Just 6 ingredients and about 20 minutes of your time to make this homemade mulberry ice cream! The delicious fresh mulberry flavor is amazing! This ice cream can be made with fresh or frozen mulberries. Make sure to read the notes below for helpful recipe tips.
Prep Time5 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Chilling, churning, and freezing time4 hourshrs30 minutesmins
Large bowl with ice to cool down the mulberry syrup (optional, but helpful to speed things up!)
Ingredients
For the mulberry syrup:
2cupsfresh mulberriesor frozen mulberries (with stems removed—removing stems is optional but read the recipe tips below!), plus an optional ¼ cup for stirring into the ice cream
1cupsugar
¼teaspoonsalt
1tablespoonslemon juice(optional, but recommended to cut the sweetness!)
For the ice cream:
1.5cupsheavy whipping cream
1cupwhole milk
2teaspoonsvanilla extract(optional, but highly recommended!)
Instructions
Before getting started:
Freeze the ice cream maker bowl for at least 24 hours.
Make the thick mulberry syrup:
Combine the fresh mulberries, sugar, salt, and lemon juice in the saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mulberries release juices. Cool the pot in the ice bath for a few minutes so it is not crazy hot.
Pulse the mulberries with an immersion blender (careful not to splash!), or transfer carefully to a blender or food processor and pulse a few times. You do NOT want to liquify all the mulberries, but simply to break them down more.
Put the pot back on the stove and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent boiling over. When the mulberry syrup starts to stick to the sides of the pot a little, it is ready. Put the pot back into the ice bath to cool down.
Pour the mulberry syrup through a fine mesh sieve, using a spoon or spatula to push the syrup through into a large bowl. You should have almost ¾ cup syrup and ½ cup of mulberry pulp left over. If you have a lot less, try to squeeze more syrup out. If you have a lot more, you might need to cook the syrup down a little more so it thickens. By the way, the mulberry pulp is great for spreading on toast or stirring into yogurt so don't throw it out!
Make the ice cream:
Add the rest of the ice cream ingredients (heavy cream, milk, vanilla extract) to the bowl with the syrup and mix together really well—some of the syrup will sink to the bottom.
Follow the ice cream maker instructions to make the ice cream, but here's what I do: Carefully pour the mixture into a frozen ice cream maker bowl as it is churning. Allow to churn for at least 20 minutes. Optional: stir in up to ¼ cup fresh mulberries during the last few seconds.
Carefully pour the chilled ice cream into a freezer-safe container (I love a bread loaf pan for this!). Cover with plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn and freeze for at least 4 hours, or until frozen.
Notes
→ If you forget to freeze the bowl of your ice cream maker, you can still prepare the ice cream mixture in advance and just keep it all refrigerated until ready to pour into the frozen bowl. → For best results and creamier ice cream, get your ingredients cold before pouring into the ice cream maker.→ Mulberry substitutions: You can use frozen mulberries to make the syrup for this mulberry ice cream!! I do NOT recommend using dry mulberries for this recipe, it just won't work. If you don't have enough fresh or frozen mulberries, add fresh or frozen blueberries or blackberries.→ Removing the stems from the mulberries: You can eat the stems, so removing them is optional. I like to remove the stems from the mulberries so I can enjoy the pulp remaining from straining the syrup as a spread on toast or to stir into yogurt. If you leave the stems on, they're not that noticeable in the spread.→ Nutrition facts are estimated assuming 8 servings.