Strawberry Ice Cream with Chocolate Flakes
Ice cream is my favorite way to reward myself and strawberry ice cream with chocolate flakes is, in my opinion, the perfect ice cream- think chocolate-covered strawberries in ice cream form. A custard-free ice cream base lets the flavor of perfectly ripe summer strawberries shine. With a velvety creamy texture, tons of strawberry flavor, and a touch of decadence from bittersweet chocolate, this ice cream won’t last long after you make it.
The Perfect Ice Cream Does Exist
I prefer to make Philadelphia-style ice creams at home. This type of ice cream is eggless and less fussy to make, but can turn icy over time. Homemade Philadelphia-style ice creams will be at their most creamy and velvety texture for a week in the freezer; then they can become more icy with time. But at least in my house, homemade ice cream is irresistible, and there’s no way it would go uneaten in the freezer long enough to turn icy.
Strawberries are one of the trickiest fruits to make into ice cream. Their high water content creates a conundrum: using a lot of strawberries will give more strawberry flavor, but also bring in more water that can turn icy. I use quite a few tricks to get the perfect strawberry ice cream, one of the most important being to use good quality in-season strawberries. No amount of bland tasteless strawberries is going to get you the fresh strawberry flavor we’re after.
Why this recipe works
Double Strawberry for Best Flavor
My recipe uses strawberries in two forms- pureed and sliced strawberries that are macerated in sugar and vodka, strained, and then mixed in. The puree strawberries give the base its gorgeous pink hue and a bulk of the ice cream strawberry flavor. The sliced and macerated strawberries get mixed in to the ice cream in the last minute of churning.
Since some of the liquid strained out of the macerated strawberries is water, I know I should keep it out of the ice cream base, but I can’t bring myself to leave out all the strawberry flavor!! This is why I use a few different ingredients to prevent iciness, because I can’t not add the strawberry-vodka liquid. Often I will reserve a few tablespoons of the liquid to make myself strawberry daiquiri, but most of it goes into the ice cream base.
Preventing Iciness
My ice cream recipe is based off of Dorie Greenspan’s ice creams in her Baking with Dorie cookbook. She uses powdered milk and a couple of tablespoons of vodka to keep them creamy. Powdered milk helps to emulsify the base and helps keep ice crystals small by increasing the amount of milk protein in the base without adding any extra water. With a high alcohol percentage, vodka doesn’t freeze solid as water does in a kitchen freezer- this trait helps keep the ice cream creamier and easier to scoop.
Dorie’s recipe adds a few tablespoons of vodka along with the rest of the ingredients for the ice cream base. In my recipe, prior to mixing up the base, I macerate thin slices of strawberries in sugar and vodka for at least 2 hours prior to mixing up the ice cream. The sugar draws the water out of the strawberries and the vodka seeps into them. This keeps these strawberry slices from freezing solid after being mixed in to the ice cream.
As one more layer of protection against ice, I also add corn syrup to this ice cream. Corn syrup makes ice cream and sorbets silkier, smoother, creamier, and less icy. Though still a processed ingredient, corn syrup is less processed and easier for our bodies to digest than the dreaded high-fructose corn syrup. I’m usually all about limiting processed ingredients, but I make this ice cream as a treat for myself and I’ll allow a bit of corn syrup since it gives the perfect ice cream texture.
Chocolate Flakes
Strawberry ice cream is good, but strawberry ice cream with chocolate flakes is absolute perfection. It only takes two ingredients and a couple of minutes to mix together a chocolate sauce, that when slowly drizzled in to the ice cream at the end of churning, flakes apart and distributes throughout the ice cream.
One note of caution- this recipe for strawberry ice cream without the chocolate flakes will fill up a 1-quart sized ice cream machine to the very top. Before pouring in the chocolate sauce, I turn the machine off, scoop out about 1/2 c of the ice cream into a small container to freeze. This is the cook’s secret stash, no need to tell anyone else about it. Turn the machine back on and slowly pour the chocolate sauce into the ice cream and let it churn for about a minute for the chocolate to flake apart.
Ingredient Notes
Strawberries. In the ice cream as both solid slices and pureed and mixed into the base. Use the best quality strawberries you can find for the best strawberry ice cream.
Heavy Cream and Buttermilk. Form the bulk of the ice cream base. Heavy cream, of course, adds creaminess and buttermilk adds a bit of tanginess that pairs well with the natural sweetness of the strawberries.
Vodka. Does double duty preventing iciness in this recipe. First, soaking strawberry slices in vodka helps keep the slices from freezing solid. The liquid strained from the strawberry slices also gets mixed into the ice cream base, helping it to keep its velvety texture.
Powdered Milk. An extra layer of creaminess and helps emulsify the ice cream base
Corn Syrup. Improves the texture, flavor, and scoop-ability of ice creams and sorbets.
Bittersweet Chocolate and Coconut Oil. Melted together to form a quick chocolate sauce. In the last minute of churning the ice cream, slowly pour in the chocolate sauce. It will flake apart and distribute throughout the ice cream.
More Recipes to Put Your Ice Cream Maker to Use
No Ice Cream Maker Required
Strawberry Ice Cream with Chocolate Flakes
PRINT PINEquipment
- ice cream maker
Ingredients
Macerated Strawberries
- 6 oz strawberries washed and hulled
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp vodka
Ice Cream Base
- 10 oz strawberries washed and hulled
- 1 ½ c heavy cream
- ⅔ c buttermilk
- ½ c granulated sugar
- ½ c corn syrup
- 3 tbsp powdered milk
- squeeze of lemon
- ½ tsp salt
- all of macerated strawberry liquid ~⅓ c
Chocolate Sauce
- 3 oz bittersweet chocolate
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
Instructions
- Plan ahead: A day before making the ice cream, if needed, put the bowl of the ice cream maker in the freezer and chill overnight.
- Plan ahead: Quarter 6 ounces (about 1 cup) of strawberries, then slice quarters crosswise into very thin pieces. In a mixing bowl, combine strawberries with sugar and alcohol and let stand in refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
- In a blender or food processor, blend remaining strawberries until smooth, about 30 seconds. Measure out 1 cup of the purée and add back to the blender. (Reserve any extra purée for another use.)
- Strain strawberry slices; set aside the sliced strawberries and add the liquid to the blender, along with all of the remaining ice cream base ingredients. Blend until well-mixed and smooth. Transfer the ice cream base to the refrigerator to chill as you prepare the chocolate sauce.
- Add the chocolate and coconut oil to a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring in between each interval, until the chocolate is fully melted. Set aside.
- Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. In the last minute of churning, add the reserved strawberry slices to the ice cream and churn for 30 seconds. If your ice cream mixer is very full, stop the machine and transfer about half a cup of ice cream into a small container and transfer to the freezer- this is the cook's secret stash, no need to tell anyone else about it. Turn the machine back on and slowly pour the chocolate sauce into the ice cream. Churn for another 30 seconds to mix in the chocolate. Transfer ice cream to airtight container and chill in freezer for at least 6 hours before serving.