Have you ever eaten an ice cream cone and thought to yourself, “This would be perfect if only it included cheese?” Okay, probably not. But now that the seed is planted, you won’t be able to stop yourself from wondering: ice cream and cheese? Do they go together?
Yes. Unequivocally yes. In fact, you can use all sorts of different cheeses. Blue cheese, goat cheese, cheddar, ricotta… the list goes on. This list of recipes will give you the opportunity to play with your ice cream maker and the chance to combine your favorite snack with the ultimate summer treat.
We’ll start with a couple pieces of simple advice: plan ahead of time, get your own ice cream maker, and make a whopping amount of ice cream base. Most ice cream has to freeze or sit for awhile, which means you’ll have to predict whether you want ice cream tomorrow (of course) and make it today. The ice cream base is tasty enough to be eaten all on its own, but it also serves as the perfect canvas for your ice cream masterpieces. Here’s a small sample of what you can do with it:
This recipe is incredibly simple and does what all the best desserts do: combines sweet and savory into one bowl. Take some of your ice cream base and mix with ricotta, pistachios, and honey. Wonder why you haven’t been doing this your entire life.
This ice cream uses bananas, dark chocolate chunks, and a blue cheese (like Roquefort). You’ll caramelize the banana with brown sugar, which sounds swoonworthy enough before adding the chocolate and cheese. Added bonus—it just looks cool.
The perfect ice cream for anyone who loves citrus. Combines mascarpone with lemon juice and lemon zest to make a tartly sweet end to your night. All you have to do is mix it into that base.
Feel free to do experiments with the ice cream base yourself—that’s half the fun! If you run out of things to toss in there, culture has more suggestions for new and adventurous ways forward.
There are a lot of reasons to make this ice cream. First, you can make it for friends and impress them with your brilliance. Second, you don’t even need an ice cream maker. It can all be done in a blender. Third, it’s Tiramisu in ice cream form. What more needs to be said?
Why go to all the trouble of drinking a beer and then eating ice cream? Just combine them into one dish! Best for malty beers with high alcohol content.
Of course, no recipe roundup would be complete without goat cheese. Somehow, ice cream manages to get even more decadent when made with goat cheese. Then you add brownies on top. And vanilla beans. This is no-holds-barred dessert, so don’t hold back.
Gabrielle Roman
Gabrielle Roman is earning her Master's in Publishing and Writing at Emerson College in Boston. She is originally from Kansas City and misses the BBQ but the Thai food is good consolation. Her favorite hobby is cuddling with her puppy.
