Strawberry Ice Cream
I have fallen in love with making homemade ice cream, I love making it and I love eating it. My kids can't get enough of it. Homemade strawberry ice cream tastes nothing like store bought strawberry ice cream. It tastes fresh, it tastes natural, it is the taste of summer, and it is so easy to make.
This is one of those recipes where you think 10 egg yolks, that is just way too much, when will I have a spare 10 egg yolks. Well I recently did as I made a large 12 egg white pavlova for a party, so I figured why not try this. We loved it, my daughter says this is 'quality' ice cream. So from now on, if I am only using egg whites for a recipe, I will be freezing the yolks and collecting them for this recipe.
While I was making this I thought, will the ice cream have an eggy after taste with so many yolks in it, it didn't, but then I realised this makes a lot more ice cream than your standard recipe, double actually, so it isn't too many yolks after all.
Now I use an ice cream machine, and I advise you to buy one. It doesn't have to be the most expensive one. I have two and I use the cheap one I bought years ago, as I don't throw things out, it works, and until it dies I will use it. The second one I bought as it was on sale and it was one of my I had to have it purchases.
So if you have two ice cream machines, even better, freeze both bowls, you'll need them. If you only have one, then make half of the ice cream on the first day, refrigerate the remaining custard, and refreeze the bowl, then make the next batch the following day.
If you really don't want to buy an ice cream machine, it is slightly more labour intensive, but nothing over the top. Just follow these steps. You put the cooled ice cream base into a covered container, place it in the freezer and whip it out every hour for 3 hours as it freezes and give it a good beating, either with an electric whisk, by hand or in the food processor. This gets rid of the ice crystals that form, and allows the ice cream to be smooth, not crunchy.
Now as the strawberries go in last, I found that after the ice cream froze, even though I used an ice cream machine, it had a few ice crystals in it, now don't let this deter you from making the ice cream, as it really is a minor issue. If this happens to you, just blitz it through a food processor once more in batches, and this problem is solved.
I do add a small amount of pink food colouring, only because it photographs better, it is up to you if you want to add it.
This ice cream is quality ice cream, try it, you'll never buy store bought again.
This is one of those recipes where you think 10 egg yolks, that is just way too much, when will I have a spare 10 egg yolks. Well I recently did as I made a large 12 egg white pavlova for a party, so I figured why not try this. We loved it, my daughter says this is 'quality' ice cream. So from now on, if I am only using egg whites for a recipe, I will be freezing the yolks and collecting them for this recipe.
While I was making this I thought, will the ice cream have an eggy after taste with so many yolks in it, it didn't, but then I realised this makes a lot more ice cream than your standard recipe, double actually, so it isn't too many yolks after all.
Now I use an ice cream machine, and I advise you to buy one. It doesn't have to be the most expensive one. I have two and I use the cheap one I bought years ago, as I don't throw things out, it works, and until it dies I will use it. The second one I bought as it was on sale and it was one of my I had to have it purchases.
So if you have two ice cream machines, even better, freeze both bowls, you'll need them. If you only have one, then make half of the ice cream on the first day, refrigerate the remaining custard, and refreeze the bowl, then make the next batch the following day.
If you really don't want to buy an ice cream machine, it is slightly more labour intensive, but nothing over the top. Just follow these steps. You put the cooled ice cream base into a covered container, place it in the freezer and whip it out every hour for 3 hours as it freezes and give it a good beating, either with an electric whisk, by hand or in the food processor. This gets rid of the ice crystals that form, and allows the ice cream to be smooth, not crunchy.
Now as the strawberries go in last, I found that after the ice cream froze, even though I used an ice cream machine, it had a few ice crystals in it, now don't let this deter you from making the ice cream, as it really is a minor issue. If this happens to you, just blitz it through a food processor once more in batches, and this problem is solved.
I do add a small amount of pink food colouring, only because it photographs better, it is up to you if you want to add it.
This ice cream is quality ice cream, try it, you'll never buy store bought again.
Recipe
Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson's cookbook 'Forever Summer'
Serves 10-12
350g strawberries
10 tablespoons caster sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
2 1/4 cups full cream milk
2 1/4 cups thick cream
1 vanilla bean, split down the middle legthwise, seeds scraped
10 egg yolks
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Pink food colouring, optional
Serves 10-12
350g strawberries
10 tablespoons caster sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
2 1/4 cups full cream milk
2 1/4 cups thick cream
1 vanilla bean, split down the middle legthwise, seeds scraped
10 egg yolks
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Pink food colouring, optional
Hull and roughly chop the strawberries, put them into a bowl and sprinkle over the 2 tablespoons of sugar and leave them to steep and infuse with flavour.
Pour the milk and cream into a heavy based saucepan, add the split vanilla bean and seeds. Bring the pan nearly to the boil and then take it off the heat and leave to infuse for 20 minutes.
In a large bowl whisk the egg yolks and the 10 tablespoons of sugar until thick and pale yellow. Take the vanilla bean out of the milk mixture and pour, whisking the egg yolks continuously, the warm liquid over the yolks. put the cleaned out pan back on the heat with egg and milk mixture and stir the custard until it thickens, then take it off the heat and pour it into a bowl, to cool.
Puree the strawberries in a food processor, and when the custard is cool, fold in the lemon juice and strawberry puree. Add a few drops of food colouring now, if needed.
At this point you can either freeze the ice cream in an ice cream machine, or in a plastic tub in the freezer. See notes above, re freezing the ice cream with or without an ice cream machine.
Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving. Scoop into cones or bowls and serve immediately.
Enjoy!
