Honey and Goat Cheese Ice Cream Recipe From ‘Two Red Bowls’

Every week, we’re spotlighting a different food blogger who’s shaking up the blogosphere with tempting recipes and knockout photography. Below, Cynthia of Two Red Bowls takes ice cream to the savory side with some help from tangy goat cheese.

Photo courtesy of Two Red Bowls

Honey-Goat Cheese Ice Cream With Poached Pear Swirl
Make 1 quart, serves 4 to 6

The goat cheese, paired with the honey, adds a refreshing depth to the full-fat creaminess of an ice cream base that might otherwise verge on heaviness. At the same time, the pear swirl — with its anise, cinnamon, and clove goodness — balances out that bold tanginess. What’s more, it gives the ice cream a little bit of texture without the seized-up iciness that typically comes with frozen fruit.

I served this at a couple of friend gatherings last year, and while I got some askance looks when I said “goat cheese” and “ice cream” with the same breath, almost everyone who tried it gave rave reviews and went back for seconds. I can see the honey and goat cheese working well with any number of things — these pears, figs, strawberries, or blackberries. It’s genius. Now I’m going to have to restrain myself from putting goat cheese in every ice cream I make for the rest of forever.

1 poached pear (recipe below)
1 cup poached pear syrup
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk (I substituted almond milk with wonderful results)
1/3 cup honey
3-4 ounces fresh or creamy goat cheese
4 egg yolks

Slice the pear into quarters, then place the pear and poaching syrup into a small pot and bring to a boil. Let simmer on low heat, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes, or until pear is very soft and syrup has thickened. (If you’re poaching it on the same day, simply let it simmer for 15-20 minutes longer than the recipe calls for.)

Pour the syrup and pear into a blender or food processor and puree. If you want a smoother syrup, strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove pulp and use only the resulting syrup. I originally thought I would use just the syrup but loved it with the pear included for a little extra texture. With the pear, this should yield a generous ½ cup of puree.

Add the cream, milk, honey, and goat cheese to the same pot and heat over medium heat, stirring until mixture barely begins to bubble on the edges and all ingredients are dissolved. Immediately remove from heat. Let sit, covered, for 20 minutes.

Whisk egg yolks together. Temper by whisking the warm cream mixture into the egg, a spoonful at a time, until you’ve added about half the cream. Pour the warmed egg mixture back into the original saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. For me, this took about 15 minutes (which can feel a bit long, but it’s worth it!).

Refrigerate mixture until chilled — ideally overnight. Process in your ice cream maker as per the manufacturer’s instructions. When ice cream is finished churning, add a layer to the bottom of a large tin. Add a drizzle of the pear syrup, then lightly swirl in with a chopstick or knife. (Don’t worry too much about swirling — you could just drizzle it and add another layer and the swirl effect will come through just fine.) Add another layer of ice cream and repeat. Continue until all the ice cream is in the tin.

Notes: On the type of goat cheese, I used fresh, not the crumbles.

Poached Pears
Makes 2-3 pears

2 cups water
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 whole cloves or ½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 anise star
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2-3 medium Bosc pears, ripe but still firm, sliced into halves

In a pot, combine water, brown sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, cloves, anise, cinnamon, and bring to a boil. Stir until sugar dissolves, then add the pears and cook for 10-20 minutes or until pears are tender. Remove the pears and reserve the syrup for other uses.

More delectable ice creams for summer:

Blur, the ’90s Brit Pop Band, has its own ice cream

How to make the two-ingredient ice cream everyone is obsessed with

Ben & Jerry’s ice cream burrito

Would you ever make ice cream at home? Tell us below!