Very Strawberry Ice Cream
A vibrant, creamy ice cream that actually tastes like strawberries.
If you're reading this from the eastern half of the United States, you've been sweltering. I have, too. I don't want to turn the oven on. I want gallons of ice cream.
When baker
recently asked about favorite summer desserts, my answer was immediate: ice cream. (Honestly, I'd put it as my favorite dessert of all time.)Fruit-flavored ice creams, especially berry varieties, often disappoint. You're hoping for the essence of fresh, sun-kissed fruit paired with a luscious, smooth, creamy texture. Instead, I usually get a perfectly creamy scoop where the berry notes seem to be hiding down the hallway and around the corner. Or I get a bright fruit flavor but an icy ice cream.
Ice cream makers know this heartbreaking challenge all too well. Fruit-based frozen desserts are tough to master. The sweet spot where vibrant taste meets perfect texture can be elusive.
Two main culprits cause lackluster results. Fresh fruit contains water, and water makes ice cream icy rather than creamy. Too much fat, in the form of egg yolks or heavy cream, will coat your tongue and mute the fruit's song.
What about roasting the fruit or cooking it down to concentrate the taste? That works for some varieties, but not—in my opinion—for strawberries. When you cook these delicate morsels, you destroy much of their pure, vibrant, ultra-complex character. And that's not just my opinion: it's science. (Plus, I loathe cooked strawberries.)
Fresh strawberries contain more than 360 volatile compounds, which are the molecules that give them their enchanting aroma and taste. This article summarizes studies that examined the amount of volatile compounds in various preparations. The research confirms: for the best berry essence, avoid cooking them.
Roasting or making jam can concentrate some elements, but it destroys even more of their aromatic complexity. Jam tastes delicious, but it's a far cry from a fresh strawberry. According to the analysis, freeze-drying retains many more of the aromatic compounds (and aroma is part of taste) than cooking them does.
With the superiority of fresh strawberries and their freeze-dried counterparts established, let's return to ice cream making.
Need some ice cream-making tips? I have a post for that:
I dreamt of the perfect strawberry ice cream: both creamy and intensely flavored like fresh fruit. I started with my favorite base, adapted from the folks at Salt & Straw. This neutral, egg-free foundation lets other elements shine. Then I incorporated the fruit in two different ways.
First, I simply used pureed fresh strawberries. It was fine, but I didn't taste enough punchy character. Next, I tried freeze-dried versions. That recipe still didn't quite have the oomph I wanted, plus it was a bit fussy to make.
Why not combine both approaches? I blended peak-season fresh fruit with some freeze-dried pieces to double down on the strawberry goodness. I counteracted the extra water in the recipe by adding a bit more cream and corn syrup than usual. The corn syrup is critical in achieving proper smooth texture, so don't skip it.
Great fruit ice cream need a swirl or bits of fresh fruit, but I didn't want to use jam. Instead, I adapted this technique from Serious Eats, where you macerate tiny pieces in sugar and a bit of alcohol overnight. The extended maceration process—and patience is key here—keeps the fruit from turning too icy in the finished product, whiel retaining all of the berries’ brilliance. I also incorporate some of the glorious liquid from the maceration into the base itself.
A fun announcement before the recipe: I’ll be on one the
podcast this week! I chat with , , & all about working on my first cookbook and I ask their expert advice as I venture into the editing process. I adore this podcast, and my cookbook wouldn’t have happened without their advice. Listen wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to their newsletter.Very Strawberry Ice Cream
For the best results, you need perfectly ripe specimens of fruit.
Strawberry Bits
113 g (4 oz) hulled strawberries
50 g (1/4 cup) sugar
30 g (2 tablespoons) Cappelletti Aperitivo (or Aperol or Campari)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Ice Cream Base
80 g (about 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon) sugar
13 g (about 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) dried milk powder
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
160 g (2/3 cup) whole milk
60 g (about 1/4 cup) light corn syrup
240 g (about 1 cup) heavy cream, cold
300 g (10.5 oz) hulled and quartered strawberries, cold
40 g (1.3 oz) freeze-dried strawberries
1 teaspoon lemon juice
80 g (about 1/3 cup) of the liquid drained from the strawberry bits
Instructions
Make the strawberry bits: Dice the 113 g of hulled berries into pieces no larger than about 1/4 teaspoon. Mix the diced fruit, sugar, aperitivo, and lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, up to 24, stirring once or twice during maceration to dissolve the sugar.
Make the ice cream base: In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, milk powder, salt, and xanthan gum. Whisk in the milk, then add the corn syrup. Cook over medium heat, whisking, until the mixture is just steaming and all of the sugar is dissolved. Pour into a large bowl, ideally one with a spout. Add the heavy cream and mix to combine. Refrigerate until cold. You can make this up to 1 day ahead.
Just before churning: Drain the berry bits, but reserve the liquid.
Blend the strawberries: Combine the hulled berries, freeze-dried pieces, and lemon juice in a blender and blend until smooth.
Mix the cold base with the blended fruit mixture and 80g of reserved liquid from the macerated bits.
Churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. While the mixture churns, keep the drained berry pieces refrigerated.
After churning, work quickly to preserve the ideal texture. Add about 1/3 of the churned base to a container, then top with 1/3 of the berry bits. Repeat until you've used everything. Take a butter knife and give the mixture a brief swirl to distribute the fruit pieces. Transfer immediately to the freezer.
Freeze for at least 6 hours before enjoying. Depending on the sugar level of your berries this ice cream can vary in firmness while frozen. If it’s very firm let the ice cream sit out for about 5 minutes before scooping.
Happy Churning,
Martin
We're excited to share our conversation on the podcast this week! Thank you for being a guest and such a big fan of the show.
I must try this immediately. I don't have a churner, but I suspect this approach might work well in a no-churn situation too!