I have always loved the idea of strawberry ice cream, but it’s generally not my first choice. This is because most commercial strawberry ice creams either have chunks of frozen berries in them (which I hate), or taste artificial. My usual solution to this is to make my own, but I never had luck getting good strawberries at the grocery store.
Recently, I found out that I’m not too far from several strawberry farms. This is news that I probably would have come across sooner if I were the “outdoors” type, but that’s neither here nor there. I won’t get into the details of the absolute horror it was to have to pick my own berries outdoors in “hot asf Miami, FL,” but it was kind of worth it to make this strawberry ice cream. Roasting the strawberries gets rid of some of the excess water in the berries that can dilute your ice cream and also make it less prone to crystallization.
Strawberry Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp corn syrup (optional, but will help keep the ice cream smooth)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil.
In a bowl, toss the strawberries with 2 tbsp of sugar. Spread out on the sheet pan. Roast for about 15 minutes, or until the berries have softened and released some of their liquid. Transfer to a bowl and mash or puree in a blender. Set aside.
Whisk the egg yolks in a small, heat-proof bowl and set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat the milk and sugar over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture starts to simmer. Remove from heat and pour the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks, a little bit at a time, whisking continuously. When about 1/3 of the milk has been added, pour the egg mixture into the remaining milk in the saucepan and return to the heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Do not let it boil or it may curdle.
Remove from heat and strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove any clumps. Add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, corn syrup (if using) and strawberries. Stir until smooth.
Cover and refrigerate until the mixture is cold, then freeze the strawberry ice cream in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions.
Makes about 1 1/2 quarts