UPDATED Strawberry ice cream

I knew I love strawberry ice cream, but I really didn't know how much I love it until I started making it myself.

Here's an update on the earlier recipe I posted.

Ingredients:

• 300g strawberries, stemmed and sliced
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 300 ml single cream
• 300 ml double cream
• 135g granulated sugar (or 150g if you prefer sweeter)
• a pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Procedure:

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

• Heat 300 ml single cream with the rest of the sugar (85g) (or 100g if making the sweeter version) and a pinch of salt, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved.  Remove from heat and add 1 tsp vanilla extract; mix.  Once cool, cover and let stand in the refrigerator for at least two hours, or overnight. 

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

• Mix together the mashed strawberries, the reserved liquid, the mixture of single cream, salt, and sugar, and the remaining 300 ml of double cream.  

• 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. 

Enjoy!

Notes:

• It's April and I still used frozen strawberries from the grocery store, which I thawed in the refrigerator overnight, then sliced.  
• The first time I made this, I made a mistake and combined all the sugar with the strawberries at once.  It seems to have worked out just fine.  
• 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 

Decaf coffee ice cream

Bunchberry pointed out that I had not posted this recipe yet!  This is one of our favourites. 

Ingredients:

• 135 g sugar (white or demerara are just fine)
• a pinch of salt
• 300 ml single cream
• 2 tsp decaf instant coffee
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 300 ml double cream

Procedure: 

• Mix the 135g sugar, the pinch of salt, and the 300 ml single cream in a saucepan and heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved. (You can include the 300 ml double cream, or add later.) 
• Remove from heat and add 1/4 tsp vanilla extract. 
• Refrigerate for 2 hours minimum, or overnight. 
• If you've held back the double cream, add it and mix well. 
• Follow instructions on your ice cream maker. 

Enjoy! 

Ice cream base and basic method

Hello, all!

Here is my current ice cream base:

• 135 g white sugar
• pinch of salt
• 300 ml single cream
• 300 ml double cream

I usually mix the single cream, sugar, and pinch of salt in a saucepan and heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved.  Sometimes I'll put all the cream in at once.

Depending on what flavour, I might mix something into the cream while heating, or just after -- cardamom gets heated with the cream, as does ground vanilla or vanilla beans and instant decaf coffee; vanilla extract gets added just after.

Fruit gets added after it's all cool.  

Enjoy!

Rhubarb and ginger clafoutis for two

We traded sourdough starter to a neighbour for a handful of early rhubarb.  What to do with 100g of rhubarb?  We modified this recipe to make a two-person dessert.

[a glass baking dish containing a delicious golden-brown pastry, dusted with powdered sugar with rhubarb peeking through]

For the filling:

• 100g tender early rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
• 10g butter + some for the baking dish
• 1 T + 1 tsp demerara 
• a generous 1/2 T of diced preserved stem ginger

For the batter:

• 38g full-fat milk
• 38g double cream
• 2 small eggs
• 30g caster sugar
• 20g plain flour
• 1/4 t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180C/350F.  Melt the butter in a small pan and add the rhubarb and demerara; fry for two minutes, then take the pan off the heat, stir in the ginger, and set aside.

Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl until they are light and frothy.  Add the sugar and whisk until well-blended.  Fold in the flour, and gradually pour the milk and cream into the bowl, stirring to incorporate. Stir in the vanilla.

Butter a small, shallow baking dish (we used a 15cm diameter Pyrex).  Sprinkle the bottom lightly with the remaining demerara (we used less than 1 tsp here).  Add the rhubarb and ginger mixture, pour in the batter, and bake for 20 minutes or until puffy and golden brown.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

[a blue plate on a black slate place mat.  On the plate is a large serving of a delicious golden-brown pastry, dusted with powdered sugar with rhubarb oozing out of the insides of it]