Salted Honey and Blackberry No-Churn Ice Cream


I’m on an endless quest to find fun ways to use my homegrown berries. If I’ve done my gardening job right, I end up with gallons of frozen blackberries every summer – even after we’ve eaten tons of them fresh.

Even if you don’t grow blackberries (although maybe you should…check out The Best-Tasting Thornless Blackberries to grow at home), you can always pick them up when they’re on sale at the store and freeze them for future use. Or find a pick-your-own berry farm nearby and go crazy.

Related: Freezing Blackberries: The Best Ways to Do It

No matter how you get your berries, this Salted Honey and Blackberry No-Churn Ice Cream is the perfect simple treat to make. The sweet, floral honey balances the tart berry puree perfectly, and that little hint of salt perfectly cuts through the creamy sweetness.

You don’t even need an ice cream maker. I used to have one, but some of the part broke in one of our many moves in the last decade. Could I have replaced the broken parts? Yes. Did I? Nope.

Good news though (or maybe bad news, depending on how you look at it…), you don’t need a fancy machine to make amazing homemade ice cream! All an ice cream machine does is gradually add air to the custard as it slowly freezes. With this no-churn method, we simply reverse the process. First whip air into the cream mixture, then freeze.

Can you use frozen blackberries?

You can use fresh or frozen berries for this recipe since you’ll be cooking and blending them into a puree. This is a great way to use blackberries that are on the tart side, as store-bought berries seem to be half the time.

Do you want to learn how to grow the sweetest possible blackberries? I wrote an article all about it: Why are my Blackberries Sour? Tips to Grow Sweeter Berries.

Even if your berries are really sour, don’t add sugar to the puree. The honey ice cream is sweet enough – if you make the blackberry puree sweet as well, it won’t taste like berries. Keep the puree sugar-free so it stands out against the honey.

How to make it:

Put the berries in a small pan with about ¼ cup of water. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until the fruit has softened, about 5 minutes or so.

Carefully pour the cooked blackberries into a blender and puree until smooth. (Or you can use an immersion blender and puree it right in the pot).

Strain out the seeds using a fine-mesh strainer. (Don’t skip this step – frozen blackberry seeds are not so great to crunch on in ice cream.) Set the strained puree in the fridge to cool while you make the ice cream.

In a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer), whisk the cream until it’s really thick. To check if it’s ready, pick some up with the whisk and see if it stays in place.

Once the cream is thick, add the sweetened condensed milk, ¼ cup of honey, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Use a rubber spatula to carefully fold all of the ingredients together until they are completely mixed in.

Now it’s time to layer everything together. I used a 5×9 loaf pan, but you can use any dish that’s big enough to hold the ice cream. Pour in 1/3 of the cream mixture, then drizzle on 1/3 of the blackberry puree and some honey. Use a spoon or knife to lightly swirl everything together. Repeat until you’ve used all the ingredients. I put a few chopped blackberries on top, but this is completely optional.

Now just put the pan in the freezer and wait at least 6 hours (or overnight) until the ice cream has frozen completely. It will be the perfect creamy, scoopable texture. Scoop it up, drizzle with honey, or top with fresh blackberries, if desired – or just pick up a spoon and dig right in!

Salted Honey and Blackberry No-Churn Ice Cream

An easy, perfectly scoopable ice cream to make with your summer blackberry harvest! Salted honey ice cream with a swirl of fruity blackberry puree.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Freezing Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 15 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 8 people

Equipment

  • Small saucepan
  • Stand mixer or hand mixer
  • 5 x 9 loaf pan
  • Blender or immersion blender

Ingredients
  

  • 12 oz. Blackberries fresh or frozen (about 2.5 cups)
  • 2 c. Heavy whipping cream
  • 1 (14-oz.) can Sweetened condensed milk
  • ½ tsp. Kosher salt or sea salt
  • ¼ c. Honey plus some to drizzle

Instructions
 

Make the blackberry puree:

  • In a small saucepan, bring the blackberries and ¼ cup of water to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for 5-7 minutes until the blackberries have softened.
  • Transfer the blackberry mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. (Or, use a handheld immersion blender to puree the mixture in the pot.) Strain the puree through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the seeds. Set aside in the refrigerator to cool.

Make the honey ice cream:

  • Pour the whipping cream into the bowl of a stand mixer (or other large bowl). Using a whisk attachment (or a handheld mixer), whip the cream on medium-high speed until it is fully thickened. You’ll know it’s ready when you can pick up some whipped cream on the whisk and it doesn’t fall off or droop.
  • Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the ¼ cup of honey, salt, and sweetened condensed milk until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated.
  • Pour 1/3 of the cream mixture into a 5 x 9 loaf pan. Pour 1/3 of the blackberry puree on top, then drizzle some honey. Use a knife or spoon to lightly swirl the puree into the whipped cream mixture. Repeat two more times (cream, puree, honey), ending with a swirl of puree and honey on the top.
  • Place the pan in the freezer for at least 6 hours or overnight, until the ice cream has fully frozen. Enjoy!

TIPS

  • Use fresh or frozen blackberries for the puree.
  • No blackberries? Substitute raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, or any other slightly tart berry.
  • Don’t sweeten the berry puree – the honey ice cream is sweet enough. If the puree is too sweet, you don’t taste the fruit as well.
Keyword blackberry, honey, ice cream

Dianna Grabowski

Dianna is a gardener and professional singer living in East Texas. After discovering her latent green thumb, she now has over 10 years of practical gardening experience. Dianna founded The Fruit Grove in 2022 as a way to expand and share her knowledge and love of growing fresh fruit.

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