It’s been a minute since I’ve taken out the ice cream machine, which is no fun at all!  This week I finally remembered to pre-freeze the center, and was off on my strawberry ice cream making adventure!

Upon researching strawberry ice cream recipes, I was surprised that I couldn’t find any that appealed to me.  Strawberry is the third most popular ice cream flavor in the US (behind chocolate and vanilla, of course!), so I expected there to be an abundance of recipe options.  I had a vision for a blender-made version of the base, where the strawberries are blended into cream and milk to make that gorgeous pink color, and frozen from there.  I usually avoid egg/custard based ice creams because I prefer the purity of just milk/cream, especially with a fruit like strawberries that pair perfectly with creamy textures and dairy flavors.  After quickly scanning through some options to determine some ratios, I confidently walked over to my blender to wing it and create my vision.

I created a version that uses much less sugar than other recipes that I read, because I really wanted to capitalize on the natural sweetness of the fruit.  I used an equal amount of fruit to dairy, which I felt was important to maximize the strawberry flavor.  Finally, I topped off my recipe with a little vanilla extract and salt, which are both flavor enhancers that work beautifully in dessert applications.  The result was perfectly pink, creamy, strawberry goodness!  I hope you make this recipe – it’s perfect for a springtime treat!

Oh, I used frozen strawberries for this, but fresh would work great too!  Also, everything comes together in the blender along with an ice cream machine, no need to cook or dirty any unnecessary dishes.  Recipe down below along with some pictures.  Happy ice cream making, friends!

Strawberry Ice Cream:

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups heavy cream
• 1 ½ cups whole milk
• 3 cups strawberries
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ⅛ tsp salt

Method:

1. Add all ingredients to a blender.  Blend on high for 1 minute, or until completely smooth and bright pink in color.
2. Pour mixture into ice cream machine and churn until mostly frozen, about 10 minutes.
3. Transfer ice cream into an air-tight container and freeze solid, about 2 hours.  Store in the freezer and enjoy!