Makes about 1/2 gallon

Wow. There is something so special about making homemade ice cream. It is something that I loved to do as a pastry chef, and really had fun experimenting with at home. There are a thousand different flavor concoctions that one could come up with, but at the end of the day I always come back to some of the old standards. The best of these has got to be the basic fruit and creams that come with summer. Freshly picked stone fruit and berries are the best now, and make heavenly ice cream. The recipe below is made with fresh strawberries, but can be subbed out for any fresh fruit.

Homemade strawberry ice cream

-2 lbs strawberries, hulled and sliced
-3 cups sugar
-2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
-3 cups heavy cream
-3 cups whole milk
-8 large egg yolks

1) In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the strawberries in batches. Transfer the puree to a large bowl. Stir in 1 cup of sugar and the lemon juice, and cover with plastic wrap. Chill the puree for about 2 hours hour.

2) In a small pot, combine the cream, milk and 2 cups sugar. Heat over medium heat until the mixture starts to bubble and scald. Stir constantly to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and set aside.

3) In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks until they are pale in color, and thick and somewhat fluffy. Pour the hot (but not scalding) cream mixture over the egg yolks, a little at a time, tempering them.

4) Pour the custard back into a pan and cook over very low heat stirring constantly, until the custard thickens enough to coat a spoon.

5) Pour the custard through a fine sieve, (to remove any traces of egg that may have cooked), and into a glass bowl.

6) Prepare a shallow ice bath (ice and cold water), in a large bowl. Cover the surface of the custard with plastic or wax paper to prevent a skin from forming.

7) Set the glass bowl with the custard mixture over the ice bath, and let the custard cool, about 20 minutes. Chill, covered in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

8) Then stir in the strawberry puree. Your strawberry ice cream base is finished! Freeze base according to your ice cream makers instructions.

Print Recipe  

Makes about 1/2 gallon

Wow. There is something so special about making homemade ice cream. It is something that I loved to do as a pastry chef, and really had fun experimenting with at home. There are a thousand different flavor concoctions that one could come up with, but at the end of the day I always come back to some of the old standards. The best of these has got to be the basic fruit and creams that come with summer. Freshly picked stone fruit and berries are the best now, and make heavenly ice cream. The recipe below is made with fresh strawberries, but can be subbed out for any fresh fruit.

Homemade strawberry ice cream

-2 lbs strawberries, hulled and sliced
-3 cups sugar
-2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
-3 cups heavy cream
-3 cups whole milk
-8 large egg yolks

1) In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the strawberries in batches. Transfer the puree to a large bowl. Stir in 1 cup of sugar and the lemon juice, and cover with plastic wrap. Chill the puree for about 2 hours hour.

2) In a small pot, combine the cream, milk and 2 cups sugar. Heat over medium heat until the mixture starts to bubble and scald. Stir constantly to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and set aside.

3) In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks until they are pale in color, and thick and somewhat fluffy. Pour the hot (but not scalding) cream mixture over the egg yolks, a little at a time, tempering them.

4) Pour the custard back into a pan and cook over very low heat stirring constantly, until the custard thickens enough to coat a spoon.

5) Pour the custard through a fine sieve, (to remove any traces of egg that may have cooked), and into a glass bowl.

6) Prepare a shallow ice bath (ice and cold water), in a large bowl. Cover the surface of the custard with plastic or wax paper to prevent a skin from forming.

7) Set the glass bowl with the custard mixture over the ice bath, and let the custard cool, about 20 minutes. Chill, covered in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

8) Then stir in the strawberry puree. Your strawberry ice cream base is finished! Freeze base according to your ice cream makers instructions.