Strawberry Ice Cream

Rich vanilla custard churned with a jammy cooked strawberry sauce and fresh strawberry purée for a creamy, deep-pink scoop. Richberry makes the berries taste even sweeter.

Total time: 5 hr 50 min
Servings: 10
Difficulty: Medium

Strawberry ice cream — Sweet moments, naturally.

Ingredients

Ice cream base

2 cups heavy cream
⅔ cup whole milk
1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
pinch salt
6 egg yolks
½ cup sugar

Strawberry sauce and purée

1 lb strawberries, hulled and cut into dime-sized pieces
1 tbsp lemon juice
¾ cup granulated sugar

Directions

Freeze the bowls a day ahead.
Put the ice cream maker's churning bowl, plus a mixing bowl big enough for the custard, in the freezer the day before.
Infuse the cream.
Warm the cream, milk, vanilla seeds and pod and a pinch of salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring now and then, until small bubbles form at the edge, 15 to 18 minutes. Off the heat, let it infuse for 15 minutes (add extract now if using).
Cook the custard.
Whisk the yolks until thick and pale. Rewarm the cream to just below a simmer and pour it into the yolks in a slow, thin stream, whisking constantly, then return it all to the pan over low heat and stir for about 8 minutes, until it coats the back of a spoon.
Chill the custard.
Pour the custard into the frozen mixing bowl, cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate. It keeps for up to a week.
Make the strawberry sauce and purée.
Bring half the strawberries, half the sugar and all the lemon juice to a gentle boil over medium heat, watching as it foams. After 10 minutes, mash lightly and cook about 8 minutes more, until reduced by half, deep red and thick like honey; chill. Purée the remaining berries until thin and chill.
Churn.
Remove the vanilla pod, stir the sauce and purée into the cold custard and churn following the manufacturer's instructions until it looks like soft serve.
Freeze until scoopable.
Serve soft right away, or pack into a container, press parchment onto the surface, cover and freeze for at least 2 hours.

Keeps in the freezer for about a month before it starts to crystallise.

Before you indulge

Use Miracle Berry

Just before eating, take 2–3 freeze-dried halves. Chew gently and let them linger for about 30 seconds.

Discard any pit if necessary.

Calorie savings

½ cup sugar + ¾ cup granulated sugar = 970 calories

Good to know

Miraculin, the natural protein in miracle berry, can make sour foods like lemon taste sweet without adding sugar. For the best results, take 1–2 halves and follow the directions on your pack.

Tangy turns sweet. More possibilities.