Pears are in season, and pear ice cream is one of my favorite flavors. If you own an ice cream maker, making your own pear ice cream is very easy. Just blend all the ingredients and pour the mixture into your ice cream maker. The ‘official’ way to make ice cream requires you to cook a custard first, but if you don’t mind eating raw egg yolks then that step can be skipped and you will still end up with very nice ice cream. The advantage of making your own ice cream from scratch is that there are no artificial flavors, just actual pears.
The most important thing to remember is to use ripe pears, and it pays off to buy them a week in advance if needed as they will ripen after you buy them. To obtain firm but pliable ice cream and just a touch of lemon, I add a small amount of limoncello. The alcohol will prevent the ice cream from freezing into a brick.
Ingredients
For about 4 servings
2 ripe pears
2 egg yolks
250 ml (1 cup) whipping cream (35% fat)
100 grams (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
1 tsp limoncello
Preparation
Peel and core the pears and cut into chunks. Combine the pears, egg yolks, and sugar in the bowl of your food processor.
Whiz until pureed.
Add the cream…
…and whiz some more to mix.
Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and refrigerate for some hours until completely chilled.
Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker.
Churn according to manufacturer’s instructions for about 45 minutes.
When the ice cream is almost done, add just a teaspoon of limoncello (if you use too much, the limoncello will overpower the pears).
Transfer the pear ice cream into a plastic container and freeze to allow the ice cream to firm up some more.
The pear ice cream is great on its own, but you could serve it with slices of pear, blue cheese, etc. to turn it into a fancy dessert.
Stefan's Gourmet Blog 
wow! I wish i wasn’t so lazy to do that
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my first instinct would have been to cook the pears. I’ve never made pear ice cream before and going with very ripe uncooked pears sounds really good. I gotta try this at some point. Thanks for the recipe Stefan! and the limocello tip is awesome.
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I can honestly say I’ve never thought about pear ice cream. I imagine it’s a very subtle flavor, although there’s nothing wrong with that!
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Stefan, I agree – cream, fruit, sugar – nothing artificial – is the way to go with ice-cream. This looks velvety, creamy and delicious. I have never heard of or had ice cream with ripe pears. What a wonderful idea for pear season, which is upon us. The limoncello at the end is a lovely (and Italian – you do adore your Italian cuisine!) touch. I have also read that using a small amount of alcohol in ice cream prevents over churning and contributes to a soft, perfect final texture. Blue cheese with pear – yes, please. You could even add a bit to your ice cream if you were daring. You know, I also enjoy the combination of pear and honey – I wonder if one could substitute part of the sugar with this? I really need an ice cream maker. I digress – great work, Stefan!
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Next time you are in Italy, find a Grom gelateria and get the pear sorbet (if in season). Absolutely to die for! Love pear anything..
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Thanks for the tip! I should make the pear tart again that I made last year inspired by a peach tart from your blog.
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