Peach Amaretto Ice Cream

Yet another one of my favorite peach recipes. If you like ice cream this just might become your favorite as well. I remember the first time I had peach ice cream – it was at the first Ridge Peach Festival I attended shortly after moving to South Carolina. I couldn’t get enough of it! Hopefully after trying it, you will be hooked too. And if you happen to be in the area this weekend, do stop by and experience the Ridge Peach Festival for yourself. I promise you will have lots of fun and good "peach" eats.

Ingredients:
4 large ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped
1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons Amaretto
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 ½ cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split
6 egg yolks
½ cup sugar

Preparation:
Mash half the peaches in a bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice, sugar and Amaretto and combine. Cover and refrigerate.

In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, combine the milk and 1 cup of the cream and the remaining peaches. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add to the milk mixture along with the vanilla bean. Cook over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges of the pan, approximately 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pressing on the peaches with the back of a spoon. Discard the solids and the vanilla bean.

Combine egg yolks, sugar and remaining cream in a bowl. Whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in ½ cup of hot milk mixture into egg mixture, whisking constantly until smooth. Pour back into saucepan.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly and keeping at a simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon – about 4 to 6 minutes. Do not let the custard boil.
Strain through a sieve into a bowl. Place the bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice and water. Stir occasionally to cool. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface of the custard to prevent a skim from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours.

Put the custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturers instructions. Add the Amaretto and smashed peaches after the custard is nearly frozen - about five minutes before removing from the machine. Transfer to a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze until firm - at least 3 hours.