Nectarine ice cream (no churn)

This nectarine ice cream is a tasty way to enjoy some fresh summer fruit in a cool and creamy way. There’s no need for an ice cream maker as it’s no churn, and it’s packed with flavor and easy to scoop, too.

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In recent years, when I’ve seen that we were going to have a few hot days, I have taken to making some ice cream ahead of time. While I don’t always say yes, I can be pretty sure I’ll have a request of two. And if it’s particularly hot, I’m usually on board to enjoy something to cool down with myself.

Making your own ice cream is really easier than you might think, and it allows you to be creative with flavors. Plus, it can be a good way to use up some extra summer fruit and save it for later (or at least for another day). 

I’ve used the same basic no churn method in a few other ice creams, like my pumpkin ice cream It is really easy and works well to get a nicely creamy, sweet ice cream.

Sometimes almost too sweet for my liking, I’ll admit. So, I like to slightly increase the fruit and cream proportion compared to the sweetened condensed milk than in some basic versions.

Why do you roast the nectarines?

I know turning the oven on may seem like the last thing you want to do on a warm day, but there are a couple reasons for doing it here. First, and the main reason, is that roasting helps intensify the flavor of the fruit. I really noticed this with my roasted strawberry ice cream - it tasted so much more of strawberry without any artificial flavor.

This can be very helpful when making ice cream. When you make ice creams, you are both diluting the fruit with the cream base, and the flavor tends to be less strong with freezing. Since nectarines have a relatively delicate flavor, any help to strengthen the flavor is worthwhile, to me.

The other more minor reason is that it helps the skins come off really easily. This means you don’t have to separately blanch the nectarines to help peel them. After roasting, the skins just slide off.

What if I don’t want to turn on the oven?

You can make this without roasting the fruit, if you prefer. You can simply peel and puree raw fruit, though the flavor will likely be a little less strong. Alternatively, you can cook the nectarines on the grill/barbecue for a few minutes. 

The main reason I didn’t grill them is to avoid getting any dark grill marks that could affect the color and flavor of the ice cream. So if you do grill the fruit, it might be worth picking off any dark patches as well as peeling the fruit. 

Once your fruit is cooked, simply peel them, blend it up then add the sweetened condensed milk. Separately beat the cream so that it’s nice and whipped and fold in the nectarine mixture. 

This ice cream doesn’t need any stirring after you pour it into a container, just cover it and leave it to freeze. Give it a few hours to freeze through completely.

Give it a minute when you take it out the freezer to make it easier to scoop (you'll notice in the video I don't do a particularly good job scooping as I was a bit too impatient at first!).

The flavor of this nectarine ice cream is on the milder side, but you still get that lovely slightly aromatic nectarine flavor coming through and plenty of sweet creaminess too. It’s easy, tasty and perfect for a warm day.

Try these other tasty frozen treats:

• No churn raspberry chocolate chip ice cream
• Mango paletas (ice pops)
• Lemon granita (somewhere between sorbet and a slushie)
• No churn roasted banana ice cream
• Plus get more summer recipes and dessert recipes in the archives.

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