peach ice cream recipe

This flavorful peach ice cream has brown sugar and a bit of bourbon, making it truly unique in flavor with an extra creamy texture. It is smooth, rich, and made with fresh ripe peaches.

Get ready for the most creamy, decadent, and refreshing ice cream! It is bursting with fresh peach flavor and has some extra intrigue from the brown sugar and bourbon! This is the perfect summer ice cream, made with egg yolks and cream to give the custard base that rich, silky texture. 

We all scream for ice cream. It’s a go-to dessert year-round! Yes, I said year-round! Once you have mastered this easy and delightfully fresh ice cream, you can take it up a notch and try dark chocolate pistachio ice cream, maybe candied bacon maple walnut ice cream, or matcha mint cookies and cream! Move over Ben and Jerry’s; we are making our own pints at home!

Professional Tips for Making Peach Ice Cream

• Let your base chill fully before churning. This helps prevent ice crystals from forming. Using an ice bath and actively cooling your base before placing it in your fridge will speed up the process. 
• Be careful not to under or over-churn your ice cream. If you under-churn it, it won’t hold its shape and will become icy when you freeze it. If you over-churn it, it will freeze too hard, and the cream can separate, leaving a fatty coating in your mouth. 
• Use ripe peaches. If your peaches aren’t ripe yet, keep them at room temperature and wait a few days before making the ice cream for optimal results.

Ingredients

• Fresh Peaches: Fresh peaches are the best option for this ice cream. They have the best flavor, but you can use frozen peaches if you need to. I just suggest not using canned peaches. 
• Heavy Cream: Heavy whipping cream adds fat to the custard, making this ice cream rich and creamy. You can substitute up to half the cream for whole milk, use all half and half or light whipping cream.
• Dark Brown Sugar: Dark brown sugar adds sweetness and a light molasses flavor to ice cream and helps keep it from being icy. You can use all white sugar if preferred.
• Corn Syrup: Light corn syrup thickens the custard base like sugar but isn’t as sweet. It will also create a thicker and smoother texture for the ice cream.
• Kosher Salt
• Egg Yolks: Egg yolks in custard are thickeners like whole eggs, but they add more fat than whole eggs without the added moisture from the whites. This makes a thick, rich ice cream base. 
• Granulated Sugar
• Bourbon: Bourbon is completely optional, but it does help keep the ice cream smooth and prevent it from becoming icy. You can also add lemon juice instead.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

• Infuse the cream. Heat the cream with toasted almonds, hazelnuts, cinnamon sticks, or ginger. Cover with plastic wrap and infuse for at least an hour. Some infusions will take longer than others.
• Add extracts. Almond or vanilla extract would be just divine. 
• Use a swirl. Try swirling the ice cream with caramel sauce, marshmallow fluff, or the homemade strawberry jam in this strawberry cake recipe! You can also swirl vanilla ice cream with this peach ice cream for peaches and cream ice cream. 
• Change the alcohol. Switch it up with dark or light rum, brandy, or Frangelico.

How to Make this 

Use these instructions to make the perfect creamy homemade peach ice cream every time! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Make the Ice Cream Base: 

Step 1: Pre-freeze the ice cream machine canister and a freezer safe container. This will limit the thawing when the cold ice cream base is added to the container. 

Step 2: Slice the peaches in half and remove the pit. To make it easier, cross the indent on the top of the peach (extra points for freestone peaches) and you can rock the pit side to side to remove it. Then, continue to dice the peaches into small chunks. 

Step 3: Place the peaches, heavy cream, dark brown sugar, corn syrup, and kosher salt in a blender, food processor or large bowl with an immersion blender. Blend until smooth and only small pieces of peaches remain. 

Step 4: Strain the peach mixture into a large pot through a fine mesh sieve. This removes the peach peels. 

Step 5: Heat the cream mixture in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until it boils, stirring occasionally to ensure the sugar dissolves. 

Step 6: Place the egg yolks in a large bowl while the cream mixture heats. Add the sugar and whisk vigorously until lightened and increased in volume. 

This process is called blanchir, which means “to whiten” in French. 

Step 7: Once the cream mixture comes to a boil, slowly add the boiling cream to the egg mixture while whisking. This process is called tempering, and it allows the eggs’ temperature to slowly increase to that of the boiling cream without overcooking them. 

Place a hand or kitchen towel under the bowl with your eggs. It will help keep the bowl stationary and give you both hands to pour and whisk at the same time. 

Step 8: Stir in the bourbon if using. 

Cool & Churn Ice Cream: 

Step 9: Cover the base with plastic wrap and poke a few holes before placing it in the fridge. 

Set the bowl in an ice bath. You can actively cool the base with your spatula. I like to cool it to about room temperature before I place it in the refrigerator. It will speed the process along. 

Step 10: You will get the thickest base and creamiest ice cream if you cool it overnight. It is not necessary, and you can spin the base as long as it is cool to the touch. 

Step 11: Churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. I always add the base with the machine running to limit the amount that freezes to the sides of the bowl.

Step 12: Freeze until it is thickened and will hold its shape when scooped on a spoon. This will take 20-30 minutes depending on your machine.

You don’t want to over-churn it, or the cream will essentially turn to butter, freeze too hard, and have a buttery, not silky, mouthfeel. 

Step 13: Pour ice cream mixture into frozen freezer-safe containers or loaf pan. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and freeze overnight. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this professional chef’s recipe. Check out all our ice cream and frozen treat recipes or try this oreo ice cream cake or the best no-bake dessert recipes!