- 8 ounces cream cheese
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup milk
- 2/3 cup sugar
- Pinch salt
- 2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon cold water
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- (optional) 2 teaspoons kirsch (If you're using other berries, experiment with liqueurs — maybe Grand Marnier for raspberries, vodka or creme de cacao for strawberries.)
- (Note: The "cheesecake" taste may be a bit too heavy for some people, so you may wish to cut the portions of cream cheese and sour cream a bit.) To make the ice cream base, cut the cream cheese into small pieces. Zest the lemon directly into a blender or food processor, then add the cream cheese, sour cream, half-and-half, sugar and salt. Puree until smooth.
- Place the mixture in the refrigerator to chill.
- While the ice cream mixture is chilling, make the swirl.
- In a medium, nonreactive saucepan, heat the blueberries and sugar until the berries begin to release their juices. Mix the cornstarch with the cold water and lemon juice until lump-free. Stir the slurry into the blueberries.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the kirsch, if using. Place in the refrigerator to chill.
- When the ice cream base is thoroughly chilled, freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. When it is done, pour roughly 1/3 into a container. Top with half of the chilled blueberry mixture and add another 1/3 ice cream base. Top that layer with the remaining blueberry mixture, then cover with the remaining ice cream base. Put in the freezer to set, 2 to 4 hours.