Rum Raisin Ice Cream – a classic summer treat with plump, rum soaked raisins and a rich custard base loaded with vanilla beans.
Rum Raisin Ice Cream has been a popular flavor for many years, and that might be because “rum soaked raisins” are so appealing. There are no artificial flavors in this recipe, we used real rum to spike the vanilla bean ice cream and soak the sweet raisins. The dark rum is not at all overpowering in this recipe, it’s just another delicious layer of flavor that gives this complex frozen treat its signature taste. These juicy raisins “pop” with sweet rum flavor especially when stirred into this velvety smooth vanilla custard.
Homemade ice cream has always been a special summer treat in our family. My parents did the whole ‘crushed ice, salt and hand-churned labor of love’ back in the day. Honestly, we all had to take a turn to hand crank the ice cream if we wanted to enjoy some later! I found the whole process difficult when our children were small, so we abandoned our old ice cream maker and stuck with store-bought. Then these new, simple, electric ice cream makers hit the market and homemade ice cream was once again part of our summer ritual.
Once a month we host a family dinner at our house. Our grown children and their families come to dinner and hang around and visit with us through the evening. Serving homemade ice cream for dessert is always memorable, and a terrific way to keep them coming back for more! I love make-ahead desserts, and this ice cream is a no-fuss way to impress all your guests, family or not!
Even though there are several steps to making homemade ice cream, each one is easy and worth every, single minute!
Rum Raisin Ice Cream
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup raisins, mixed light and dark
- ½ cup dark rum
- 2 to 3 thin strips orange peel
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ medium vanilla bean, split
- ¾ cup granulated white sugar, divided
- 1 pinch flaky sea salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
Instructions
- Place the raisins, rum and orange peel in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until it comes to boil. Remove from the heat, cover and set aside. Once cooled, store the raisins and rum in a glass jar with a lid at room temperature until needed.
- Add the milk to a heavy bottom, medium saucepan. Add ½ cup of the sugar, salt, and the vanilla bean pod to the milk. Warm over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, until the mixture almost comes to a boil. Cover and remove from the heat. Steep for 30 minutes.
- While the milk is steeping, combine the remaining ¼ cup of granulated sugar with the 4 egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is pale and slightly thickened. Set aside.
- Place a large glass or metal pan inside another larger bowl filled with ice. Add the heavy whipping cream to the bowl set in the ice bath. Set aside.
- After the milk mixture has steeped for 30 minutes, remove the vanilla bean pod and scrape all the beans into the milk mixture. Put the milk back on medium heat and cook until it starts to boil. Remove from the heat.
- Temper the eggs by slowly drizzling a little of the hot milk mixture into the eggs while whisking constantly. Continue adding the hot milk to the egg yolks, a little at a time, until combined.
- Once the hot milk has all been added to the eggs, pour the egg/milk mixture back into the saucepan. Heat on medium, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of the wooden spoon.
- Remove from the heat and add the cream cheese. Whisk or blend with an immersion / stick blender until smooth. Pour the custard into the cream set over the ice bath. Stir occasionally (about every 5 minutes) while cooling, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate the custard for at least 8 hours or overnight before processing.
- Drain the raisins and add the rum to the custard mixture. Process according to the manufacturers directions for your ice cream maker. Once processed, stir in the raisins and freeze the finished ice cream for several hours or overnight before serving.
Notes
- Tempering eggs is a method used to slowly increase the temperature of the eggs, so you can prevent them from scrambling while cooking the mixture to a safe temperature.
- You will need an ice cream maker to process this recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Here are a few more ice cream recipes you might enjoy:
- Chocolate Chocolate-Chunk Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream from Saving Room for Dessert
- Biscoff Ice Cream from Gimme Some Oven
- Cookies & Cream Nutella Ice Cream from A Dash of Sanity
- Key Lime Pie Ice Cream from RecipeGirl
