This homemade caramelized pear ice cream with ginger is fresh and delicious. With rich brown sugar caramel and warming ginger it's packed with Fall flavors.
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This homemade pear ice cream makes the most of beautiful, fresh, juicy pears. Its made without eggs to let the fresh pear flavor shine and the fabulous combination of brown sugar caramelized pears and warming ginger. Perfect for Fall (Autumn) or Thanksgiving.
Recipe tips and frequently asked questions
What type of pears should I use?
I used William Bartlett pears, also known as Williams Bon Chrétien or Bartlett pears in this recipe. Packham pears would also be great opinion. If you can't get either of these varieties look for pears that are very sweet, soft and juicy for maximum sweetness and flavor. It will not work well with pears that are under-ripe, too firm or too gritty.
Can I add other flavors to this?
You sure can. The following flavors/swaps would pair perfectly with this
- Dial up the spices by adding or replacing the ginger with cinnamon, nutmeg or a touch of cardamom.
- Make pear vanilla ice cream by leaving out the ginger and adding one to two teaspoons of vanilla essence.
- Change up the flavor by replacing some of the pears with other fruit such as feijoas, blueberries or apples.
- Replace the glucose syrup with on tablespoon of honey.
What can I serve this with?
This homemade pear ice cream is delicious on its own, with a drizzle of honey or chocolate sauce or pairs wonderfully with desserts such as fruit crumbles or pies, pancakes and waffles.
Can I make this without an ice cream maker?
Yes you can. To make a no churn version of this ice cream 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 to continue freezing until firm.
Why does my ice cream have a greasy mouth feel?
The short answer is there's too much butterfat. I sometimes find there's natural variation even with the regular cream I buy which can lead to this issue. If it continues to be a problem try replacing ½ cup of cream in the recipe with full cream milk instead.
Looking for more yummy pear desserts? Why not try making my stewed pears, pear crumble or pear compote, all of which pair fabulously with this pear flavored ice cream. Delicious!
Or if you're in the mood for more delectable ice cream check out my full collection of Cuisinart ice cream maker recipes (that work well in other brands ice cream makers too!).
Ingredients
Fresh pears: are an integral part of this recipe. Look for fresh, very ripe fruit that will give maximum sweetness and flavor.
Light Brown sugar: also known as brown sugar, works best in this recipe and adds some wonderful caramel notes to the ice cream. You could use dark brown sugar or caramelize some white sugar instead.
Thickened cream: I use thickened cream in Australia which has a fat content of about 34%. You could also use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream which is similar.
Ground ginger: some ground ginger adds some wonderful warmth and spice to this ice cream. Make sure your jar is fresh and hasn't been sitting around in the cupboard for ages or the ginger flavor will be muted. You could also use cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice or a touch of cardamom.
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 scoop-ability 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 pear ice cream
See the full recipe card at the end of the post for ingredient amounts and instructions.
Peel, core and dice the pears. Add the butter and brown sugar to a skillet. Cook on medium, stirring until the sugar and butter are melted together and foamy. Continue to cook for another minute or two to get more color on the caramel but be careful not to burn the sugar. Add the ground ginger and mix well.
Add the diced pears and stir well. Cook the pears for a few minutes until they have released a lot of juice. Continue to cook the pears for about twenty minutes, stirring frequently until they have cooked down and have a wonderfully thick, almost jammy consistency.
Allow to cool, transfer to a jug and blitz with a stick/immersion blender until smooth. You should have 1 and ½ cups (375mls) of blitzed pear puree. Strain to remove any stray lumpy bits.
Add the cream to a small pot. Add the tapioca starch to a small bowl with two tablespoons of the cream and mix well. Add the glucose syrup to the cream and gently heat until warm and all the glucose syrup is dissolved.
Add the tapioca starch slurry to the warm cream mix and mix well. Remove from the heat. If you are having trouble mixing in the tapioca starch you can blitz it carefully and briefly with an immersion/stick blender.
Add the cream mix to the strained pears and mix well. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least four hours, preferably overnight.
Put your storage container in the freezer to chill. If using a self-refrigerating ice cream churner switch it on about ten minutes before churning, otherwise take the churning bowl out of the freezer right before churning.
Churn the ice cream. It will be the consistency of soft-serve when done. Cover and freeze for at least four hours, or until firm.
How to serve
To serve this pear caramel ice cream remove it from the freezer scoop and enjoy. Fabulous on its own or with some of my easy pear compote. Delicious!
How to store
This pear and ginger ice cream will keep best in an airtight container in the freezer for up to two weeks. After this it may start to become icy but will still taste delicious.
Have you made this recipe? Tell me how it went in the comments below and tag me on instagram so I can see your delicious creations! @keep_calm_and_eat_icecream
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📋 Recipe
Pear ice cream
Equipment
- ice cream churner
Ingredients
I highly recommend measuring by weight and mls instead of cups. You will get better, more consistent results!
- 4 medium (750gms) very ripe pears
- ½ cup (110gms) tightly packed brown sugar
- 2 tablsespoons (40gms) unsalted butter
- 2 to 3 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons (5gms) tapioca starch
- 2 cups (500mls) thickened cream
- ½ tablespoon (15gms) glucose syrup
Instructions
- Peal, core and dice the pears.
- Add the butter and brown sugar to a skillet/frying pan. Cook on medium, stirring frequently until the sugar and butter are melted together and foamy. You want to get some extra color on the sugar to add to the caramel notes, but be careful not to burn the sugar. Add the ground ginger and mix well.
- Add the diced pears and stir well. Cook the pears for couple of minutes, stirirng well. The pears will release a lot of juice.
- Continue to cook the pears for about twenty minutes, stirring frequently until it has cooked down and is a wonderful thick, almost jammy consistency.
- Allow to cool, then transfer to a deep-sided jug you can use a stick/immersion blender in. Blitz the pears until smooth and strain. You should have 1 and ½ cups (375mls) of blitzed pear puree.
- Add the cream to a small pot. Add the tapioca starch to a small bowl with two tablespoons of the cream and mix well. Add the glucose syrupe to the cream and gently heat until warm and all the glucose syrup is dissolved.
- Add the tapioca starch slurry to the warm cream mix and mix well. Remove from the heat. If you are having trouple mixing in the tapioca starch you can blitz it carefully and briefly with an immersion/stick blender.
- Add the cream mix to the strained pears and mix well. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least four hours, preferably overnight.
- Put your storage container in the freezer to chill. If using a self refrigerating ice cream churner switch it on about ten minutes before churning, otherwise take the churning bowl out of the freezer right before churning.
- Churn the ice cream. It will be the consistency of soft-serve when done. Cover and freeze for at least four hours, or until firm.
- To serve remove from the freezer scoop and enjoy. Fabulous on its own or with some of my easy pear compote. Deliciouis!
Notes
- This recipe works best with very sweet, soft juice pears such as William Bartlett, also known as Williams Bon Chrétien or Bartlett pear (red or green). It would also work well with Packham pears. If you can't get either of these varieties try to use pears that are sweet, ripe, soft and juicy for maximum flavor and sweetness.
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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