Sewing our Sanity

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe

Dear Monica,

I am not a huge fan of ice cream and I only really like to eat it when the mood hits me.  But homemade ice cream is another story.  I love the soft texture and the creaminess, which far surpasses that of any store bought ice cream.  I have many fond memories of the ice cream that Mom made when we were growing up, especially the peppermint ice cream she made still makes every Christmas.  It is a tradition that so many of those in our family (and neighbors) look forward to every year.

So, I decided that I was going to invest some of my birthday money into an ice cream maker.  I bought a Cuisinart Pure Indulgence 2 qt Ice Cream and Yogurt Maker.


This machine is fantastic!  You freeze the bowl for 6-22 hours and then put it in the machine, place the paddle in the bowl, turn it on and add your ice cream mixture.  And in about 25 minutes you have delicious homemade frozen goodness.  Much faster, easier, and less mess than those machines that require rock salt and LOTS of ice. 

So, today the (big) boys and I decided to try it out while Natalie and Mikey were napping.  We had been to the commissary this morning and bought some very pretty, juicy strawberries so we decided to make Strawberry Ice Cream.


The Ice Cream Maker came with a small recipe booklet which had a recipe for Strawberry Ice Cream.  But I didn't follow it!  The directions wanted you to use 1/2 cup sugar on 3 cups of sliced strawberries.  But strawberries are sweet enough on their own so why add the extra sugar?!?  So we didn't!  Instead, Liam used the hand blender to macerate the strawberries.  (He thought this part was great fun.)  We didn't completely macerate them, we did leave a few "chunks" of strawberry.


Then we mixed sugar and milk until the sugar was dissolved.  Then stirred in heavy cream, the macerated strawberries, and vanilla extract.


We put the bowl in the machine, placed the paddle in, the lid on and turned the machine on.  Then, we poured the strawberry mixture through the lid.  The boys spent almost the entire 25 minutes watching the mixture freeze. 


(sorry for the blurry picture...Jack was rotating his head along with the mixer)

And in about 25 minutes, we had this lovely pink goodness.




DELICIOUS!!!

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream (modified from the Cuisinart website)

3 cups fresh ripe strawberries, macerated
1 cup sugar
1 cup whole milk (I used 2%)
2 3/4 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Combine the sugar and milk and mix until the sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the heavy cream, strawberries, and vanilla.  Turn the machine on and pour the mixture into the the freezer bowl and mix until thickened, about 25 minutes.  The ice cream will be soft and creamy.  If you would like it to be firmer, put the ice cream in an air tight container in the freezer for 2 hours.  

Makes 7 cups of ice cream

Side note:
This is really just a basic recipe for vanilla ice cream (very similar to the ice cream mixes you can buy at the grocery store).  Just substitute your favorite fruit from the strawberries.  Peach is also delicious.  And of course peppermint candies.  

XOXO
Emily




2 comments:

  1. I once had a similar machine (Braun, I think) that had a bowl to freeze, but it never got the ice cream cold enough to actually freeze. It always came out softer than soft-serve. Maybe I'll try again with a Cuisinart!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It is worth it! My mom has the same machine and we have both been very pleased. I got mine at Sam's Club online and the price was much better (even with shipping) than Amazon.

    ReplyDelete