Now that summer is officially here, I am excited to share some ice cream and sorbet recipes that I’ve been preparing since last month. I hope you are all as excited as I am to make ice cream and sorbet!
After debating for a month or so last year, I finally purchased an ice cream maker toward the end of summer 2011. I think it was one of the best investment among all the kitchen gadgets we’ve purchased! I definitely have quite a few gadgets sitting there collecting dust, but not my ice cream maker. Last summer I’ve made Mango Ice Cream, Lychee Coconut Ice Cream, Red Bean Ice Cream, and Green Tea Ice Cream.
When I saw Simply Reem’s Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream recipe, I knew this would be the first ice cream recipe that I wanted to try this summer. I used to share a bowl of this ice cream at Cold Stone when I was dating my husband, then-boyfriend. Now we have 2 children who enjoy this ice cream as much as we do.
This week is the last week of school for my son. I can’t believe he’s already done with Kindergarten! Are your children out of school yet? My daughter’s preschool is all year round so I get to spend solo time with my son when he’s not in summer camps. Any plan for you this summer? Have a wonderful week and have fun making homemade ice cream this summer!
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Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup half and half (half and half is a blend of equal parts whole milk and light cream, and it has a 10-12% fat content; Substitute 1: Mix 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk + 1 cup (240 ml) light cream (18-30% fat). Sub 2: Mix 1 ½ cup (360 ml) whole milk + ½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream (36-38% fat). Sub 3: Mix 1 ⅓ cup (320 ml) low-fat milk + ⅔ cup (160 ml) heavy cream.)
- ¾ cup heavy (whipping) cream
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 3 large egg yolks
- ¾ cup sugar
- 6 strawberries (for puree; 6 strawberries yield ¾ cup puree)
- 4 strawberries (for chunks; 4 strawberries yield ½ cup chopped)
- 4 honey graham crackers (crushed into small bits)
- 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a small saucepan bring the half-and-half and heavy whipping cream to a scalding point on medium low heat. “Scalding” means gently heating without allowing to reach boiling point. Immediately remove from heat.
- In a bowl (or stand mixer), whisk cream cheese, egg yolks and sugar till they turn light in color and fluffy.
- Once the egg yolks mixture is done, gradually pour and mix the scalding half-and-half & heavy whipping cream mixture in batches. Keep whisking constantly to avoid the eggs from curdling.
- Now place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, keep stirring continuously with a spoon until it starts to thicken up. Once the consistency is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, the custard is ready. Immediately remove the bowl from the heat and stir it for few minutes to help it to cool down a bit.
- Meanwhile, make strawberry puree, chop up strawberries, and crush the honey graham crackers.
- Now add the vanilla essence and strawberry puree and stir well one last time. Cover the custard and let it chill in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours before making the ice cream.
- Once you're ready to make the ice cream, transfer the chilled custard to the chilled container of your ice cream machine and process according to the manufacture's instruction.
- During the last 5 minutes of ice cream churning in the machine, add the chopped strawberries and graham crackers. Transfer the ice cream to a container and let it sit in the freezer to set, about 3-4 hours. Serve Chilled.
Notes
