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Strawberry Ice Cream

Strawberry ice cream.
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5 from 1 review

This is truly the best Strawberry Ice Cream, striking the perfect balance between a fresh, vibrant strawberry flavor and a super creamy, smooth taste. This recipe is traditionally made with a custard base and requires an ice cream churner, but it's well worth the effort.

Ingredients

  • 1 quart ripe strawberries, washed, hulled and quartered
  • 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar, divided
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt (see note)
  • 2 tablespoons dry milk powder (see note)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups (456 grams) heavy cream
  • ½ cup (115 grams) whole milk

Instructions

  1. In a medium pot, stir together the strawberries, ½ cup of the sugar, lemon juice, and salt. Let macerate until the strawberries release their juices, about 10 minutes. Cook over medium heat until bubbling. Using a fork or a potato masher, mash the strawberries to break them up. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes.
  2. Shut off the heat and set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Strain the strawberry mixture through the strainer, pressing out as much juice as possible from the strawberries. Set the strawberry juice aside.
  3. Transfer the strawberry solids to a storage container and let cool. Once cool, cover and transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.
  4. Set up an ice bath with two nesting metal bowls.
  5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining ½ cup of sugar and milk powder. Add in the eggs and whisk vigorously for one minute, until the mixture is lightened.
  6. Whisk in the cream, milk, and reserved strawberry juice.
  7. Transfer the mixture to a clean heavy-bottomed medium pot.
  8. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, especially along the edges and the bottom of the pot, until the mixture reaches 175°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 8 minutes. The mixture will be slightly thickened. To check if the custard is set without an instant-read thermometer, coat a wooden spoon with the custard. Draw a horizontal line on the back of the spoon with your finger. If the line “holds,” then your custard is set. If the line collapses immediately, the custard needs another minute or so. Be careful not to bring the mixture to a boil; this will curdle the custard.
  9. Immediately shut off and remove the pot from the heat. Continue to stir the custard for 1 minute. This helps bring it all the way up to 180ºF.
  10. Strain the custard through a clean fine-mesh strainer into the inner bowl of the prepared ice bath.
  11. Cool the custard in the ice bath to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
  12. Chill the custard thoroughly in the refrigerator until at least 40ºF, preferably overnight.
  13. Freeze the custard, following the recommended manufacturer’s instructions of your ice cream maker, until the ice cream has reached a soft-serve consistency. In the last minute of churning, add the reserved strawberry solids.
  14. Transfer the ice cream to one or more airtight containers. Place a piece of parchment on the surface to prevent any freezer burn. Freeze until firm, at least a few hours.

Equipment

Notes

Have a question or looking for tips? The text written above the recipe is always a great first place to start! This Strawberry Ice Cream was developed with love,  and I always include loads of explanations, tips, step-by-step photos and technical advice shared before the recipe.

The total weight of strawberries used for this recipe once the quart is cleaned and hulled is 14 ounces. You can use fresh or frozen strawberries here. If using frozen, let them thaw in the sugar and lemon juice in the pot in step 1 of the recipe.

Milk powder can be found in most grocery stores in the baking aisle. It is highly recommended for this recipe, but if you absolutely cannot find it, you can skip it. It will result in less creamy ice cream that may be harder to scoop.

This recipe was tested using Diamond Crystal coarse kosher salt. If you use Morton's kosher salt or fine salt, decrease the volume by half.

A note about the foam: the step of cooking the strawberries for this ice cream recipe is very similar to making jam. When the strawberries are simmered, a foam bubbles up to the surface. If you are familiar with making jam, you might think it is necessary to scoop off this foam. But when it comes to making ice cream, this is unnecessary since we have no need to have a "clear gel", and the foam is just air bubbles, and it can, in fact result in a flavor loss since it's removing strawberry from the mix.

Homemade ice cream is best consumed within a week or two of making it. Different factors can affect this timeline, including how cold your freezer is, what type of ice cream it is, what container it is kept in, and if it has thawed at any point in the freezing process. To help prevent freezer burn, place a piece of parchment paper on the surface of the ice cream in the storage container to minimize air exposure from the ice cream. Freeze promptly and thoroughly. Store the ice cream container in the coldest part of your freezer.

Find it online: https://everydaypie.com/strawberry-ice-cream/