Strawberries and Cream, SL 1992

A few years ago, my father-in-law and mother-in-law gifted us with a KitchenAid mixer. Shortly thereafter, we were gifted with the ice cream maker attachment. In the summer, the ice cream maker has a permanent place in our freezer. On a hot summer evening, you might find us on the back porch sampling this delightfully frozen treat.


Strawberries and Cream

Adapted from Southern Living 1992 Annual Recipes, page 132

I halved the recipe so that it would fit in the ice cream maker.

• 1 pint milk
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pint fresh strawberries

I like to get my ingredients as cold as possible before putting them into the ice cream maker. Add milk, half-and-half, condensed milk, and vanilla in a bowl and whisk until combined. (The instructions also say to add 1/8 tsp of almond extract, but I did not have any.) Put bowl with milks into the freezer. Next, wash and dry strawberries. De-stem and cut strawberries into slices. Follow ice cream maker instructions. For me, this meant putting the ice cream maker attachment onto the mixer, turning the mixer on low, and pouring the liquid into the ice cream maker. I allowed the ice cream to thicken before adding the strawberries. (The instructions say to make the ice cream without the strawberries and serve the final ice cream with the sliced strawberries.) To allow the ice cream to harden, I transferred it to containers and placed the ice cream in the freezer for an hour.

My notes:
After allowing the ice cream to freeze overnight, the ice cream was a little difficult to remove from the container. This could be remedied by using more fats in the milk. Perhaps whole milk instead of skim or whipping cream instead of half-and-half. Or if you are a more patient person than I, simply waiting a few minutes for the ice cream to slightly thaw before dipping your spoon into the ice cream container. It could potentially be an option, but I'd rather add more cream.

The strawberries were noticeably frozen. This of course was due to my addition of the strawberries during the freeze time rather than when serving. I thought that perhaps I could save myself a step. I think next time, I may cook them a little to soften them. Perhaps this will also distribute the strawberry flavor as well.

Overall, I quite enjoyed the ice cream, of course, I haven't met a bad ice cream. The Mister said that it is a keeper.