4medium ripe pearspeeled, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces OR 2 cups canned pears, drained
¼cupMeyer lemon Juice and zest
½cupgranulated sugar
¼cuporganic light corn syrup
1vanilla beansliced in half lengthwise and seeds scraped out
3tablespoonscream cheesesoftened
⅛teaspooncoarse sea salt
2cupsbuttermilk1%
1 ½tablespoonscornstarch
1 ½cups heavy cream
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
Instructions
In a medium saucepan, bring pears, lemon juice and zest, sugar, corn syrup, vanilla seeds and vanilla pod to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes or until pears are soft and most of the liquid is reduced. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Remove vanilla pod and discard.
While fruit is cooling mix together cream cheese and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
Mix cornstarch with about 2 tablespoons of the buttermilk to make a paste and set aside.
Puree pear mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth.
Pour cream and buttermilk into a medium saucepan and bring just to a simmer. Add pear-lemon mixture and continue to simmer on low for 4-5 minutes. Add cornstarch paste and stir well to combine and return to a simmer to let mixture thicken slightly.
Remove from heat and whisk the cream cheese and salt into the hot liquid. Add vanilla. Set aside to cool.
When mixture is cool enough to handle, pour into a ziploc bag and place the bag in a large bowl of ice to cool down to room temperature (about 30 minutes). You can also cool the mixture in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
When pear-cream is cool, pour into an ice cream maker and churn for 20-30 minutes until desired consistency is achieved.