Who Doesn't Love Strawberry Ice Cream?

We have a full house this summer, with two of my cousins visiting and staying with us. One of my cousins adores strawberry ice cream. I modified a raspberry ice cream recipe to create strawberry ice cream. There really is no comparison to the store-bought variety (as good as Tillamook ice cream is!). The fragrance of strawberries fills the air as you church your ice cream. And every bite is absolutely strawberry-y. None of the fake strawberry powder used here!

Strawberry Ice Cream 
modified from The Perfect Scoop

1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups strawberry puree (about 2 lbs fresh strawberries)
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

1. Warm whole milk and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Scrape continuously to prevent sugar from burning. 
2. In a separate bowl, beat together egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, stirring constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks into the saucepan. Cook mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula and scraping the bottom as you stir, until mixture thickens and coats spatula. 
3. Pour heavy cream into a large bowl and stir the custard into the heavy cream. Mix in the strawberry puree and lemon juice, then cool the bowl over an ice bath. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, then churn following the instructions of your ice cream maker. 

Homemade Green Tea Ice Cream

I tried my hand at ice cream making (again) this week for my mom's birthday. I've had my Cuisinart ice cream maker for almost a year now, but I had yet to produce really, really good ice cream that could rival the store-bought variety. The first few times, I was disappointed because my ice cream never quite firmed up and was more of a frozen yogurt consistency.

This time, I pulled out all the stops to achieve really good homemade ice cream (and justify my ice cream maker purchase)! I followed the Green Tea Ice Cream recipe from The Perfect Scoop, which is the most highly reviewed ice cream making book I could find. My freezer bowl was placed in the coldest corner of my freezer for months awaiting the day of its use - this is excessive, but I would highly recommend keeping your freezer bowl in your freezer at all times... because you never know when you may suddenly crave some ice cream! I chilled all of my ingredients, went out and bought whole milk rather than use the 2% variety I had on hand, and dished out for some real green tea powder (available at Uwajimaya). 

The result was stunningly, delicious ice cream than beats out Dreyers, Breyers, Tillamook, and even Haagen-Dazs! Rich, creamy, and full of green tea fragrance in every lick! 

Ice Cream Maker: http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-ICE-30BC-Indulgence-2-Quart-Automatic/dp/B0006ONQOC

Ice Cream Making Book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Perfect-Scoop-Granitas-Accompaniments/dp/158008219X/ref=pd_sim_k_3/185-0027444-8215476

Green Tea Ice Cream (from The Perfect Scoop)

makes about 1 quart

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 cups heavy cream
4 teaspoons matcha (green tea powder)
6 large egg yolks

Directions:

1. Warm milk, sugar, and salt in medium saucepan. Pour cream into a bowl and whisk in green tea powder, set mesh strainer on top. 
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks. Slowly pour warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg mixture back into sauce pan. Stir mixture over medium heat with heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until mixture thickens and coats the spatula. 
3. Pour custard through strainer and stir into cream, whisk vigorously until custard is frothy to dissolve green tea powder. Stir until cool over an ice bath.
4. Chill mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.