Strawberry Ice Cream

My ice cream machine broke down! It left me heartbroken and crying in the kitchen. But then I realised I  had an excuse to buy a new one! I always love it when I have a valid reason to spend some money! So I started doing some research on ice cream machines. I would have loved to buy a self-freezing machine, but with prices starting at € 400,- I decided that was a bit too much. After a while I remembered that you can buy an ice cream maker attachment for a Kitchenaid standmixer. I was sold. It's perfect because you just put the bowl in the freezer and don't have to store an extra machine!

So I went out and bought it, put the bowl in the freezer and the next day I made this strawberry ice cream. It is another recipe from joy of baking. After the huge success of the chocolate ice cream I wanted to try out this recipe, to see if it would turn out just as great.

It was another custard-based ice cream, so it was indeed very creamy and smooth. But I did found it slightly lacking in the strawberry-department. I was looking for an ice cream which was bursting with strawberry-flavour. However, this is a very nice ice cream, but maybe more for a fancy dinner or a cold day.

Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups half-and-half

5 large egg yolks

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 vanilla bean

2/3 cup strawberry puree (strawberries pureed with a little sugar and a squize of lemon juice)

Instructions:

In a saucepan bring the half-and-half and the vanilla bean to the scalding point where the milk begins to foam up.

Remove from heat and take out the vanilla bean. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise in half and scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife. Mix the seeds back into the half-and-half.

Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a stainless steel bowl until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).

Very slowly pour the scalding half-and-half into the egg yolk mixture. Whisk constantly so the eggs don't curdle.

Place the stainless steel bowl over a pan with simmering water and cook until the custard thickens. It needs to coats the back of a wooden spoon (77˚C or 170˚F).

Remove the custard from the heat and stir for a couple of minutes, making sure the custard doesn't overcook.

Stir in the strawberry puree.

Cover and let cool to room temperature. Then refrigerate until the custard is completely cold.

Pour the custard into your ice cream machine and follow the manufacturer's instructions.

Enjoy!