This is the best summer frozen dessert ever and extremely easy to make and gorgeous! 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!
So easy to make!
I believe this 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 our cheesecake ice cream and baked cheesecake with berry topping, this is straight up your alley. It's like a frozen cheesecake. It's sweet, tangy, and creamy at the same time.
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 cookie. Simply fabulous!
It doesn't require an ice cream machine or ice cream maker. This makes it very easy to prepare as it's a matter of mixing and then freezing the mixture in an airtight container.
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
- It's ice cream people, it always works! Seriously.
- 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.
- Flavors: consider 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.
- 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 to make as reading the title.
Ingredient Notes
Quantities are listed in the recipe card towards the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands we use.
- Cream cheese: the regular type, full-fat cream cheese is needed for consistency and creaminess.
- Sugar: I love brown sugar, but white granulated works fine too.
- Heavy cream: it's always my first choice, but double cream or heavy whipping cream also work.
- 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
You simply put fresh or frozen berries in a pan with brown sugar, let it cook a bit, and then mix it in the cheesecake batter. That's it.
Add a teaspoon of lemon juice for a sharper flavor.
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.
How to make cheesecake berry ice cream
This is such an easy recipe!
- 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. Besides blackberries, I also love raspberries.
- 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, so we don't use an electric mixer.
- Berry swirl: the sauce is added to the cheese mixture 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. I use a spatula. A whisk can also be used but beware of overmixing.
Vintage Kitchen Tip
Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature so 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. 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 silicone ones will do. Depending on their capacity, you will get more or fewer popsicles, 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 them
The only challenge is to eyeball how many popsicles your recipe will yield, this one or any other. These are rather large, so I specified between 4-6 paletas in the recipe card.
Besides them being made of silicone or plastic, some 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.
Variations
Citrus curd: it's an excellent substitution for the berry compote! Use your favorite, maintaining the amount. My favorite is the one I use for the Lemon No-bake cheesecake. The good homemade lemon curd will go wonderfully here.
This guide about No-Bake Cheesecake can come in 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.
Kitchen notes
- 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.
Related recipes you might like:
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Berry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Ingredients
For the berries:
- 1 cup berries, fresh or frozen (I used blackberries)
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, orange juice also works for a mellower flavor
- 1 or 2 tablespoons water
- or prepare the Basic Blueberry Sauce without the cornstarch, using any berry you want
For the cheesecake ice cream base:
- 8 ounces regular cream cheese, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup heavy cream, or heavy whipping cream
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, white can also be used
- ¼ teaspoon orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of sea salt
Instructions
For the berries:
- Put 1 cup berries, 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 or 2 tablespoons water in a medium saucepan and cook over low or medium heat.
- Stir frequently until it boils. Reduce (let simmer) for a minute or two and remove from heat. Transfer to a shallow container or small bowl and mash berries with a fork or spoon and refrigerate. If making this the same day you mix the ice cream base, then freeze it while making the base. It will be cold enough when you add it.
For the cheesecake ice cream base:
- In a medium bowl beat 8 ounces regular cream cheese, ⅔ cup heavy cream and ⅓ cup light brown sugar just until smooth. Don't overbeat.
- Add ¼ teaspoon orange zest, ¼ teaspoon vanilla and a pinch of sea salt.
- Take out the berry mixture and combine them with the cheese mixture. It's important to do this lightly; we want pools of berries and a light marbling. I use a spatula or wooden spoon.
- Divide the mixture evenly among the popsicle molds (it fills 4-6 depending on the size) making sure you add the sticks.
- Freeze, covered by plastic wrap or freezer sheets. Eat straight from the freezer.
- If wanting to scoop it into bowls and not make popsicles, use a freezer-safe container and take it out about 20 minutes before serving to allow it to soften a little.
Cocoa and Lavender says
What a great story about your mother! (I know, I don't have to live with her...) The ice cream sounds incredibly creamy and smooth. I don't have popsicle molds but might get some to try this - we have a friend whose roots are Chilean and her favorite dessert is paletas... it would be fun to make this for her. ~ David
Grandbabycakes says
That is one gorgeous ice cream!
Renee says
You have me laughing this morning with the red socks story. You also have me enamored with the ice cream. Wow. The photos... the recipe... all so fantastic!
Amy (Savory Moments) says
This ice cream is so pretty - I love the color. I bet it's really delicious, too!
Christine @ 24 Carrot Kitchen says
I like your stories. They make me smile.:) You write so well.
Karen @ Lemon Grove Cake Diaries says
I loved this post and it reminds me so much of my relationship with my mother. Great recipe and you have captured the colours perfectly in your photos - they make me hungry just looking at them.
Anne ~ Uni Homemaker says
You had me at cheesecake and blackberry. This sounds heavenly Paula! I can go for 5 scoops of these. 😉
mividaenundulce says
That reminds me when looking at my eyeglasses, I can't believe how frequently I start looking everywhere and the I realize I'm wearing the eyeglasses...that's me.
The ice cream looks delicious, I like the swirls given by the berry.
laurasmess.me says
Oh Paula, this is such a funny story! I love moments that seem ridiculously frustrating, but then you can look back upon them and laugh. My mother and I haven't lived together for years (as our houses are nearby, so there's no need to sleep over) but we still have funny moments like this. She's a much stronger personality than I, tenacious and resilient. Makes for fun conversations! This blackberry ice cream looks incredible. Blackberries plus cheesecake? Heaven. Definitely making this come summertime. My husband is a cheesecake fiend, so he'd love it. Thanks beautiful! xx
Gloria Baker says
aaah Look fantastic! I love blackberries Paula!
e / dig in says
i love blackberries and i love the look of this ice cream, but i realise i love your story about your mum's red socks even more! if it wasn't a real story, i would call it magic realism 🙂
Marissa | Pinch and Swirl says
Paula, you little vixen! 🙂 It's 5pm here and these photos are making me sooo hungry.
Abbe@This is How I Cook says
Paula, are you sure we aren't related? My mom sounds a lot like yours! But I could take it if I have this ice cream!
Laura Dembowski says
I just baked with blackberries today. They are my favorite fruit and this ice cream sounds heavenly. As much as I love my mom, I can totally relate to getting frustrated with her sometimes. I think that's just how the relationship between mothers and daughters works.
Deb says
Adore the story about your mom! We all have mother's and I DO have empathy for my daughter! (most of the time....LOL)
A most irresistible ice cream! And we still have seasonal blackberries, what a grand recipe!
Yvonne @ bitter baker says
I wish I could have a scope of this right now, although it's barely 9 in the morning. Your photos are beautiful!
The Ninja Baker says
Oh my goodness, your photos make me want to make ice cream right now, Paula! This is a keeper recipe..I'm trusting this will work with raspberries and blueberries as well. Thank you for this post.
P.s. Regarding the mom bit...I'm afraid I can relate to missing items such as red socks already being on my person...Happens sometimes with aging. But, I'm affirming my spirit is ageless <3
riseofthesourdoughpreacher says
i have no words, it looks delicious!
The Sketched Chef says
Oh my, such a perfect combination!
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
What a beautiful recipe.. the colors are lovely in this ice cream!