Strawberry ice cream

This is (no surprise) another modified recipe, this time from the recipe in the booklet that came with our ice cream maker.

I made a couple of mistakes with this, and it was still AMAZING.  

(Please note: UPDATED recipe here!)

Ingredients

• 300g strawberries, stemmed and sliced
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 460 ml single cream
• 150g granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

•  In a small bowl, combine the strawberries, lemon juice, and 50g (or all? *cough* *cough*) of the sugar.  Mix gently but well.  Cover and let stand in the refrigerator for at least two hours. 

• Strain the strawberries and reserve the liquid.  Remove half the strawberries and set aside.  Mash the other half of the strawberries.  Add the reserved liquid.  

• Pour app. 160ml of the cream into a medium bowl with the remaining sugar and whisk until the sugar has dissolved.  Add the rest of the cream, mashed strawberries, and vanilla, and mix well.  (Note: because I had added all the sugar at the beginning, I had none to add here.  It hadn't all dissolved, so I ended up whisking the complete mixture -- which was fine, and led to the sugar being either dissolved or so well-blended I couldn't tell the difference.)  

• Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours, preferably overnight. 

• Follow the instructions on your ice cream maker if that's what you're using.   

• About five minutes before the end, add the reserved strawberries and allow to mix in.

Notes

• It's January in Scotland.  I used frozen strawberries from the grocery store, which I thawed in the refrigerator overnight, then sliced.  
• I made a mistake and combined all the sugar with the strawberries at once.  It seems to have worked out just fine.  
• I have no idea if I remembered the vanilla or not -- I think I didn't.  The ice cream was still amazing.  
• The ice cream was even more amazing, which I didn't think was possible, with this topping: https://www.cooks.com/recipe/en8602mn/hot-fudge-sauce-for-ice-cream.html 

 IT WAS SO GOOD.

Enjoy!!

Cardamom ice cream

This is modified from I-don't-know-how-many recipes found on the internet. 

• 600 ml single cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 8-10 whole green cardamom pods
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 egg yolks

As ever, if you're looking for something to do with egg whites, I recommend this recipe for coconut macaroons:  https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1783633/coconut-macaroons

• Beat the egg yolks until they are well-blended.    

• Heat the cream, cardamom pods, and sugar in a saucepan until the liquid is steaming, stirring frequently. 

• Pour the hot liquid into the bowl with the egg yolks, beating constantly.  

• Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and heat again until just boiling*.  

• Turn off the heat, add vanilla, stir.  Refrigerate for at least two hours, preferably overnight.  

• Follow the instructions on your ice cream maker, or see ** below.

* Many custard-based recipes say to heat until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon; some people find this really helpful, some less so.  For me it's helpful sometimes.  If you over-cook a custard, the eggs will scramble and it will be lumpy.  One trick I learned from this Delia recipe is that using cornflour (cornstarch) in a custard can prevent this: https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/collections/life-in-the-freezer/preserved-ginger-ice-cream.  She also talks about how to make ice cream without an ice cream maker. 

** At the same link, Delia says:

NOTE: If you don't have an ice cream maker you can still make ice cream. After you have made up your mixture, transfer it to a lidded plastic box and put it in the coldest part of the freezer for two hours or until the contents become firm at the edges. At this stage, empty out the box into a mixing bowl and whisk the ice cream with an electric hand whisk to break down the ice crystals. Return to the plastic box and freeze for another two hours, then repeat the whisking process.

Enjoy!!

Ice cream again!!

A while back, our ice cream maker died.  Which got me started with baking custard (YUMMMMMM), but, it's also meant we haven't been making ice cream or sorbet for a while.

We finally replaced the ice cream maker!  And we have been making ice cream.  And it's wonderful.

Coming up:

• Cardamom ice cream recipe
• Strawberry ice cream recipe