As winter comes to an end here – unceremoniously and full of rain — so, perhaps, ends my long summer century of ice creams based on a mixture of condensed milk and whipped cream. Not that I’m denouncing that method by any means, it’s spectacular and pretty foolproof, even for this fool. But my eye has been turned by a quasi-custard semifreddo method where egg yolks are whipped with sugar over steam heat, it’s considerably more work, I grant you, but it’s a commitment I’m happy to make. Why? Because I like cooking! The prospect of a little vigorous whisking is in fact a joy, not something to be sidestepped or eliminated. Also, the resulting ice cream has a particular feathery, tender-shouldered lusciousness that evokes its store-bought relatives a little more closely; though store-bought ice cream fades and melts from view when you consider, instead, this Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream recipe.

I had rather rudely relegated blueberries to a lower echelon of the berry heirarchy and in fact had intended for this recipe to be made with blackberries, which I hold in significantly higher regard. But in my local supermarket, the ill-stockedness of which should be studied because it’s so baffling for a shop of that size and centrality; there was not a blackberry to be found, only shelf after shelf of blueberries. The supermarket’s woeful ineptitude was my gain, in the end — the blueberries, trailing purply through the ice cream, leave a floral, grape-ish bloom of flavour that is nudged further into the light by the pinprick of almond essence and a dash of lemon juice. By the way, the almond essence will taste alarmingly like it’s taking over everything after you initially add it to the blueberries, it will, I assure you, diffuse once stirred through everything and frozen.

The ice cream itself is made full-mouthed and luscious with a significant quantity of sour cream, which echoes that tanginess of the berries and provides a certain body and soul that is undeniably subtle and yet, I insist, wholly necessary. Though you have to get a few bowls and pans and spoons dirty and there’s a lot of whisking involved, this ice cream tastes of spring, of cool crisp mornings mellowing into endless, long-shadowed afternoons, of frolicking and gambolling and capers and antics and holding your hands up to your eyes to shade them from the sun. It also tastes of blueberries, and blueberries taste of something, and then some, and I take back every slanderous accusation of “mild” that I threw at them.

If you’re after more berry-studded ice cream recipes, I recommend my Corn, Raspberry, and Mascarpone Ice Cream; my Twin Peaks Ice Cream; and my Vegan Jelly Tip Ice Cream. All no-churn, of course! Big Ice Cream Machine will never get its chilly hands on me.

Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

Ripples of syrupy blueberries through ice cream made rich, satiny, and a little tangy with sour cream. This isn’t exactly the easiest recipe — it does, at the least, dirty a few dishes — but you don’t need an ice cream maker or any heavy machinery at all (other than a freezer) and the rewards are delicious. Recipe by myself.

• 250g frozen blueberries
• 120g sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon almond essence
• 2 large egg yolks
• 500g sour cream, not fridge-cold — take it out of the fridge as you start making the recipe to take some of the chill off it
• 250ml cream

1: Tip the 250g frozen blueberries into a saucepan with an icy clatter, and cover them in a snowy blanket of 50g of the sugar. Raise the heat and let the berries defrost and the sugar melt, and then simmer, stirring, for ten minutes. Some of the berries will burst and collapse into the syrup that forms, but feel free to help them along by squashing them with your spoon.

2: Remove the blueberries from the heat, stir in the 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract, and leave to cool.

3: Place the two egg yolks and remaining 70g sugar in a large metal bowl, and rest it over the mouth of another saucepan of simmering water (making sure the water doesn’t touch the base of the bowl). Whisk the egg yolks and sugar vigorously and ceaselessly — I won’t hold it against you if you use electric beaters, but I didn’t — until thickened and pale and very stiff, about 7-10 minutes — and don’t stop moving or it’ll scramble in the heat. I recommend filling your sink with a couple inches very cold water — a trick I learned from Nigella — that you can stick the bowl into while stirring to rapidly lower its heat.

4: On that note, once the egg yolks and sugar have reached that aerated, thick, thoroughly-beaten stage where they resemble high-quality mayonnaise; remove from the heat and immediately continue beating until the base of the bowl is cool enough to touch. And if you do this in a sink of cold water, it’ll happen much faster.

5: Beat in the sour cream, a few dollops at a time, and be not disheartened if it seems to become a bit lumpy — continue whisking and it will combine smoothly. In another bowl, quickly whisk or beat the 250ml cream until thickened and holding its shape, but not firmly whipped, and fold this into the sour cream mixture.

6: Finally, spatula most of the sour cream mixture into a 1.5-litre, freezerproof container, and spoon over most of the now somewhat-cooled blueberry syrup, then follow up with the remaining sour cream mixture and blueberry syrup, giving it a brief swirl with your spoon to create further ripples. Allow this container to sit for two hours in the fridge — I maintain that this helps the flavour and texture to develop and one of these days I will side-by-side test it — and then freeze for four to six hours or overnight, without touching.

Allow to sit on the bench for 10-15 minutes before serving. Makes 1-1.2 litres.

Note: If you’re vehemently anti-almond you could leave it out or replace it with vanilla, it’s somehow present yet inobtrusive at the same time, but almond-haters will notice it.

music lately:

Song in 3 by Galaxie 500, I just like them so much, I couldn’t even pick a song so closed my eyes and threw a dart at this one; its off-kilter yet robust waltz time signature is extremely appealing.

The Deal (No Deal) from the musical Chess; it’s like a delicious tasting flight of every last motif that runs through the show, but the persistent drum beat at 5 mins makes me feel particularly loopy, as does the line “Who’d ever think it/such a squalid little ending”.

Ladyflash, by The Go! Team, an impeccably vibes-based song and those vibes are “it is impossible to not feel cheerful while listening to this”. Just when you think it’s heading towards a semblance of structural integrity the song vaporises into ephemera once more, but the happiest ephemera you ever haven’t seen.

Bel Air by Lana Del Rey. The way the harmonies in the chorus flutter like feathers caught on the breeze at sunset twirling just out of reach of your fingertips makes me want to lie face down and howl, this is obviously a good thing.

PS: As I’ve said previously, ReliefAid’s Gaza Appeal is important to me. Their team, through perishingly difficult circumstances, are on the ground trying to help. They updated this month to report that they’ve helped provide food, water, and support to over 40,000 people — if you’re looking for relief effort to support for Palestine, I recommend them as a starting point.