfect for birthday parties.
- Add a dash of cinnamon to the crumble mixture for a little warmth.
Storage
No churn ice cream 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 degrees Fahrenheit 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
- Depending on the temperature of your freezer, ice cream may need to be frozen overnight to freeze solid.
- Jam can be substituted with any flavor of jam you'd like - strawberry jam and raspberry jam are great choices.
- Ice cream will keep in the freezer for up to three months in a tightly sealed container.
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