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Homemade Old Fashioned Strawberry Ice Cream is the best tasting summer dessert.
Nothing beats creamy ice cream made from scratch, especially when its made with fresh strawberries. This strawberry ice cream recipe is as good as it gets. Egg yolks, cream, and vanilla bean are the base of this decadent dessert!
Why this recipe works:
Homemade strawberry ice cream is one of those basic must-have must-make summer dessert recipes. There are so many reasons why this recipe stands out and I can’t wait for you to make it!
- Fresh strawberries are macerated with lemon juice and sugar to really bring out the flavor and improve the texture for this recipe.
- This is a true strawberry ice cream recipe with eggs. The egg yolks combined with the heavy cream and milk create a creamy custard base. This is how I make my Coconut Ice Cream and Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.
- A vanilla bean is infused into the scaled cream. This creates an intense vanilla flavor that really compliments the fresh strawberries. I know vanilla beans are expensive, but man are they worth it! I also use one when I make my Orange Sherbet.
- Instead of just using granulated sugar, golden brown sugar is also part of this ice cream recipe. It adds a rich, almost caramel flavor to the base.
- This recipe does take a long time to make to develop the flavors and to chill, but the base is actually very easy to make and an ice cream maker processes it into a smooth and creamy frozen treat!
Ingredient list:
To make this homemade strawberry ice cream recipe you will need: egg yolks, sugar (both granulated and golden brown), heavy cream, milk, fresh strawberries, and a squeeze of lemon. I also use a vanilla bean, which really sets the flavor over the top.
Here’s how to make it:
If you’ve ever wanted to make homemade strawberry ice cream, allow me to guide you through the process. The recipe and the process are really not that difficult, and you will never want to buy store bought ice cream again!
- Macerate the strawberries in lemon juice with some of the sugar. I find that letting this mixture sit for several hours really releases the juice and harmonizes the flavors.
- When you’re ready to make the ice cream base, you will whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar and the salt. The more you whisk, the creamier and lighter in color this mixture will get.
- Next you will scald the cream and the milk with the vanilla bean. A small portion of this hot mixture will be combined with the egg mixture to temper it. Once tempered, you will continually add more of the hot mixture until everything is combined. This then gets added back to the pot where it will continue to cook over low heat until it thickens. This mixture will then need to be chilled in the refrigerator.
- The chilled macerated strawberries are combined with the chilled ice cream base and then processed in an ice cream maker. Once done, I like to transfer the soft ice cream to a loaf pan to firm up in the freezer.
Recipe tips:
- If you don’t already have an ice cream maker, I highly recommend getting one. Its has been worth every penny in our house. I usually like to freeze the base container in my deep freezer as opposed to the house freezer because it gets that much colder.
- If you don’t have a vanilla bean pod, you can use one tablespoon of vanilla extract.
- How to avoid ice crystals: Ever make homemade ice cream and it freezes too hard or develops ice crystals? Mary, a reader, recommends stirring a tablespoon of vodka into the custard before freezing. A little vodka always helps!
Related recipes:
Love strawberry dessert recipes? You will have to try these favorites:
- Strawberry Pretzel Salad Recipe
- Fresh Strawberry Pie Recipe
- Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
- Best Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
- Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Strawberry Marshmallows
- Strawberry Shortcake Poke Cake
- Strawberry Lemonade Baked Donuts
- Old Fashioned Icebox Cake with coconut and strawberries
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
- Strawberry Orange Sorbet
- Strawberry Rhubarb Galette
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Pin ItOld Fashioned Strawberry Ice Cream
When you’re looking for a tasty summer treat to help cool you down, nothing quite beats some creamy homemade Old Fashioned Strawberry Ice Cream.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups strawberries stems removed, sliced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup golden brown 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 seeds scraped
Instructions
- Combine 4 cups strawberries with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and half of the sugar in a bowl. Toss until the ingredients are well incorporated and allow to macerate in the refrigerator for several hours to let the natural juice of the strawberry come out.
- In a large bowl, add 4 large egg yolks. Add the remaining half of the 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 cup golden brown sugar as well as 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt Whisk together until lightened in color and smooth.
- Pour 1 1/2 cups whole milk, 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, and 1 vanilla bean into a medium saucepan, over medium heat. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally while pressing onto the vanilla beans to extract the flavor and the seeds, and then remove the pot from the heat.
- Use a ladle to transfer one spoonful at a time of the hot milk/cream to the egg yolk mixture while whisking the entire time. Your goal is to slowly mix in the hot mixture to temper the eggs but not to cook them. Continue to slowly add the hot cream while whisking until all of it has been thoroughly combined.
- Return the entire tempered egg mixture to the saucepan and place over medium low heat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon. For me, this was more of a gut feel thing to know when it was ready, but you can definitely tell when the mixture has thickened. Do not let it get to the point where the eggs begin to cook. You should be able to touch the mixture with your finger without burning it.
- Pour the mixture into a bowl and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least four hours.
- Alternatively, you can pour the mixture into a bowl and set over another large bowl filled with ice water. Stir to cool the mixture down. You want the custard to be ice cold before churning.
- Remove the vanilla bean pod. Stir the chilled strawberry mixture into the custard.
- Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s directions. I was able to process the entire batch at once in my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker. This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes. Freeze for a couple of hours to allow the ice cream to harden. Then scoop and enjoy.
Notes
Makes about 8 cups of ice cream. Serving size based on about 1 cup.
Nutrition
Calories: 310kcal, Carbohydrates: 28g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 163mg, Sodium: 116mg, Potassium: 222mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 25g, Vitamin A: 870IU, Vitamin C: 43.3mg, Calcium: 110mg, Iron: 0.6mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave me a comment below
This recipe was originally published in November 2017 and has been updated with helpful information, ingredient and process photos, as well as recipe tips. Don’t worry – the recipe hasn’t changed!
Half of which sugar to macerate? You have two types of sugar and it doesn’t specify. Or is it half of each sugar?
I macerate with both kinds of sugar but you can definitely just use the granulated.
Please clarify the old fashion strawberry ice cream recipe
Recipe states to add 1/2 the sugar to macerate the berries . Subtract 1/4 Cup from the 1/2 cup in the ingredients leaving 1/4 Cup. Later the recipe states add 1/2 cup sugar when adding the brown sugar. The math doesn’t add up.
Hi Tim, Thank you so much for catching that and I apologize for the confusion. We’ve been manually updating all of the recipes to include the quantities in the instructions, and sometimes when amounts need to get split between two steps, there are minor mistakes made (I hire my teenage kids to do the work and every so often they miss something like this). Anyway, I’ve updated the recipe so hopefully it’s totally clear now. Thanks again for highlighting it!
I noticed the recipe says to add half the sugar to the strawberries but then when mixing eggs and sugar it says to add what is the full amount of the sugar. When making the 8 servings recipe, how much sugar goes in with the eggs?
I apologize for the confusion. The recipe has been updated and should be more clear now.
Im cooking the base now. I used hakf n half by accident. I changed quantities to 1 c milk and 2 cups 1/2 n 1/2. Taking forever to coat spoon. Im thinking it might not.i might have to start over
This is a great recipe but – heating the custard mixture according to gut instinct is dangerous. The American Egg Board recommends eggs in ice cream be cooked to 160. “To make a cooked egg base: mix eggs and milk to make a custard base and then cook to an internal temperature of 160 ℉. This temperature will destroy Salmonella, if present. Use a food thermometer to check the mixture temperature. At this temperature, the mixture will coat a metal spoon.”My mixture coated the back of a spoon long before it got to 160. I continued to cook it slowly monitoring the temperature.