Paula Deen Strawberry and Cream Ice Cream

Paula Deen Strawberry and Cream Ice Cream is a creamy custard ice cream with fresh strawberries, heavy cream and vanilla bean that is ready in 3 hours 10 minutes. Save this easy homemade summer dessert for your next cookout, potluck or holiday table, because it's a no-fuss churned treat.

Chill the custard until it is completely ice cold before it goes into the machine, because that is what gives you thick, smooth ice cream. Churn it warm and it turns icy and never firms up the way it should.

Paula tosses the berries with sugar and lemon juice first, so they release their juices while the custard cooks. She then pulses them into a chunky puree instead of a smooth one, which leaves real strawberry pieces in every scoop.

Paula Deen Strawberry and Cream Ice Cream

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Course: DessertCuisine: American, SouthernDifficulty: Medium

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

25

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Calories

290

kcal

A vanilla bean custard gets swirled with a chunky strawberry puree, then churned until it looks like thick soft serve. A few hours in the freezer firm it up into creamy, scoopable ice cream.

Ingredients

• 22 ounces strawberries
  

• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  

• 1 cup granulated sugar
  

• 4 large egg yolks
  

• 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
  

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  

• 1 vanilla bean
  

Directions

• Macerate the strawberries: Toss 22 ounces strawberries with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1/4 cup of the sugar in a bowl. Let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes while you make the custard.
• Whisk the yolks: Whisk 4 large egg yolks, the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt in a large bowl. Keep going until the mixture looks pale yellow and the sugar is fully combined.
• Heat the cream and milk: Combine 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, 1 1/2 cups whole milk and the vanilla bean with its seeds in a large saucepan. Bring it to a simmer over medium heat.
• Temper the eggs: Ladle a few spoonfuls of the hot milk mixture into the yolks while whisking constantly. Then pour the tempered eggs back into the saucepan, whisking the whole time.
• Cook the custard: Turn the heat to low and keep stirring for 4 to 6 minutes. It is ready when it thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
• Strain and cool: Strain the custard into a bowl and set it over a larger bowl of ice water. Stir until it is ice cold, since it needs to be cold before churning.
• Add the strawberries: Pulse the berries and their juices in a food processor until roughly chopped. Stir the chunky puree into the custard, then refrigerate it for 2 hours.
• Churn and freeze: Freeze the mixture in your ice cream machine following the manufacturer's instructions. Run it until it looks like thick soft serve, then move it to an airtight container and freeze until hard.

Tools for this recipe

• Cuisinart MultiClad Pro 3-quart saucepan, Cuisinart 14-cup food processor, Cuisinart fine mesh strainer set, Madagascar vanilla beans, grade A, 10 pods. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

FAQs

Can I use vanilla extract instead of a vanilla bean?

Yes, a teaspoon or two of pure vanilla extract works when you don't have a bean. Stir it in after the custard has cooled, since heat cooks off some of the flavor.

Can I use frozen strawberries?

Frozen berries work if you thaw them fully first and keep their juices. Fresh ones taste brighter, though, so I'd save the frozen ones for when berries are out of season.

How long does homemade strawberry ice cream keep in the freezer?

Stored in an airtight container, it tastes best within about 2 weeks. Pressing plastic wrap onto the surface helps keep ice crystals from forming.

Can I make this without an ice cream machine?

You can freeze it in a shallow pan and stir it hard every 30 minutes or so to break up the ice crystals. It takes a few hours and the texture is a little less smooth, but it still tastes great.

Why is my ice cream icy instead of creamy?

The most common cause is churning a custard that wasn't fully chilled. Letting the base get ice cold, then churning until it looks like thick soft serve, keeps the texture smooth.