Eggless Peach Ice cream with nuts

The farmers market I frequent is well, not exactly a farmers market in the truest sense as there are no farmers selling their produce. Instead the people who run this farm besides bringing produce from their farms they also buy from other local farmers and market them under the same tent.

Fresh Peaches!

It is in a very convenient location for me to visit often and all through the summer we have been enjoying fresh peaches, corn, tomatoes and the like. "It is a sign that we are reaching the fag end of the peach season when apples start to show up" one of them said.

Diced peaches cooking with sugar.

I have been planning on making a peach ice cream for a long time and after hearing that I got a bit anxious. Lucky for us, we ran into a an orchard which markets their fresh produce right there and they had all the peaches that I could possibly need. There is no way to describe a juicy luscious fresh peach just picked off the tree.

Custard

Trust me I am no peach fan. It is DD2 who can sing odes to the peach. She prefers eating them as is while I like them in a smoothie or ice cream or as a jelly. Peach is one of my favorite ice cream flavors and to think that I can't eat a fresh peach. Go Figure!.

Peach Compote

Anyway I was determined to make some peach ice cream before the school starts and I succeeded in making some delicious tasting peach ice cream and compote over the weekend. The kids went back to school all energetic from the amount of peach they ate over the weekend. Just kiddin...

Freshly Churned - The BEST!

I personally prefer ice creams made from cooked milk rather than just mixing tons of whipping cream and freezing the lot. So I decided on a custard base for peach ice cream. Making the compote helped me accomplish two things. One is the ice cream and the other is a compote to store the peaches for later use.

I followed this recipe for making the peach compote and then proceeded to make the custard. I had hazelnuts on hand and also love the taste of powdered nuts in ice cream so added those. Since this does not contain any cream it is very light and refreshing.

Eggless Peach Ice cream
Preparation Time:10 minutes
Cooking Time:30 minutes
Freezing Time:3-4 hours
Ingredients

1. 4 fairly big sized peaches
2. 3 cups of full milk (2% or 1% fat free milk should work fine too)
3. 4 tbsp of custard powder or corn starch
4. 1 cup of sugar
5. 1/4 cup of toasted hazel nuts (optional)
6. 1 tsp of lime juice

Method

For the Peach Compote
1. Boil a pot of water and make a cross slit on one end of the peach and drop them in the water for 3-4 minutes. Remove and peel the skin and chop the peaches into small pieces.
2. I an thick bottomed pan add the peaches 3/4 cups of the sugar and lime juice and let it cook. After about 8 minutes or so mash the peaches with the bottom of a spoon or a potato masher and let it continue to cook.
3. Keep stirring as it continues to cook. Turn off the heat in 25 minutes.
4. Set aside in the freezer for about 30 minutes or so.
For the Custard
5. As the compote is cooking get the custard ready. Set 2 3/4 cups of milk to boil. In the 1/4 cup of cold milk dissolve the custard powder without any lumps.
6. When the milk starts to boil add in the mixed custard powder and keep stirring till the milk thickens to about condensed milk consistency. Set aside to cool. If using ice cream maker place the custard in the fridge with a plastic wrap set snug against the surface - this is avoid the film that forms on the surface. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Make the Ice Cream
7. Toast the hazel nuts and make a coarse powder if using.
8. Mix the custard base and the peach compote and pour into the ice cream maker and freeze as per instructions. Towards the end of the churning process mix in the nuts.
9. (OR)iff not using ice cream maker mix the custard and compote and whip them using a egg beater till smooth, mix in the nuts and freeze the mixture.

Serve with some compote on top or slivered nuts.

Do not have access to peach? Try pineapple ice cream - Pineapple ice cream with custard powder