This homemade strawberry ice cream is very simple and easy to make. It holds itself well as you can see from the photograph, :-) and tastes very smooth and creamy. The best part is that it requires just 20 minutes of your time and a very small list of ingredients. Now that should be tempting enough for you to give it a try. :-)
There are three main things to note in this recipe before you begin.
Point 1 : All your ingredients(whipping cream, condensed milk) and equipments(beater and bowl) need to be chilled before mixing in the refrigerator for at least 2 to 3 hours
Point 2 : Your whipping cream should have anywhere between 33% and 40% fat. This means Amul whipping cream that we find frequently in India is a no- no as it doesn't lend itself well to whipping. I used Puck whipping cream that has 33% fat. Any other brand whipping cream is ok. If you would like to make it in India, you could always find whipping cream powder from Bluebird. This brand would probably give you whipping cream that has close to 35 % fat. Otherwise exclusive bakeries would also be ready to give you some whipping cream for a price. This cream is known by other names too like heavy whipping cream, double cream etc. So any of these whipping creams is fine.
Point 3 : You need to beat it to the right consistency.
So here is the recipe ....
Preparation Time : 10 minutes
Cooking Time : 10 minutes
Blending Time : 8 - 10 minutes
Makes : 8 - 10 scoops
Ingredients
Strawberry - 250gms (choose the slightly smaller ones, they are less tart)
Whipping Cream - 1 cup / 200 ml
Condensed Milk - 1/2 tin
Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp (optional)
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Procedure
1. Wash and puree your strawberries well in a mixie. You could choose to sieve this puree to get rid of the seeds or leave it as such. Personally, it doesn't make much difference to me. I love the slight seedy texture.
2. Take the strawberry puree and sugar in a pan and heat it on a medium flame till it gets slightly thick. Coating the back of your spoon.
3. Allow it to cool and put it in the refrigerator to cool.
4. Take out the cooled whipping cream first. Whip it on medium speed, till soft peaks form (Approximately 7 - 8 minutes).
5. Add half the condensed milk and mix well (4 minutes).
6. Add the vanilla essence if you are using it and mix again for approximately a minute.
7. When the mixture is swirly and has soft peaks,(when you lift the beater blades up, the mix should hold itself on the surface for a few seconds.
8. Finally add the cooled strawberry sugar paste to the blended mix and give a quick mix.
9. Pour it into a freezer safe container. Freeze for about 8 hours or overnight
10. You delicious homemade Strawberry Ice cream is ready to enjoy. :-)
Note:
1. If you want a nice scoop of ice cream, dip your ice cream scoop of a rounded ladle in warm water before scooping out the ice cream, it eases out the scooping process and gives you a pretty perfect scoop.
2. You can use the same recipe minus the strawberry puree for vanilla ice cream.