Strawberry Balsamic Ice-cream

If you love strawberries and ice-cream, I guarantee you’ll love this strawberry balsamic ice-cream recipe. The best part: you don’t need an ice-cream machine!

Until recently, I thought I needed an expensive ice-cream machine to make my own ice-cream at home. It seemed like such a daunting task; the machines are expensive, bulky and the recipes seemed too complicated. However, I realised recently that there’s absolutely no reason to follow any of those recipes; indeed, ice-cream does not need to be complicated. After all, it’s just frozen cream. Originally, ice-cream was just that: cream that was frozen with a bunch of added flavours.

Why make your own ice-cream if you can buy it at the supermarket? Well, even though ice-cream flavours have improved immensely in the past few years and there are now far more flavours than ever before, you still can’t find all the interesting flavours you might possibly want. If you do find them, it is likely that they will be extremely expensive. I see absolutely no reason to buy expensive ice-cream when I can make it at home using cheap, accessible ingredients. In addition, homemade ice-cream doesn’t contain preservatives, artificial flavourings or colours, gelatine, thickeners or any other questionable ingredients. Homemade ice-cream rules!

I’m totally loving all the new ice-cream flavours I’ve tried. This strawberry balsamic ice-cream tastes glorious. It combines sweetness, tartness and umami in one delectable, creamy dessert. There are also hints of basil coming through that enhance both the strawberry and the balsamic flavours. I think it’s one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted!

Ingredients

1. One pound (454 grams) of fresh strawberries.
2. Half a cup of balsamic vinegar.
3. One cup of heavy whipping cream.
4. Half a cup of icing or powdered sugar.
5. Two tablespoons granulated white sugar.
6. Four fresh basil leaves.

Method

1. In a small saucepan, bring the balsamic vinegar and the two tablespoons of granulated white sugar to a boil.
2. Add in one cup of chopped fresh strawberries and the chopped basil leaves.
3. Cook on medium high until the strawberries soften and the balsamic vinegar thickens, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
4. In a deep bowl, pour in the whipping cream and using an electric hand mixer, whip until it forms soft peaks, about three or four minutes. Gradually add in the powdered or icing sugar while mixing, until stiff peaks form.
5. In a blender, add in a cup of chopped fresh strawberries and a half cup of water, blend until smooth.
6. Fold the blended strawberries into the whipped cream mixture.
7. Pour a third of the whipped cream and strawberry mixture into a plastic or metal container. Ladle some of the strawberries and balsamic mixture. Keep layering the whipped cream mixture and the strawberry-balsamic mixture until you’ve poured in the entire whipped cream mixture.
8. Cover and freeze for 4-6 hours. If you want it to have a firmer texture, freeze it a little longer. It’s a good idea to take it out every two hours to give it a gentle mix with a fork or a spoon to keep it creamy. Serve with the remaining fresh strawberries sliced on top and drizzled with any remaining balsamic mixture or with balsamic glaze. Enjoy!

If you try this recipe, let me know how it turned out! For more cooling summer recipes, check out this Pistachio Rose Smoothie and these Five Smoothie Recipes. For more dessert recipes, check out this Danish-Style Marzipan Tart.

© 2019, L.E.. All rights reserved.