Strawberry Ice Cream

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Strawberry Ice Cream

This strawberry ice cream recipe is super creamy, light, airy, fresh and has tons of fresh strawberry flavour.

I have not always been a lover of strawberry ice cream. As a child, I was always fascinated by the colour, but I could never understand the appeal but now I am a big fan—especially when it is homemade! I am falling in love with homemade fruity ice creams, and this strawberry ice cream is a perfect one to add to my repertoire.

I love adding a tablespoon of lemon juice as the fresh notes of citrus, gives the strawberry flavour a bright profile without overpowering it. I promise that you cannot taste the citrus, it just makes the strawberry flavour more vibrant. It is also an ultra-creamy recipe, which is something I love about ice cream, as it is not to be confused with gelato or sorbet. Nothing says summer better than a batch of homemade ice cream, especially when it is full of strawberries. Enjoy

+10

Ingredients

350 grams strawberries
90 grams caster sugar (plus 1 tablespoon)
1 cup full fat milk
1 cup double cream
1 vanilla pod
5 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

Step-1

Hull and roughly chop the strawberries. Sprinkle over the 1 tablespoon of caster sugar and leave them to steep and infuse with flavour.

Step-2

In a pan pour the milk and cream. Split the vanilla pod down the middle lengthways and add to the milk and cream. Heat on medium-low to just below boiling point, remove the pan from heat and set aside for about 20 minutes to let the vanilla flavour infuse the milk.

Step-3

In a bowl whisk the egg yolks and the sugar until thick and pale yellow.

Take the vanilla pod out of the milk and cream. Take the vanilla infused milk and bring it back to heat. Before the milk begins to boil, pour some of it on to the egg yolk/sugar mixture in a thin stream while whisking steadily. Pour the warm milk and cream over the yolks whisking to mix all the ingredients. Pour the custard back into the pan and stir until it thickens.

To check if the custard is at the right consistency is to do a ‘spoon test’. Dip the spoon in the custard and if you can draw a line with your finger across the mixture covering the back of the wooden spoon and it stays that means the custard is ready. Leave the custard aside to cool.

Step-4

Puree the strawberries in a processor and strain it. Add the strained strawberry and lemon juice to the cooled custard and fold gently.

Step-5

Freeze the ice-cream in an ice-cream maker, or in a plastic tub in the freezer.

Serve in a cup or cone!

Tips & Variations

The most important thing in this recipe is to use ripe juicy strawberries.
If fresh strawberries are not available, you can also use frozen strawberries. If using frozen strawberries, let the strawberries sit for about an hour while they thaw out and start to soften.
You can also add some food colour to the ice cream if you wish. I quite like the faint pink from the strawberries hence I do not use food colouring.
Before you begin making the custard fill half the sink with cold water. If you think the custard looks like splitting at any stage, plunge the pan into the cold water and whisk
Another test to check if the custard is ready is called the ‘Rose-test’. Dip the spoon in the base, blow some air on the custard-covered back of the spoon and check if a pattern slightly resembling rose petals is formed.
If you freeze the ice cream in a plastic tub then I would recommend that you should whip it out every hour for 3 hours as it freezes and give it a good beating, either with an electric whisk, by hand or in the processer. That gets rid of any ice crystals that form.
I prefer straining the strawberries, but it can be used without straining.
If the ice cream is frozen for 12 – 18 hours, the ice cream only needs a couple of minutes to soften before being easy to scoop and serve. After that, the ice cream becomes harder and will need around 5 minutes.