Strawberry Ice Cream

 



What better treat than delicious homemade strawberry ice cream on a hot summer day? Now that strawberries are in season, the flavor of this ice cream is all the more mouth-watering and irresistible!



This is an all-natural recipe that doesn't use any food dyes or artificial flavors- it boasts pure strawberry flavor that comes exclusively from fresh, juicy local strawberries. It is simply divine!



Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
3 eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb fresh strawberries





Directions:
Pour heavy cream and milk in medium size saucepan. Bring to a simmer on medium heat- not a full boil, just tiny little bubbles around the edges of the pan. This should take about 3-4 minutes. Watch that it doesn't boil!

In the meantime, using your electric mixer, cream eggs and sugar in a separate bowl. Whisk until pale in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.

When the cream/milk mixture is hot, pour about 1/2 cup of it into the egg mixture and continue whisking. Add another 1/2 cup and whisk again. This ensures that the eggs are "tempered" and do not curdle. Now, add all of the egg mixture back to the saucepan with the rest of the cream/milk and whisk while on medium heat until it thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Once it reaches the stage when it can coat the back of a wooden spoon, bring down from the heat. Add vanilla extract and salt. Mix in to incorporate.

Pour the custard over a bowl through a fine mesh sieve, so you can remove any possible lumps. Cover with plastic wrap, laying it directly on top of the custard to avoid a skin from forming. Refrigerate at least 5-6 hours, or overnight (that's what I do).

***

When ready to use custard base, stem and hull your strawberries and puree them in a food processor or blender. If you do not like little strawberry seeds in your ice cream, run the puree through a fine mesh sieve (I do not bother with this step, as I don't mind strawberry seeds :). Mix strawberry puree and custard base until nicely incorporated.

Add mixture to your ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's instructions. Mine usually takes about 25 minutes to come to a nice soft-serve stage which is the favorite consistency in our family. If you prefer your ice cream firmer, freeze for about 1 hour or more.

Note: Due to the water content in the strawberry puree, this ice cream tends to harden up considerably while in the freezer, so you may need to leave it out on your counter for about 10 minutes or so before being able to scoop and enjoy. Soft or firm, I am sure you will love it if you give it a try! It is a definite favorite around here! :)