The strawberry ice cream recipe
for your table
Purée the strawberries with the sugar and lemon juice until smooth and let them stand for half an hour. The sugar draws the juice out of the fruit, and you will see that moisture collect as a layer in the bowl. That is exactly the water you do not want to find later as ice crystals in your ice cream.
For a creamier result, cook the purée over low heat for a few minutes, then let it cool completely in the refrigerator. The less free water there is in the mixture, the finer the crystals remain. If you are in a hurry, feel free to skip this step.
Stir the cold purée into the whipped cream and milk. Do not whisk, because that incorporates air that you do not need here; stirring is enough. Taste it, and add a little more lemon juice if it tastes too sweet, because acidity brings out the strawberry flavor.
Churn the mixture in the ice cream maker until it has the consistency of soft serve, or place it in a shallow container in the freezer and stir it vigorously every twenty minutes for the first hour and a half. Then spoon it into the dessert glasses and let it firm up for another hour.
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The story
Strawberry ice cream is the ice cream where making it yourself pays off most, because the difference from a carton from the freezer is especially noticeable with fresh fruit. At the same time, it is also the most difficult ice cream to make creamy. A strawberry consists almost entirely of water, and water freezes into crystals that you can feel on your tongue. Anything that binds or evaporates that moisture works in your favor: sugar, a little extra cream, and briefly reducing the purée. The color you end up with is honestly pale pink, not the bright pink of a carton with coloring added.
The right glass
Homemade strawberry ice cream is softer than factory-made ice cream and therefore collapses faster, so the glass needs to keep the portion together rather than letting it spread across a flat plate. A stemmed coupe does that, and its stem also keeps your hand away from the bowl. The first glass below holds 28 cl and, according to the description, is a wide, shallow coupe that shows scoops of ice cream, whipped cream and fruit at their best, with room for sauce, nuts and a wafer on the side. At 32 cl, the second is the roomier of the two, described as being made for ice cream coupes, sorbets and dame blanches and deep enough for several scoops with toppings. A narrow, tall glass would show off that pale pink color better, but you wouldn't be able to get the spoon in properly. More sizes can be found among the dessert glasses.
Royal Leerdam Fun 4 Food Ice Cream Coupe 28 cl Primavera (6 pieces)
Bormioli Rocco Fortuna Ice Cream Glass 32 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets together € 84,90.
The right tools
For strawberry ice cream, besides the glassware, use a citrus juicer to add seedless lemon juice to the purée and a fine strainer to remove the seeds from the strawberry purée if you want a smooth mixture. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glassware set (our choice 01) + 2 bar tools together € 49,85.
What do you serve with it?
With strawberry ice cream, a glass of sparkling wine works better than a full glass of wine, because the bubbles carry the cream along and let the fruit stand out. Prosecco and cava are the obvious choices; moscato is sweeter and works well if the ice cream has turned out on the tart side. On every drink page, you can read the alcohol percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails it pairs with, and which glass you need.
Variations & twists
Want to make it fuller? Replace half the whipped cream with mascarpone; it binds the moisture and gives you a thicker spoonful. Half a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar stirred into the purée may sound strange, but it brings out the strawberry flavor just as salt does with sweetness. And if you want pieces of fruit in the ice cream, chop the strawberries finely and mix them with a little sugar first, because large pieces become as hard as pebbles in the freezer. Looking for more inspiration? Browse more than 100 cocktail recipes.
Serving tip
Take the ice cream out of the freezer fifteen minutes before serving, so it can be scooped without the scoop immediately collapsing. Serve fresh strawberry wedges alongside it with a few drops of lemon juice drizzled over them to keep them from discoloring. A wafer and a dollop of whipped cream turn it into a sundae.
Good to know
Why does homemade strawberry ice cream become so hard?
Because they contain a lot of water, and water freezes into crystals. A strawberry consists of more than ninety percent water, so a purée made from half a kilo of fruit brings quite a lot of moisture with it. Sugar lowers the freezing point and binds some of that water, cream adds fat that settles between the crystals, and briefly reducing the purée simply lets some of the moisture evaporate. Do all three, and you can really taste the difference from your first attempt.
Fresh or frozen strawberries?
Frozen strawberries work just as well here, and often better out of season. They are picked at their ripest and frozen immediately, so the flavor is preserved. Let them thaw halfway, then mix them with the sugar and purée them with the liquid that has run out; that juice belongs in it. Keep in mind that they release a little more free liquid, so briefly reducing the purée is more worthwhile with frozen fruit.
Purée everything or leave some pieces?
A smooth purée gives the most even texture, but fruit pieces are delicious if you know what you're doing. A piece of strawberry is almost pure water and freezes into a little stone in ice cream that you bite into. So cut them small, mix them with sugar for half an hour, and only stir them in during the last minute. That way, they become soft pieces instead of shards.
Why is the color pale pink instead of bright pink?
Because the color of a strawberry is in the skin and the outer layer of flesh, while the center is lighter. If you purée them and mix in cream and milk, you dilute that color even further. Pale pink is simply what half a kilo of real strawberries produces. Bright pink ice cream from a package contains food coloring or concentrated juice in the base.
How much sugar should I add?
More than you would add for flavor. In ice cream, sugar is not only sweet but also acts as antifreeze: it lowers the freezing point, so some of the moisture remains liquid and the mixture stays scoopable. If you remove a lot of the sugar, you end up with a hard block. That is why 120 grams per half kilo of fruit is not a flavor choice but a technical minimum.
How long does it keep?
Covered, for about two weeks. After that, the surface dries out, larger crystals form, and the ice cream absorbs odors from whatever else is in the freezer. Store it in a shallow container with a sheet of parchment paper directly on the ice cream and the lid on.
Frequently asked questions
How do you make strawberry ice cream without an ice cream maker?
Place the mixture in a shallow, wide container in the freezer and stir it vigorously every twenty minutes for the first hour and a half, reaching into the corners. Stirring does what the machine does: it breaks up the crystals that form at the edge before they grow large. Then leave it undisturbed for another hour.
Why is my strawberry ice cream hard as a rock?
Almost always because of too much free water and too little sugar. Strawberries are more than ninety percent water, so let the purée stand with the sugar for half an hour first, briefly cook it down if necessary, and keep the sugar at the specified amount. An extra splash of cream also helps, because fat settles between the crystals.
Can you use frozen strawberries?
Yes, and out of season they are usually the better choice. Let them thaw halfway, mix them with the sugar, and purée them together with the juice that has run out. Because frozen fruit releases a little more moisture, briefly reducing the purée is especially worthwhile here.
How long does homemade strawberry ice cream keep?
Covered, for about two weeks in the freezer. The texture is best in the first few days; after that, the crystals slowly become larger. Place a sheet of parchment paper directly on the ice cream before putting the lid on, so the surface does not dry out.
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