Brown Sugar Strawberry Ice Cream

Happy National Ice Cream Month!

Here's a recipe to start your month off right!

INGREDIENTS:

1 pint strawberries
1/4 cup white sugar

3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch salt
2 cups heavy cream

1 tablespoon vodka

FOR THE STRAWBERRIES:

Hull and quarter the strawberries (or even eighth them if they are really big). 

Add berries and white sugar to sauce pan and cook on low for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Remove from heat and strain the strawberry and sugar mixture through a fine sieve. 

If the liquid is runny, put it back on the stove for a bit until it thickens to a syrup. (I didn't have to do this the second time I made it, as it had thickened nicely.) Set aside syrup to cool. 

Place cooked strawberries in a small bowl and set aside to cool as well.

Once cooled, add vodka to the cooked strawberries. The vodka will help the strawberries from becoming icy when they are frozen.

FOR THE CUSTARD:

Whisk egg yolks, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a bowl until smooth. 

Pour cream into saucepan and heat to just before it begins to simmer.

Slowly add the hot cream into the egg mixture while beating them together.

Pour mixture back into saucepan and cook on low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon.

Strain mixture through a strainer into a clean bowl. Allow it to cool slightly and add the strawberry syrup.

FINAL STEPS:

Refrigerate strawberries and ice cream base overnight (or until completely cooled).

Pour in custard into ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's directions. Near the end of churning, strain the strawberry-vodka mixture reserving the strawberries. (I made my husband drink the strained vodka. He didn't complain!) 

Add the strawberries to the ice cream maker and churn for a few minutes longer until well mixed. 

Baskin-Robbins Flavor of the month BOGO

I wish they had featured this at Scooperbowl as it sounds so refreshing and perfect for summer. It's Baskin-Robbins flavor of the month Strawberry Lemonade Punch Sherbet. Oh well but here is a BOGO offer for you all to enjoy.

Happy National Ice Cream Day!

Two ways to celebrate....eat or make ice cream!

Nothing says summer like ice cream and nothing says summer like strawberries. And here you get both!

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream 

Recipe from Real Mom Kitchen

1 pint (about 1 1/2 cups) fresh strawberries, diced

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 cup sugar, divided

1 cup whole milk (I only had skim so I used 1/4 cup cream and 3/4 cup skim milk)

2 cups heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla

In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup sugar, strawberries, and lemon juice; gently stir.  Allow the strawberry macerate for 1 to 2 hours.

In a medium bowl, mix together milk and remaining sugar with a hand mixer or, about 1 to 2 minutes until sugar is dissolved.  Stir in heavy cream, vanilla, and juice from strawberries.

Pour mixture into the bowl of an ice cream mixer and turn on the machine.  In the Cuisinart, it took about 25 to 30 minutes to thicken.  In the last 5 minutes pour in strawberries.

If desired, place ice cream in freezer about 1-2 hours before serving to allow ice cream to ripen. Yields 1 1/2 quarts.

Recipe: Strawberry Basil Ice Cream

I know, I know! I keep pushing these emails to the limit in fitting them into the day. However, in my defense, I did spend all day making ice cream and sorbets for my ice cream shindig next weekend. Husband Kevin will tell you instead that I spent all day making a mess of the kitchen. Technically, I think we both are right.


There are a couple I want to share with you, but since the Strawberry Basil Sorbet just looked so pretty simmering in the pot, I thought I would share this first. Unfortunately the quality isn't great -- I was mid-process in a couple of ice creams, and the situation didn't allow for me to go find a real camera. I had to grab the closest one -- my phone (which for the record, I just had to scrape custard off of...)

It's a simple strawberry sorbet to which I added some purple and green basil leaves. I nearly used all the basil in my garden, because my garden really isn't doing well this year with all the rain.

Ingredients:

• About 4 cups of strawberries, hulls removed
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 cups of water
• About 10 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped (I used purple and green in this recipe, but you can use all of one color)

Directions:

1. Put all the ingredient in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
3. Puree mixture in a blender or food processor.
4. Pour mixture into a clean bowl, cover, and cool completely in the refrigerator.
5. Churn the mixture according to manufacturer's instructions.
6. Enjoy!