Strawberry Ice Cream |
Pretty In Pink
That’s how you might describe this Strawberry Ice Cream. Made without a cooked custard, it is the simplest – and prettiest! – ice cream recipe in my large collection.
What is so seductive about pink’s pale-to-passionate variations? When I close my eyes and think pink, I find color-etched images.
Last winter, two girls emerged from the grocery store with their mother. Their hot pink bellbottoms were topped by paler pink knitted ponchos, alike but not identical as the girls themselves were sisters not twins.
And then in April, there was the blushing pink of crabapple blossoms burst open overnight along my street.
And now, in summer, the cool, creamy pink of this dessert is added to my inner gallery, of pink.
More Than a Bare Hint of Strawberry
When the local berries ripen, the local ice cream shops break out their seasonal strawberry ice creams. I just can't resist – it's the pretty color and the promise of a creamy strawberry flavor.
But those specialty ice creams are a big disappointment, they b-a-r-e-l-y taste of strawberry. There's a hint of strawberry there, surely. But me? Maybe it's the legacy of my great-grandfather whose nickname was Strawberry Bill because when strawberry season begins, I want to revel in strawberry flavor.
So call me super-excited about how super-strawberry-tasting this easy recipe turns out! I first published the recipe way back in 2005 and over the years, always intended to make it again each spring but just never got around to it.
And then I did and wow, the big strawberry flavor was a welcome surprise, a huge reminder that strawberry ice cream can really-truly taste like strawberries!
It's my go-to for strawberry ice cream, especially since the ingredients are so simple and so easily kept on hand. We love Strawberry Ice Cream just plain but with Perfect Rhubarb Pie? Swoon ...
What Do You Need to Make Strawberry Ice Cream?
- Strawberries – even good supermarket strawberries create an intense strawberry flavor, home-grown berries would be over the top; good news, frozen strawberries are extra-easy and still good
- A touch of sugar – only a half cup, so the ice cream itself is more strawberry than sweet
- A touch of lemon juice – this keeps the color and the flavors bright
- Milk & cream – the dairy mix makes this a super-creamy ice cream
- Cream cheese – non-fat cream cheese works; in recent years I've used the low-fat cream cheese we call Neufchatel
- Salt – this is often a needed touch, even for sweet dishes
Investing in Homemade Summer Ice Cream Treats
Do you have an ice cream maker? It's a great investment for about $50, a great gift too. I love making ice cream in the summer, turning summer's ripest fruit into a sweet after-dinner treat and, if you're inclined that way, using less sugar which lets the fruit flavor really punch through.
RESOURCES
- Ice Cream Maker I'm very pleased with our Cuisinart ice cream processor, it's been going strong for, hmmm, almost twenty years. That's a long time for a small kitchen appliance! I have replaced the bowls once or maybe twice, they seem to lose their freezing power. When visiting family and friends by car, I'll even tuck the ice cream maker into the trunk, making it extra easy to stir up a special dessert.
- Metal Ice Cream Scoop So useful, homemade ice cream or not! Just warm up the scoop in hot water and it'll make perfectly shaped scoops every single time. If you have someone who's bent all your soup spoons trying to scoop ice cream? Gift him – is it always a him?! – a metal ice cream scoop.
- Ice Cream Containers Not essential but nice, are specialty containers for ice cream, especially designed to prevent freezer burn, easy to scoop the long ways for a perfect scoop. I have these long ice cream tubs from Tovolo (photo below) but they may not fit in every freezer. Tovolo also makes quart-size ice cream tubs, a more traditional shape.
- Ice Cream Cookbook Speaking of perfect scoops, there is indeed The Perfect Scoop by cookbook author, pastry chef and food blogger David Lebovitz. I turn to his inspiration all the time!
- My Disclosure Promise
Master Recipes for Ice Cream
Over the years, I've developed two master recipes, it's really fun to explore different taste combinations, to make your very own ice cream creations.
- Master Recipe #1: Chameleon Ice Cream – so many variations, it's a little lighter than most ice cream recipes, light enough for every day.
- Master Recipe #2: Rustic Fruit Ice Cream – a no-cook base, studded with bits of fresh fruit.
- More Ice Cream Recipes.
STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM
Processing time: 20 – 30 minutes
Makes 6 cups
- 1 pound cleaned and hulled fresh strawberries (or 16 ounces frozen strawberries, thawed)
- 1/2 cup (100g) sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup milk (skim milk works, all the way up to whole milk)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces (225g) cream cheese (non-fat works, all the way up to full-fat), cut in 8 chunks, preferably at room temperature
- 1/2 cup cream
Place the berries, sugar and lemon juice in a blender and purée until smooth. (If there’s not enough liquid to puré:e, add a bit of the 1 cup milk.) Add the remaining milk, salt and cream cheese and blend until smooth. Add the cream and blend until just blended. Process in an ice cream maker until just thick, there's no need to chill first. Best served immediately but can be frozen and served later.
This recipe has been "Alanna-sized" with reductions in fat, sugar and portion size and increases in nutrient-rich fruits and low-calorie flavorings. But call me super-shocked that the richer whole milk and Neufchatel version has the same points as the skim milk and non-fat cream cheese. Cool, eh? The power of math.
Weight Watchers, at first I was dismayed to see how many points Strawberry Ice Cream adds up to in SmartPoints and Freestyle, especially given the non-fat and lower-fat dairy plus such a high proportion of strawberries. But then I started checking the point values of store-bought ice creams, they're often double the points. We do need to budget for ice cream but there's room in a day's menu for Strawberry Ice Cream and it's completely satisfying.
With skim milk & non-fat cream cheese Per Half Cup: 134 Calories; 8g Tot Fat; 6g Sat Fat; 28mg Cholesterol; 101mg Sodium; 13g Carb; 1g Fiber; 11g Sugar; 3g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 3 & PointsPlus 4 & SmartPoints 7 & Freestyle 6
With whole milk & low-fat cream cheese Per Half Cup: 140 Calories; 8g Tot Fat; 5g Sat Fat; 29mg Cholesterol; 99mg Sodium; 13g Carb; 1g Fiber; 11g Sugar; 3g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 3 & PointsPlus 4 & SmartPoints 7 & Freestyle 6
More Recipes for Ice Cream & Sorbet
(hover with a mouse for a description; otherwise click a photo to view the recipe)~ more ice cream recipes ~
© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2005, 2007 & 2019
this looks pretty in pink. i dont currently have an ice cream maker but this looks really great..its not the 50$, its where to put yet another gadget :) and i know i will be eating frozen treats forever if I buy one!
ReplyDeletethanks..