Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

If you’ve read this blog, particularly over the last few weeks, you know that, while food is constantly on my brain, I don’t always think food ideas or recipes all the way through.  Case in point: this ice cream.

Tom’s birthday was last week. I decided to make him strawberry ice cream, because it’s one of his favorites.  Then I told him that we could make milkshakes with it, too (we are both strawberry shake fanatics, despite not really liking most other milkshake flavors).  But, he said, if we use the ice cream for shakes, will there also be enough to just eat? You know, because obviously a quart of ice cream cannot provide you with both shakes and plain ice cream. So, I doubled the recipe.

Doubling the recipe meant doing things like pureeing the strawberries and cream in two batches in my food processor. It meant finding a nice, large container to store the mixture. You know what else it meant? That the whole mixture wouldn’t fit in my ice cream attachment.

Well, crap.

When did I realize this? As I was pulling the ice cream attachment out of the freezer, obviously. So, what’s a girl to do? There was precisely zero chance I was going to clean and wait another day to re-freeze the bowl. I had already waited a little too long to make the base, so I didn’t want  half of it sitting in the fridge another day. I ended up just churning half of it, but not as long as I’d like, and then adding the other half and churning it as long as I could while the bowl was still cold. (I did debate trying to put it all in at once, but I could see quickly that it would result in 1 quart of ice cream, anyway, since the remaining quart would wind up on the countertops and floor.) The mixture didn’t really go “all the way” either time and get to the soft serve consistency, but I hoped for the best.

Thankfully, it turned out great! It was slightly less creamy because of the lack of churning, but it still tasted perfect.  The strawberries really shine and the sour cream gives it a slight tang. Don’t turn your nose up at the sour cream, which my husband initially did when I told him. It’s pretty much just like making frozen yogurt, in terms of the flavor sour cream lends. On top of being incredibly tasty, this ice cream is also incredibly easy. No custard making or anything – just some pureeing followed by some churning and you’re good to go.

I can tell you for sure that this strawberry ice cream is really fantastic, considering I’m eating a bowl as I’m typing this post. 🙂 I hope to try a similar recipe with other berries now that they’re in season.

Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

1 lb. fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. vodka or kirsch
1 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Toss the strawberries in a bowl with the sugar and vodka or kirsch.  Stir until the sugar begins to dissolve.  Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour, stirring every once in a while.

Pulse the strawberries and their liquid with the sour cream, heavy cream and lemon juice in a blender or food processor until almost smooth, but still slightly chunky. Chill in the refrigerator for an hour.

Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.