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Our Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream has a creamy vanilla custard base loaded with chunks of fresh strawberries.
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Homemade Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream
Skip the grocery store ice cream and make homemade Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream instead.
This ice cream has a creamy vanilla custard base with chunks of fresh strawberries throughout! Some fresh lemon juice and honey are also added to the mix, giving every spoonful a bright, rich depth of flavor.
Our Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream is a churned ice cream, so you’ll need an ice cream maker. But overall it is easy to make and the fresh creamy ice cream is so delicious!
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Egg Yolks – You’ll need only egg yolks for this recipe, but save the egg whites and bake an angel food cake too!
- Heavy Cream – Heavy whipping cream can also be used. Both contain 36% milk fat and brands often use the terms interchangeably.
- Whole Milk
- Granulated Sugar
- Extracts – We used both vanilla extract and strawberry extract for a balanced flavor.
- Strawberries – Use fresh strawberries for the freshest flavor. If you only have access to frozen strawberries, they are fine to use but chop them up a bit before adding to the custard. (No need to fully thaw them – just thaw enough to chop.)
- Fresh Lemon Juice and Honey – The fresh strawberries will macerate in the lemon juice and honey for a short time, helping prevent an overly icy texture.
Cooking Tips & Tricks
- Unless you have an ice cream maker that doesn’t require pre-freezing, the timing for this recipe takes about two days: Freeze ice cream canister overnight so it’s fully frozen before churning. The strawberry custard mixture also needs to cool completely before churning, so give it plenty of time to chill in the refrigerator, and the finished/churned ice cream needs to freeze overnight.
- Tempering the egg yolks (in step 4 below) is necessary so the eggs don’t curdle when they get mixed into the hot cream mixture. Just follow the step as written in the recipe below.
- Heat the cream and egg mixture slowly over low heat so it thickens without curdling.
- If you would like a pink base for your strawberry ice cream, feel free to add a drop or two of food coloring to the base before churning.
Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream
- Prep Time: 36 hours
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 36 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert, ice cream
- Method: freeze
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
4 large or 5 medium egg yolks, at room temperature
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons strawberry extract
1 pound fresh strawberries, about 3 cups, trimmed and diced
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- The day prior, freeze the canister from the ice cream churn. (If you are using an ice cream maker that doesn’t require pre-freezing the canister, you can skip this step.)
- Whisk the egg yolks and leave at room temperature.
- In a medium to large saucepan over medium heat, heat cream, milk, and sugar until the sugar dissolves.
- Ladle a few cups of the hot cream mixture slowly into the egg yolk bowl, whisking vigorously as you pour.
- Pour the now tempered egg mixture slowly into the saucepan with the hot cream mixture, continuing to whisk as you pour.
- Cook this mixture on low to medium low for about 15 minutes or until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
- Off heat, whisk in the two extracts and pour into a container for refrigeration. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly over the custard, letting the plastic cover touch the surface of the custard. This will stop skin from forming while it cools.
- Cool completely under refrigeration until it reaches the same temperature as your refrigerator (35-38 degrees F.).
- Prepare the strawberry mixture by mixing chopped strawberries with lemon juice and honey. Keep refrigerated until later. This mixture must be very cold before adding to the churned ice cream.
- Once the custard has chilled, place frozen canister into your ice cream maker and add the custard and churn. The mixture must be almost fully thick (about 25-35 minutes), before adding the chilled strawberry mixture.
- Once the custard is thick, add the strawberry mixture and churn just to mix. Adding the strawberries may loosen the mixture a bit, which is fine, but work fast to get the ice cream frozen.
- Scrape the soft strawberry ice cream into a container, cover, and freeze overnight.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream ahead of time? Yes, this takes a few days to make so plan accordingly.
- How do I store leftovers? Store frozen in a tightly sealed container for up to one month. This kind of ice cream container with a cover works very well.
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