Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream
I have become a strawberry ice cream convert in my adulthood. When I was a kid, I didn’t want to be anywhere near the stuff. I’ve always adored strawberries, but for some reason strawberry ice cream couldn’t have been more vile to me. The worst possible thing was when I would be at someone else’s house and a carton of Neapolitan ice cream appeared. Vanilla? Good. Chocolate? Good. Strawberry? Bleh. And I felt like it contaminated both of the others. God forbid a drop of strawberry touched one of the other two. I wouldn’t eat the entire bowl. What was wrong with me?? Maybe I had never had really good strawberry ice cream. Maybe my palate had yet to mature. Well, now I’m all grown up and I’m here to tell you that this fresh strawberry ice cream is most definitely one of the best things you can make this summer.
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I love this strawberry ice cream in a waffle or sugar cone. Something about the contrast between the fresh sweetness of the ice cream and the crunch of those types of cones just seems like a perfect match to me.
I used a whole quart of strawberries for this recipe, which really infuses the ice cream with amazing flavor. Another perk to the amount of strawberries used is that you are guaranteed many chunks of those juicy red berries with each creamy bite. The strawberries are pulsed in a food processor with a bit of sugar and lemon juice and then left to macerate in the fridge while the ice cream base is made. If you don’t have a food processor, not to worry. You can prepare the strawberries with a potato masher, pastry blender, or even chop them up with a knife.
Love this recipe but don’t have an ice cream maker? Head on over to the tutorial about how to make fabulous homemade ice cream without an ice cream maker. Problem solved!
One year ago: Vanilla & Brown Sugar Breakfast Polenta
Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 quart strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, divided
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 cups (476 ml) heavy cream, divided
- 1 cup (244 ml) whole milk
- Pinch of salt
- 1 whole vanilla bean
- 6 egg yolks
- ¾ teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1. Place the strawberries, ¼ cup of the granulated sugar, and the lemon juice in a food processor. Pulse 2 to 3 times, gently mixing after each pulse, so that most of the strawberries are mashed up, with a few larger pieces remaining. Transfer the strawberry mixture to a container and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- 2. In the meantime, start on the ice cream base. Warm 1 cup of the cream, the milk, the remaining ¾ cup of granulated sugar and the salt in a medium saucepan set over medium-low heat. Once the cream mixture is warmed through and the sugar is dissolved, add the vanilla bean, cover and remove from the heat. Let steep for 30 minutes.
- 3. Pour the remaining 1 cup heavy cream in a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
- 4. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (or reaches 170 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer). Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream, then stir in the vanilla extract. Remove the strawberry mixture from the refrigerator and add it to the cream mixture, stirring to fully combine. Set the bowl in an ice bath and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Once cool, cover and place the mixture in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours (or overnight).
- 4. Once the mixture is sufficiently chilled, remove the vanilla bean and churn the ice cream according to your ice cream maker's instructions.
Notes
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Hi Michelle, Do you (or anyone else that sees this) have any advice for a substitution of the vanilla bean? I know you can use vanilla extract but I see that that is also in the recipe. I don’t have vanilla beans and can’t find them anywhere in my area and I don’t think I can wait anyone day to make this recipe. Thanks!
Hi Megan, There really isn’t a substitute for the bean itself, as what it does is infuse the vanilla flavor. I would just double the amount of vanilla extract to 1.5 teaspoons. In the future, you can order vanilla beans from King Arthur or Penzeys (that’s what I do because it’s cheaper than buying them at the grocery store!). Enjoy the ice cream!
thank you! i’m ordering those vanilla beans as i write this! :)
Gosh does that look good. I forgot to comment the other day when this appeared in my mail box. I want to make this for my son when he comes home from Karate Camp. I am going to print this and make sure i have it ready next week. Thanks again for the yummy ice cream! I just made a successful batch of chocolate chunk ice cream. I am pumped to make more.
haha, that’s funny b/c i wouldn’t touch the vanilla in the Neapolitan mix – it felt like a waste of stomach space to eat ice cream with no flavor. we should have matched up to make sure none of it went to waste. ;) great looking ice cream – fresh strawberries make all the difference!
I too am a strawberry ice cream convert. this looks so good!
You always have the yummiest ice cream ideas!
Very pretty, Michelle! Strawberry ice cream, using the sweetest berries of the season, seems to just scream “summer”.
Loved strawberry then, love it now.
Thanks you for reminding me!
Jason
oh my good lord!! that ice cream looks fantabulous!!
Oh my goodness. My mouth is watering. I can’t even begin to describe how much I love strawberry ice cream. To me, it’s perfection!
If you ever come down to our neck of the woods (York, PA) can you bring us some of ice cream? Pretty pretty please? :D
This look absolutely yummy!! : ) Great photos too!
Perfect for that heatwave we’re having now.. Yummy!
I made this yesterday for my family and it was absolutely fantastic!!! Everyone had a sugar cone after dinner… and now my mom & grandma want to have a family dinner every Sunday just so I can make a weekly flavor! We floated around the pool suggesting flavor combinations then we went back inside and everyone had another cone:) Thanks so much for a great recipe and the inspiration to create more flavors… it definitely brought my family together this week and maybe start a new tradition:)
Ahhhhhhhhhh it’s so refreshing to read a reviewers review that has actually made the recipe!!! I remember my aunt Louise use to make home made vanilla ice cream at family gatherings and boy did it melt in your mouth!! She had this old fashion hand crank ice cream machine !! And we’d all take turns and boy was it exhausting but the finished product was the bomb!! And I know she cooked it on the stove like this recipe and it contained eggs!! Yippee I’m excited!!!
I had the same reaction to strawberry ice cream as a kid. It was not my favorite. Now on the other hand, I welcome it as a wonderful sweet treat. Your photos are gorgeous!
I use to hate those little square sandwich type things, but I’ve always loved strawberry ice cream that had the actual pieces inside :)
How funny, I was quite the opposite- I always tried to scoop only the strawberry out when Neopolitan came around. Actually, I’m still that way!
One of my greatest accomplishments while working at Williams Sonoma was acquiring an ice cream maker. Love it and love trying new recipes such as this one!
Can you believe I haven’t made ice cream yet this summer? Time to bust out the ice cream maker and make this!
Wow! That first picture is Ah-Ma-Zing!! And, I am so excited I am not the only one who embraced the strawberry ice cream-meets-adulthood conversion/transition. It used to make me SO cranky when I was little! lol
Delicious!
Everyone seems to be making icecream lately in the blogging world….and yours looks just delicious!
This strawberry ice cream looks lovely… I have been saving up my egg yolks in the fridge and hadn’t decided what flavor of ice cream to make. Now I just need to see if I can find some fresh strawberries!
I don’t like strawberry ice cream either. Maybe I’ll try it this season though, considering it converted a fellow hater.
This is SO true! I never liked strawberry ice cream until I was an adult! My husband has always loved it — this post is just the encouragement I need to make it!
Thanx for the post. The ice cream looks amazing! (and it’s eatin’ seasonal!)
Perfect for summer!!! Love strawberry ice cream!!
Thta looks so cold. Perfect to a hot summer day!
I used to never like strawberry ice cream until last year. Now it’s like the best thing ever. This one looks perfect.
Looks and sounds delicious. I make homemade ice cream a lot, but I have somehow never made it with fresh strawberries. Thanks for the recipe, I hope to try it soon!
Love the photos and the ice cream:)
This looks great! The more recipes I see for fresh ice cream, the sadder I get about not owning an ice cream maker. What did people do before they had ice cream makers??
Hi Rachel, You may have missed it above, but I included a link to the post I wrote a few weeks ago about how to make homemade ice cream if you don’t have an ice cream maker. It can be done! :) Enjoy some homemade ice cream this weekend!
https://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/06/21/how-to-make-homemade-ice-cream-without-an-ice-cream-maker/
Lord have mercy, that looks delicious!