This homemade ice cream is super creamy, sweet, and a little bit tart. I am a fan of tart frozen yogurt and the slightly tangy flavor of this luscious plum ice cream excited me the moment I first tried it. You will love it too.
This fresh fruit ice cream recipe is churned in an ice cream maker. It helps make it creamy and dreamy. The texture is smooth & divine almost like gelato & you will be craving it every summer.
This is my daughter's favorite homemade ice cream recipe. She's a smart girl because it is to die for & you will agree too once you try it.
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Ingredients
When summer gives you a bumper crop on your plum tree, make this ice cream. We always have so many that ripen all at once so I started making ice cream years ago & haven't stopped since.
Here are the few simple ingredients you need to make this recipe. There are no artificial ingredients here, just real cream, milk, sugar, and eggs.
- Fresh Plums - juicy plums that are very ripe work best, plus they are easiest to peel, pit, & dice.
- Heavy Cream - do not substitute, the full-fat cream is the good stuff that makes this rich & creamy.
- Whole Milk - again, do not use fat-free or low-fat.
- Sugar - it doesn't need a lot, we want a tartness to come through.
- Eggs - for a custardy texture that's irresistible.
- Vanilla - for a hint of floral that is so yummy with any fruit flavor.
See the Recipe Card for amounts & Full Instructions.
Best Plums to Use
When making ice cream, fresh fruit makes a wonderful flavor. My mango ice cream recipe is one of the best. Almost any kind of plum will work in this recipe.
The best plum varieties are Santa Rosa, Black Beauty, American plum, & Stanley. European (Autumn sweet) and Japanese plum (Elephant heart plums) varieties work wonderfully too. I have used Italian prunes and OMG!
How to Make Plum Ice Cream
NOTE: Ensure your ice cream maker insert is frozen solid before starting - mine takes 24-36 hours for best results.
Combine prepared plum flesh with ¼ cup sugar in a blender. I have a Ninja Blender & the single-serving capsule is the perfect size.
I like to mash them with my hands as I peel and pit them. Next, let them sit in the refrigerator for 30 min, then puree them in the blender.
In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer to beat eggs with ½ cup sugar until foamy. Next, add cream, milk & vanilla and beat until combined.
Next, add ¾ of the plum puree and beat until combined. My mixture was just barely tinted pink. Place bowl in the freezer for 30 min to get cream very cold before going into ice cream maker.
Put the remaining plum puree in the refrigerator to keep it cold. You do not want warm plum puree going into your frozen ice cream later.
Churn the Ice Cream
Pour the chilled base into your ice cream maker. Freeze in the ice cream maker according to your machine's instruction.
My Cuisinart 1.5quart machine takes about 15 minutes. I have been making ice cream, gelato, & sorbet in this same machine for almost 20 years - it's one of my favorite kitchen gadgets.
When it has 1 minute left, it is ready to drizzle in the remaining ¼ of the plum puree swirl throughout.
The rest of the plum mixture will swirl in and combine. Once the ice cream is fluffy and has the consistency of soft serve, it is ready. Remove the ice cream from the machine and transfer it to a freezer-safe container that has a tight-fitting lid.
Place the container in the freezer. Freeze for an additional hour if you like a soft serve consistency.
Look at that ice cream. The gorgeous purplish pink color is so fun & unique.
For a more solid ice cream, freeze for 3-4 hours. It will then be scoopable for a cone or bowl.
Storing Homemade Ice Cream
Keep the ice cream in the container for up to 30 days. Homemade ice cream will freeze pretty solid so it may need a few minutes at room temperature to soften before scooping.
Plum Ice Cream
Equipment
- ice cream maker
Ingredients
- 1 C very ripe plums pitted, peeled, and chopped (about 10-12 small plums)
- ¼ C sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ C sugar
- 2 C heavy cream
- 1 C whole milk do not use low-fat or non-fat
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Ensure your ice cream maker will be ready to freeze the mixture in about an hour. This usually means the insert should be in the freezer the night before.
- Combine plums with ¼ cup sugar in a measuring cup or single-serving Ninja capsule. Mash as you go. Let sit in the refrigerator for 30 min. Puree them in a blender.
- In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer to beat eggs with ½ cup sugar until foamy. Next, add cream, milk & vanilla and beat until combined.
- Then add ¾ of the plum puree and beat again. My mixture was just barely tinted pink. Place bowl in the freezer for 30 min to get cream very cold before going into ice cream maker.
- Put the remaining plum puree in the refrigerator to keep it cold. You do not want warm plum puree going into your frozen ice cream later.
- Prepare/freeze the mixture in the ice cream maker according to your machine’s instructions. Then about a minute before it is ready, drizzle in the remaining ¼ of the plum puree to swirl throughout.
- Spoon the ice cream into an air-tight container that is ok to use in the freezer. Freeze an additional 1-2 hours to get more solid, it will be softer than even a soft-serve if you do not freeze any additional time in the freezer.
- This ice cream will store for up to 2 weeks in the freezer in an air-tight container.
Nutrition
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Joanne says
Looks easy and delicious 😋
Lisa Manderino says
I have never tried Plum Ice Cream but I any homemade ice cream is so delicious!
Nikki says
Well all I can say is Yummy! I don't think I have ever thought to try Plum Ice Cream - I love plums though! I jotted down the recipe and have put it at the top of my yummy deserts I absolutely need to try. Thanks for the recipe
Angela says
If you are on Pinterest, you can pin it to save for later. I cannot wait to hear what you think of this sweet tart dream!
Christina Furnival Real Life Mama says
Delicious! Love the swirl too.
Melissa Parcel says
I haven't made ice cream in so long! You have inspired me to dig out my ice cream machine and give it a try.
Angela says
Great, go for it!
Cynthia says
This looks delicious! My family has been eating Plumcots (a mixture of plums & apricots) and I bet they would be delicious to use for this recipe as well! Thanks for sharing!
Angela says
Oh yes, that sounds amazing too.
Katherine Wolfe says
This looks sooooooooooooooooooo good....like a perfect twist of sweet and tart! Yummy!
Lisa says
This flavor is interesting, may have to give it a try. Thank you for sharing.
Candy K says
This sounds amazing and I love that it isn't too hard to make.
Adrienne B Redelings says
Looks delicious and something so different from the norm.
Tiffany says
YUM! It's fruit so this means its healthy, right?? Right?????
Angela says
Yes, good enough for breakfast - right?
Jennifer Morrison says
We have a plum tree and I love making things with plum! Yum! I can't wait to try this dessert!!!
Kendra says
Ooh! I bet this is wonderful! We used to have several plum trees in our yard when I I was younger. I miss having all that seasonal fresh fruit.
Karla Petersen says
All these summer treats are so amazing. I will have to canvas my friends to see if anyone has plums.
Sian says
This looks so yummy! Love that it's a fruit one too
Suzan says
This puree would work wonderfully in our custard base vanilla ice cream....yum!
Margaret says
I absolutely love ice cream! I had however never heard of or considered plum ice cream. Sounds perfect for this time of year.
Haley Kelley says
Never considered this as an idea but it actually sounds really good!
Rachel DeMello says
Sounds delicious!
April says
I was literally just talking to my mom about doing homemade ice cream and now we have a recipe!!!!
Heather says
I never would have thought of plum ice cream. It sounds absolutely amazing!
Cindy says
Totally off my plant based lifestyle but what a great way to use your extra plums!
Stacey Kyle says
I have never thought about plum flavored ice cream. Sounds interesting. Thanks for sharing!
Laura Lee says
I love love love plums...and I love ice cream a little too much! This looks like such a great recipe to try!
Kyndall Bennett says
I would love to try this! We just got plums last week when we went grocery shopping, and I had forgotten how much I loved eating that fruit!
Marty Hadding says
This looks and sounds so delicious! Can you make it without having a ninja thing? Maybe just in a food processor?
Angela says
Absolutely, a food processor or any blender will do.
Miz Helen says
Your Plum Ice Cream will be delicious! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday,444 and hope you have a great week!
Miz Helen
Angela says
You are welcome, it is a great site and I love sharing my recipes. This is a great one especially in the summer heatwave many of us are having right now.
T.M. Brown says
Hmmm ~ I would have never thought plum and ice cream would go together, but ~ now that I read through this ~ my interest is piqued!
LaRena says
This sounds amazing. Thank you for sharing.
Marianne says
Yum! Have never seen or heard of this anywhere!! Sounds delicious!
Angela says
I hope you give it a try this summer with some fresh plums, it is so good and I never see plum ice cream in stores so making it homemade is ideal.
Beth Shields says
Love your recipes. And this looks delicious - I am imagining using this for an afternoon tea with a little shortbread cookie to the side. Pinned and will be looking for plums. Thanks!
Angela says
Oh, this would be lovely with a summer tea afternoon. Let me know when you try it and how lovely the tea is.
Melanie says
We had so many soft ripe plums this year. This ice cream was just the ticket. It was lighter color but probably depends on the fruit.