This easy melon ice cream is made with fresh cantaloupe or rockmelon for sweet and juicy ice cream that's full of fresh fragrant flavor.
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This cantaloupe ice cream is the perfect fresh summer dessert. Make it with fresh, fragrant rockmelon for light, almost sherbert like ice cream you'll be making all summer long.
Why you'll love this recipe
- A great recipe to use lots of beautifully ripe, juicy cantaloupe.
- Make it in an ice cream maker or follow my directions for an easy no churn version.
- Made with fresh milk and cream, not condensed milk.
Looking for more fabulous fresh fruit dessert recipes? Why not try making my juicy watermelon ice lollies, pineapple ice cream or passion fruit cheesecake. Delicious!
Ingredients
Melon: fresh, really ripe juicy melon works best in this recipe. I used canteloupe (aka rockmelon) but you can use a different type of melon such as green honeydew.
Lemon juice: a splash of fresh lemon juice helps the melon flavor shine. It's also delicious with fresh lime juice.
Thickened cream: I use thickened cream which has a fat content of about 34%. You could also use heavy cream or heavy whipping or whipping cream which is similar.
Milk: this recipe uses full-fat milk with a fat content of about 3.5%.
Granulated white sugar: white sugar is best in this recipe. You could use castor sugar if you prefer or experiment with brown sugar to give the ice cream some caramel notes.
Tapioca starch: is a natural and accessible way of both thickening and stabilizing the ice cream. If you can't get tapioca starch you can use arrowroot powder or cornflour in the same volume.
Glucose syrup: also called confectioner’s glucose. You can get in from specialty baking shops, online and some supermarkets. A small amount of glucose syrup helps lower the freezer point of ice cream and improves the texture and scoopability of the ice cream.
You can substitute with the same amount of light corn syrup or powdered dextrose. Measure carefully, preferably using a digital kitchen scale, and don't add too much or your ice cream will melt in a red hot minute!
How to make melon ice cream
See the full recipe card at the end of the post for ingredient amounts and instructions.
Measure the tapioca starch into a small bowl. Measure out the milk, then add a couple of tablespoons of the milk into the bowl with the tapioca starch. Mix well to form a slurry and get out all the lumps.
Add the milk, cream, sugar and glucose syrup to a small pot on the stove. When measuring the glucose syrup ideally use a digital kitchen scale, otherwise make sure it's a flat half a tablespoon. Heat on medium and stir well until all the sugar and syrup is fully dissolved.
Add tapioca starch slurry and stir well for a few minutes on medium-low heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
Slice the melon, remove the skins and seeds and cut into chunks. Put into a deep-sided jug you can use an immersion/stick blender in and blend well. Strain the blended melon.
Add to the dairy mix to the strained blended melon and blend well until smooth. Add the lemon juice and mix well. Cover and chill in the ice cream mix fridge for at least four hours, ideally overnight.
Put your ice cream storage container into the freezer to chill. If you are using a self-chilling churner turn it on ten mins before to chill. Churn the ice cream. It will be the consistency of soft-serve when done. Transfer to the chilled ice cream container, cover and freeze for at least four hours, or until firm.
How to serve
To serve this sweet melon ice cream remove it from the freezer, scoop and enjoy. Fabulous on its own or with some extra chopped melon sprinkled over the top. Delicious!
How to store
You can store rockmelon ice cream in an air-tight container in the freezer for two up to weeks for the best texture. It will still taste good after this but may become icier over time.
Recipe tips and frequently asked questions
What kind of melon can I use in this?
I use cantaloupe melon, also known as sweet melon or rock melon. But you could also use honeydew melon which is similar or regular watermelon. Whatever type of melon you use needs to be fresh and really ripe or the ice cream won't be sweet enough.
Can I make this without an ice cream maker?
You sure can. To make this without an ice cream machine make the base as per the recipe until you get to the churning part. Put the ice cream into your chilled container and freeze for one hour. Working quickly remove the ice cream from the freezer and whisk it, taking care to scrape the edges which will start to freeze first.
Return to the freezer for another hour. Remove and whisk again. Repeat for another two to three times or until the ice cream resembles soft-serve ice cream. Then allow it to continue freezing until firm.
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📋 Recipe
Melon Ice Cream
Equipment
- ice cream maker
- stick/immersion blender or blender
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons (5gms) tapioca starch
- ½ cup (125 mls) full fat milk
- 1 & ½ cups (375 mls) thickened cream
- ½ cup (110gms) granulated white sugar
- ½ a flat tablespoon (15gms) glucose syrup
- 2 cups (1 pound/450gms) ripe cantaloupe melon
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Measure the tapioca starch into a small bowl. Measure out the milk, then add a couple of tablespoons of the milk into the bowl with the tapioca starch. Mix well to form a slurry and get out all the lumps.
- Add the milk, cream, sugar and glucose syrup to a small pot on the stove. When measuring the glucose syrup ideally use a digital kitchen scale, otherwise make sure it's a flat half a tablespoon. Heat on medium and stir well until all the sugar and syrup is fully dissolved.
- Add tapioca starch slurry and stir well for a few minutes on medium-low heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes
- Slice the melon, remove the skins and seeds and cut into chunks. Put into a deep sided jug you can use an immersion/stick blender in and blend well. Strain the blended melon.
- Add to the dairy mix to the strained blended melon and blend well until smooth. Add the lemon juice and mix well. Cover and chill in the ice cream mix fridge for at least four hours, ideally overnight.
- Put your ice cream storage container into the freezer to chill. If you are using a self-chilling churner turn it on ten mins before to chill. Churn the ice cream. It will be the consistency of soft-serve when done.
- Transfer to the chilled ice cream container, cover and freeze for at least four hours, or until firm.
Notes
- I used rock melon, also known as sweet melon or cantaloupe. You could try this with green honeydew melon or regular watermelon.
- If you don't use glucose syrup your ice cream may freeze a little firm. Put it in the fridge for about ten minutes to make it soft enough to scoop (this is better than leaving it on the bench because it will soften uniformly).
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate based on an online database. The nutritional content of ingredients may vary by brand. If you require accurate nutritional information, you should calculate this based on the specific brands and products you are using.
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