Berry Cheesecake Ice Cream (no-churn)

Extremely easy to make and gorgeous, this is the best summer frozen dessert ever! It's an egg-free, no-churn recipe so there's no need to make a custard on the stove or use an ice cream maker. Whether you add berries or leave it plain, it's a great project to make with kids. Simply mix, fill the popsicle molds, freeze and eat!

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Originally posted in August 2013, the text and images have been updated to serve you better. The recipe remains the same.

I believe this cheesecake ice cream today is among the best ones, perfect for a cheesecake fan (that's me, of course) and one of our favorite desserts because it's so ridiculously easy! If you like traditional cheesecake with a berry topping this is straight up your alley.

I make quite a lot of homemade ice cream but many of them don't make it here, only the best do, like the Chocolate Chip Ice Cream which is not vanilla with cookie dough, but an ice cream that tastes like a chocolate chip. Simply fabulous!

As much as I love traditional ice cream recipes with egg yolks where you make a custard and all of that, sometimes you just want to mix and churn. Little time spent in the kitchen. Because it's summer, and you just want a good but very simple dessert.

Why this recipe works

1. It's ice cream you guys, it always works! Seriously.
2. Easy to make: you simply mix the ingredients until smooth, fill the molds and pop them in the freezer. It's a great idea to make with kids.
3. Flavors: think of this recipe as an ice cream base where you can change the flavor with different berries and citrus combinations. Think lemon with blueberries or blackberries, orange or lime with strawberries.
4. Make ahead: have a large batch of popsicles with different berries and eat it straight from the freezer. 

The color is gorgeous and the flavor is just like cheesecake. This ice cream is as easy as reading the title. 

Ingredients

There are no surprises here. This ice cream has basic cheesecake ingredients. Of course, there are berries involved, and citrus because they pair so well, but it's still all very simple, as you can use any berry and any citrus combination. 

• Cream cheese: it's the base for this ice cream and full-fat is recommended.
• Sugar: I love brown sugar, but white granulated works fine too. 
• Cream: I use a thick double cream. Heavy cream also works. 
• Vanilla: a little bit of pure vanilla extract or paste adds sweetness.
• Salt: a pinch enhances the flavors. Sea salt is my first choice, but a smidge of kosher salt also works. Just don't over do it.
• Berries: any berry can be used for this recipe. Choose your favorite or use a mix. Fresh strawberries are a classic, but I really love blackberries.
• Citrus: orange or lemon zest can be used as the go very well with berries.

Preparing the berries

As the image collage shows below, you simply put fresh or frozen berries in a saucepan with some brown sugar, let it cook a bit, and then mix it in the cheesecake batter. That's it.

You can also make our fantastic Blueberry Sauce, a basic recipe that I use a lot for this ice cream.  Or choose another berry, like strawberries and lime, a combination I also love. 

Simple steps

This is such an easy recipe! 

1. A berry compote needs to be made. You can use a purchased one, but nothing beats the flavor of homemade berry sauce. ANY berry works, fresh or frozen, so it's an easy step. 
2. The cheese is well mixed with the rest of the ingredients, but not beaten! This is important as we don't want to incorporate air, we only want to integrate everything well. 
3. The sauce is added to the cheese and lightly swirled. Unless you want to have a one-tone ice cream mixture, be careful to leave some white cheesecake spots and whole berries. This will be wonderful when you bite and find puddles of berries and smooth cheesecake all in the same place. 

Vintage Kitchen tip: make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature so that it's easily mixed and well incorporated with the rest of the ingredients. Remember it's a mix and freeze dessert so the cheese mixture should have no lumps when you add the berries. 

Popsicle molds

There are many different types of silicone and plastic popsicle molds. Many. Depending on where you live, there are many more, lol. The ones I used are made where I live, Buenos Aires, so I bet most of you can't get them. 

But the truth is most ones will do. You will get more or fewer popsicles depending on the capacity, but that's it. 

I always use silicone and they are amazing! The ice cream pops out like a charm. And though I never tried making these in plastic molds, they should work fine. Simply follow manufacturers' directions. 

How to fill the molds

The only challenge is to eyeball how many popsicles the recipe you're making will yield, this one or any other. These are rather large ones, so I specified between 4-6 paletas in the recipe card. 

Besides them being made of silicone or plastic, there are some that come with the stick incorporated and some that don't. So make sure you have the wooden sticks before you start! Otherwise, you won't be able to remove them probably. 

If you're using molds like those in these images, it's important to fill them ⅔ of their capacity, add the wooden sticks pressing ever so slightly (image 3), and fill them up completely. That way the stick is secured between 2 walls of ice cream. Then smooth the surface with a knife (image 4) before freezing them.

Variation ideas

Citrus curd: it's a great substitution for the berry compote! Use your favorite, maintaining the amount. My favorite is the one I use for the Lemon No-bake cheesecake. Good homemade lemon curd will go wonderfully here. 

There is a whole post, a guide about No-Bake Cheesecake, that can come in very handy for making this type of ice cream. Find flavor ideas or even recipes to make in popsicle form. Just make sure there are no eggs involved. 

Top tips

• Organization: always read the recipe first and make sure you have all the ingredients, at the right temperatures, and also the rest of the equipment and space to make it. This will make the process so much easier!
• Fruit: I love berries of any type, but you can also add other fresh fruit in small pieces. 
• Flavorings: you can also make it with no fruit, and vary the cheesecake flavor with lemon zest, or only an extract like vanilla, coffee, or almond. Or consider adding crushed graham crackers (a.k.a. graham cracker crumbs) to the cheesecake mixture.

Frequently asked questions

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