With a fruity strawberry syrup and bits of strawberry jam in every single bite, this may just be the best Strawberry Ice Cream recipe in existence! Yeah… I said it!
Gah – I finally won an Ice Cream Takedown! I’m still high over that win. Or maybe it’s an extended sugar high from all the ice cream I consumed since Friday. Who knows?
For those of you who don’t know, about once or twice a year I serve foods to the masses in this “no rules” competition called The Takedowns. Aptly dubbed “America’s Most Important Food Competition”, it is a chance for home cooks (like me) to show off their kitchen skillz and get judged for it. It is arguably the most fun you’ll experience on a Sunday afternoon.
I’ve entered this competition four times in the ice cream division and twice for cookies in the past four years. I took 3rd place Judges my first time. After that… Nothin’. Yesterday the stars aligned and the People voted my Mojito Ice Cream (recipe coming soon) first out of about 15 ice cream recipes. Every contestant at The Takedown brings their A game. Competition is fierce and yesterday’s competition was NO EXCEPTION. The win was extremely sweet. We’ll talk about that some other time.
First…
Flow with me…
I’ve got some Strawberry Ice Cream.
This strawberry ice cream almost (almost!) made it to the takedown. It was one of my son’s favorites; however, due to an initial texture issue it did not make the cut. I fixed it for you. It’s effing perfect now. Now, don’t let the length of this recipe deter you from making it. It is a bit time consuming. In the end, it is OH SO WORTH IT. Really. Trust me on this one, homies.
This recipe starts with a strawberry syrup. I like my flavors intense as hell. You know this, so I’m urging you to roll with me, homeslice. I pureed some strawberries with sugar and water – Then I brought to a boil until the mixture was nice and syrupy.
While that situation cooled I made strawberry quick jam and allowed that to come to room temps. Oh, and the ice cream base has a bit of cream cheese in it. Feel free to omit, though the cream cheese gives the ice cream a nice tang and also a bit more creaminess. AND! The ice cream base is made with a cornstarch slurry. This is the shi-et. I may never ever make custard based ice cream again. I’m kidding, but not really. The final texture is effing amazing; creamy and smooth. The cream cheese and the trivial amount of booze help tremendously in the creamy department.
The base gets submerged in an ice bath to cool. Once cooled you add all that delicious strawberry flavor to it and allow it to steep in the fridge for hours and hours. And hours. Preferably overnight. Then you freeze that jammy in an ice cream maker.
Did I mention I won an ice cream maker? This brings my ice cream maker total to FOUR. So expect more ice cream recipes this summer. Anyway this ice cream, yo. Not only is it creamy. The strawberry flavor is over the top; intense just the way I like it with bits of strawberry chunks in every bite. You can easily eat a quart of this. Don’t. But do, ‘k?
[purerecipe]
Ingredients
Strawberry syrup
- 1 1/2 cups Sliced strawberries
- 1/2 cup Granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup Water
Strawberry quick jam
- 1 pound Strawberries hulled and left whole
- 1/2 cup Granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla bean paste
Cornstarch slurry
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons Whole milk
Ice cream base
- 4 tablespoons Cream cheese room temperature
- Large pinch of salt
- 2 cups Whole milk
- 1 cup Heavy cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons Light corn syrup
- Granulated sugar Granulated sugar
- Strawberry syrup
- Strawberry jam
- 2 tablespoons Rum
Instructions
- Make the strawberry syrup:
- In a blender, combine the strawberries, sugar, and water. Puree until smooth then transfer to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium/high heat and then reduce the heat to medium. Allow to cool until the mixture has a syrupy texture, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and skim the foam that has accumulated on the surface of the syrup. Set aside to cool.
- Make the strawberry quick jam:
- In a large saucepan, combine strawberries, sugar, and vanilla bean paste. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium/high heat stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring, until the strawberries have softened and the liquid has reduce, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. While the jam is cooling, make the cornstarch slurry and ice cream base.
- Make the ice cream base:
- In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and milk. Mix until the cornstarch is completely dissolved and set aside.
- Prepare a large bowl full of ice water. In another large bowl (one that can fit inside the bowl of ice water) add the cream cheese and salt. Mix until combined and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan combine he milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract, corn syrup, and sugar. Stir until combined and bring to a boil over medium heat. Be sure to watch it so it doesn’t spill over. Reduce the heat to medium/low and add the cornstarch slurry. Whisk the mixture vigorously until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat and whisk into the large bowl with the cream cheese mixture. Whisk until the cream cheese is completely combined. Place the ice cream base in the bowl of ice water and allow to cool completely.
- Once completely cooled, mix in the strawberry syrup, strawberry jam, and rum. Transfer the mixture to a 1 gallon Ziploc bag and allow it to steep in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or preferably
- overnight.
- Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions and transfer ice cream to a container with a tight fitting lid. Place in the freezer. Try not to eat it every 5 minutes. Oh, who the hell am I kidding?! Pop in a movie and spoon that sucker to your heart’s content.
- Makes about 1.5 quarts of ice cream.
