Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

Summer is the best, amiright?! Sunshine, warm breezes, hammocks (they’re nice to look at, even if I don’t have time to swing on them), grass under bare toes – and ICE CREAM!

I don’t have much of a sweet tooth (I’m more a “eat-a-whole-bag-of-tortilla-chips” kinda girl), and don’t care overly much for dairy products, but strangely, ice cream is one thing I really, really love (when I was pregnant, both times, ice cream was among my few cravings – I had to have some Portland Salt & Straw ice cream every day; that and indian spiced pickled vegetables)

Anyway. Ice cream rocks. And homemade ice cream – like anything homemade – is just that much better.

The other day Bradley and I were having an *ahem* spirited conversation about some junk in the basement that should be donated to the Goodwill and the ice cream maker came up. He insisted we should keep it because one day we were going to make SO MUCH ICE CREAM . . .(we’ve used it once in the past 7 years).

He put the insert in the freezer, as if to make a point.

The other day I was at the supermarket and there were organic strawberries on sale. I thought of the ice cream maker insert chilling away in the deep freeze and thought – AHA! Strawberry ice cream it is! (I’m a genius.) I picked up some heavy whipping cream and we were on our way.

Now, if I’m going to do something – and especially if I’m going to do something really decadent – I’m going to go all the way. No soy- or almond-based nonsense, and nothing healthy and half-assed. (Full disclosure: I’ve made banana “ice cream” in the past, when I was trying to trick the kids. But nobody was really fooled that it was actually ice cream. It was totally just frozen whipped bananas presented in an ice cream cone facade.) But I’m not making frozen bananas today. I’m making ice cream, and when I’m making ice cream, I’m going full-on custard: heavy cream, eggs and all. That’s really the only way.

I scoured the web for decent recipes and came across Self Proclaimed Foodie’s Old Fashioned Strawberry Ice Cream*which I used as reference for this experiment.

*As a side note, I made a double batch of the ice cream base (eggs, sugar, milk, cream) because a) it’s a pain in the ass and b) I would like to also make some peach ice cream when I have time. I’m all about the efficiency.

If you are short on time, skip to the actual recipe below:

First, I measured out some sugar (brown + white) and gathered some eggs . . .

Separate the eggs. My favorite method is to crack the egg into my hand and let the whites run through my fingers into a bowl. I’ve tried using the shell but I’ve just lost too many yolks that way and it’s hard to separate the yolks from the whites if they get mixed up. This method feels super ooky (especially since I had literally gathered the eggs from the hens minutes before so they were still very warm – it was an odd sensation, but completely effective and not one broke).

I set the whites aside – I’m not entirely sure yet what I’m going to do with them. If you have ideas, send them my way!!!

Blend until smooth. (If you look at the original recipe, she whisks her yolks and then mixes in the sugar by hand. I’m a fan of working smarter rather than harder so the food processor is my go-to)

Measure out the cream and milk and place in a HEAVY BOTTOM pan – this is important so the milk does not scald.

Add a dash of vanilla – again, the original recipe I used called for freshly scraped vanilla beans. I don’t have any fresh vanilla beans lying around, do you? Didn’t think so. The extract is fine.

Whisk whisk whisk whisk whisk!!! (You’ll be doing a lot of this – it’ll build up your forearms nicely.)

Once the milk is gently simmering, you will begin stirring in the egg / sugar mixture. I transferred the mixture from the food processor to a measuring cup to make my life easier – and I used the same measuring cup that I had used for measuring out the milk and cream because why make more dishes than absolutely necessary?

Little spoonfuls, all the while WHISK WHISK WHISKING like a mad person.

After you’ve whisked for like a million years, it starts transforming before your eyes into a magical fairy froth!

So. Much. Whisking. But once it has thickened and begins to stick to the back of a spoon, you’re done! (Try some. It’s heaven.)

Transfer immediately to a bowl (don’t do what I did and underestimate the volume of your custard – this was too close for comfort)

Place in the fridge and forget about it for a while. Go to a pilates class. Whatever. This takes some time.

Chilled ice cream base, ready for churning.

Creamy strawberry goodness ready for the ice cream maker

Pour into chilled ice cream maker insert

Since I made a double batch of the base, I put half in the freezer for a subsequent batch of ice cream (planning on peach next time)

Our ice cream maker is really small, so not all of the mix fit in. But no worries, I just put the leftover into some popsicle molds – homemade pudding pops! Or whatever. The kids will love it.

Like I said, our ice cream maker is really small, so after all the churning, it was literally overflowing. Ooops. Again – DON’T DO WHAT I DO. Learn from my mistakes. 🙂 I do!

The ice cream will still be a little soft when you take it out of the machine. Transfer to a separate container for freezing.

Successfully transferred to a cambro container and ready to be put in the freezer (Not picture: I placed a little piece of parchment paper over the top and pressed it down over the ice cream to keep the air off of it and hopefully prevent ice crystals)

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients

4 cups strawberries, trimmed and sliced
1/2 cup granulated sugar, separated
1/4 cup golden brown sugar
4 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Place the sliced strawberries, along with 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar, in food processor. Pulse until strawberries are evenly chopped and sugar is well mixed in. Set aside the strawberries in a separate bowl and rinse out the food processor for the next step (have I mentioned I hate making extra dishes?)
Place egg yolks, the rest of the granulated sugar, brown sugar in food processor and pulse until smooth.
Pour the whole milk, the heavy cream, and the vanilla extract into a medium saucepan, over medium heat. Slowly bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Once simmering, remove the pot from heat.
Use a ladle or spoon to transfer one spoonful at a time of the hot milk/cream to the egg yolk mixture while whisking the entire time. The goal is to slowly mix in the hot mixture to temper the eggs but not to cook them. Continue to slowly add the hot cream while whisking until all of it has been thoroughly combined.
Return the entire tempered egg mixture to the saucepan and place over medium low heat. Continue to cook, whisking frequently, until the mixture thickens just slightly and coats the back of a spoon.
Pour the mixture into a bowl and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for at least four hours (or the next morning, in my case – life happens).
Stir the chilled strawberry mixture into the custard.
Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s directions. (This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes.)
Freeze until hardened.

VOILA!! ICE CREAM!!!

You’re welcome.

5 thoughts on “Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream”

Diane says:

June 27, 2019 at 1:47 pm

Looks like heaven!

LikeLiked by 1 person

1. Moose Poop Acres says:
  
  June 27, 2019 at 1:50 pm
  
  Yes!!!
  
  LikeLike
  
ruthsoaper says:

June 29, 2019 at 11:23 pm

I NEED an ice cream maker. LOL.

LikeLiked by 1 person

Chicken Librarian says:

July 11, 2019 at 10:39 pm

Umm, full custard is the ONLY way to go!! And make an angel food cake with whites. Or meringue. We made LOTS of ice cream last year, but sadly I have made zip this year. But now I want ice cream. Nice post!

LikeLiked by 1 person

1. Moose Poop Acres says:
  
  July 12, 2019 at 3:10 am
  
  DUH!!! Why didn’t I think of angel food cake?! *slaps forehead*
  
  LikeLike

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