Strawberry ice cream

The huge 'Everest' strawberries are still going strong in my veg garden and I've been coming up with all sorts of different ways of preserving them to enjoy them for longer than just the six weeks or so that they're in season. I know my sister is giving me a food dehydrator for my birthday this weekend, and having dried lots of strawberries in the oven last year I'm really looking forward to being able to do it on a larger scale - because a dried strawberry is a very delicious thing indeed (and will keep for ages in an airtight box).

Meanwhile, though, making ice cream with them seems a good idea and I've tried it with both low-fat crème fraiche and full-fat cream from our local dairy. Personally, I prefer the low-fat version but most people I've served both to like the creamy one best. Here's a lovely recipe that will work for either:

Strawberry ice cream

Handful of ripe (but not over-ripe) strawberries
2 tbsp lemon juice
Small tub of low-fat crème fraiche or double cream
150g caster sugar
250ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Chop the strawberries into fairly small pieces, and put in a bowl with the lemon juice and half the sugar. Leave to stand for about an hour.

Whisk the milk and remaining sugar in a large jug with a hand blender until the sugar has dissolved and then whisk in the cream briefly. Stir in the vanilla along with the juices that will now have accumulated in the bottom of the strawberry bowl. 

If you have an ice cream machine, pour the cream mixture in and churn for 30 mins, adding the strawberries for the last 10 mins. If not, add the fruit to the cream mixture straightaway and put in a freezer-proof bowl; freeze for four hours, then whisk and return to the freezer; repeat 4 hours later (this is to stop large ice crystals forming, which is the downside to making ice cream by hand rather than in a machine).

Move the ice cream out of the freezer into the fridge 15 mins before serving.

COOKS' PLOT TIP: if you garnish the ice cream with a sprig of fresh mint, it not only looks pretty but even a tiny amount on the top will add a lovely extra flavour to the whole bowl too 

If you'd like to get in touch about this or any other recipe, you can now email me at 

a-cooks-plot@gmx.co.uk 

 Follow