Strawberry Ice Cream

It's strawberry season for a wee bit longer here in New Jersey, so there's no better time than the present to make strawberry ice cream. If you live in a place where they're juicy and sweet right now, take advantage of the short time strawberries are still available at farm stands and farmers' markets. 

I have a few of my own plants growing in the garden this Spring, but not nearly enough are ripening all at once to make this recipe. These ruby beauties came from a local farm stand and were luscious - perfect for making strawberry ice cream.

I put the strawberries and some sugar into the food processor, and added a few tablespoons of this strawberry liqueur. It not only gives the strawberries a flavor boost, but the alcohol keeps the ice cream from becoming rock hard in the freezer. If you can't find it, add some kirsch, or even vodka, or a liqueur that you love.

I don't like to use raw eggs in recipes, so I cooked the eggs, milk and sugar together for a short while, until it coated a spoon. Make sure you use low heat, or you may end up with a curdled mess. Then let it cool, preferably overnight.

Mix all the ingredients together at this point, pop it into your ice cream machine (I got mine at a garage sale several years ago) and turn on the switch. It will do its own thing and start forming ice cream. The colder the mixture you pour in, the quicker it will become ice cream. I kept the mixture in the refrigerator overnight and once I poured it into the machine, it took about 15 minutes to turn into ice cream.

This recipe makes a large amount and I made a mistake in churning it all in at once, instead of in two batches. As you can see, I had quite a bit of spillage.

After I removed some of the ice cream from the machine to store in the freezer, I added some dark chocolate that I cut into bits to the remaining amount. 

 The result - strawberry chocolate chip ice cream. 

Enjoy. 

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Strawberry Ice Cream

printable recipe here



1 quart fresh strawberries

2 T. fresh lemon juice

3 T. strawberry liqueur (or any other liqueur you like)

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

optional: 4 ounces dark chocolate, cut into bits



Put the washed strawberries in a food processor and pulse until you have small pieces. Don't totally liquify it. Put into a bowl and add 1/4 cup of the sugar and the strawberry liqueur.  Let it sit a couple of hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

Beat the eggs in a bowl and add in the rest of the sugar (3/4 cup), the milk and the cream. Put the mixture into a pot and heat it over low to medium heat, stirring until it thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Be careful not to overheat it or boil it, or you may end up with a curdled mess.

Put the mixture into the refrigerator overnight if possible. You could let it sit for as little as four hours, but the colder it is, the less your ice cream machine will have to work and the sooner you'll have ice cream.

The next day, pour the milk, cream and egg mixture into the ice cream maker along with the strawberry mixture. Process according to your manufacturer's instructions.

Optional: Mix in small bits of dark chocolate when it's almost at the point where it's thick enough to eat.