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Homemade Peach Ice Cream

Homemade peach ice cream with a churned peach custard base and visible fresh peach chunks swirled throughout. Pale golden, creamy, and fruity—made with a cooked egg-yolk custard that gets blended for a smooth puree and kept chunky for texture.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
chilling + freezing 4 hours 24 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 54 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 420
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Fresh peaches
  • 3 cup fresh peaches, peeled and diced (about 4 peaches) Reserve some pieces to fold in during the last 5 minutes of churning.
Granulated sugar
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar Divide: 1/4 cup for macerating + 1/2 cup for the custard.
Lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
Heavy cream
  • 2 cup heavy cream
Whole milk
  • 1 cup whole milk
Egg yolks
  • 4 egg yolks
Vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp cinnamon

Equipment

  • 1 ice cream maker
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Macerate and puree the peaches
  1. Toss the diced peaches with 1/4 cup sugar and the lemon juice, then let them macerate for 30 minutes until fragrant and juicy.
  2. Blend 2 cups of the peach mixture smooth, then set aside the remaining peaches chunky for later.
Cook the peach custard
  1. Heat the heavy cream and whole milk in a Dutch oven until steaming, then remove from heat briefly.
  2. Whisk the cream-milk mixture slowly into egg yolks beaten with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar to keep it smooth.
  3. Return to the Dutch oven and cook to 175°F, stirring constantly, until the custard thickly coats the back of a spoon.
  4. Strain the custard, then stir in vanilla, cinnamon, and the blended peach puree until evenly combined.
Chill the base
  1. Cool completely over an ice bath until the custard feels cold throughout.
  2. Refrigerate at least 2 hours until thoroughly chilled and ready to churn.
Churn and freeze
  1. Churn the cold custard in an ice cream maker until it reaches a soft-serve consistency.
  2. Add the reserved chunky peach pieces in the last 5 minutes of churning so they stay visible throughout.
  3. Transfer to a container and freeze at least 2 hours until scoopable.

Notes

Pro tip: Keep the custard moving while heating—stir constantly to reach 175°F without scrambling the yolks. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks; for best scoopability, let it sit 5 minutes at room temperature before serving. Freezing is the final step (no separate freezing beyond the instructed time). For a dairy-light option, use half-and-half or a lactose-free milk/cream blend in the same amounts, keeping the same custard method.