There is an ice cream place here in Redlands that is, hands down, my favorite ice cream place ever. Better than Prince Pückler's in Eugene, and better than any gelato I had while living in Europe. Situated right in the heart of downtown Redlands, à la minute, (translates "made to order") is a bit of a novelty, but the quality and taste of their ice cream keeps it far from cliché. Each order of ice cream is made right in front of you, with fresh local ingredients and liquid nitrogen! My favorite flavor? Strawberry Balsamic. They make this amazingly delicious strawberry ice cream, and top it with a sweet balsamic reduction. I've been craving a small scoop of this goodness for about a week now, and decided to try make it myself.
I made quite a few stupid mistakes as I went along... but hopefully I've learned my lessons for the next time.
Lesson one: Make your ice cream the day before you want to serve it! I knew this already, of course, but somehow I never got around to starting it on Thursday... maybe because it was the 4th of July
Lesson two: I use the ice cream maker Kitchenaid attachment, which says it should be frozen for at least 15 hours prior to churning ice cream. So that was my second mistake... forgot to put that in the freezer the day before. I thought if it were frozen solid, that would be enough. And it probably would have been, but I filled it with ice to help it freeze faster, which was a big mistake. The ice cubes half melted, and I couldn't remove them from the bowl without melting them out with hot water!! So.... the bowl was no longer frozen. In short, prepare ahead of time, and read the instructions on your ice cream maker!
Lesson three: If you decide to make up your own ice cream recipe, because you aren't completely satisfied with any of the recipes you are reading, make sure to fully read the parts that you do like! I ended up combing three or four recipes that looked like that had some pros and cons. I liked the idea of marinating the strawberries in the balsamic vinegar, and I liked the idea of using brown sugar instead of normal. However, while in a rush to get the ice cream done, I poured the marinated strawberries and all the juices into the custard. If I would have read that one particular recipe more carefully, I would have noticed that it's all those juices I should have used to make the balsamic reduction.... oops. So the sauce went out the window.
Lesson four: If you aren't satisfied with how your ice cream freezes, get your ice cream maker ready again, and let your ice cream partially thaw in the refrigerator. Then re-churn it!
Alright, I think that's about it. Overall, it turned out pretty well, unfortunately, not in time for the company we had over Friday night :/ But that's where a quick batch of homemade brownies comes in handy!! Thanks to Carsten for being able to think on his feet. Me, I just get flustered and angry at the ice cream machine. So this is the recipe that I came up with - including the changes I will make next time I make this ice cream. Which I will do again!
Ingredients
1 pint fresh strawberries, washed, dried, and chopped
1 cup brown sugar
3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup half and half
1 vanilla bean pod
6 egg yolks
1 Tbs vodka (optional)
Procedure
In a small bowl, mix chopped strawberries, brown sugar, and balsamic
vinegar. Cover and refrigerate for at
least 2 hours, or overnight.
In a medium sauce pan, combine heavy cream, half and half,
and the vanilla beans scraped from the pod.
Throw the pod in there too! Bring
to a simmer over medium heat. Once it starts
to simmer, turn off heat and let cool steep for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk 6 egg yolks until slightly frothy. Temper the yolks, by adding about a cup of
the warm cream mixture while whisking.
Then add the eggs to the rest of the cream and return to medium
heat. Cook until custard is thick and
coats the back of a spoon. Pour through
a fine mesh strainer, and refrigerate until very cold.
Drain the strawberries, saving the vinegar liquid. Mash half of the berries, then combine the strawberries with the custard, and mix
until combined. Freeze according to your
ice cream freezer’s directions. At the
very end of the churning, you may add the vodka to help prevent ice cream from becoming too
icy.
Heat the vinegar liquid in a small sauce pan over medium heat until it thickens to a syrup-like consistency. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve. When ready to serve, drizzle the balsamic reduction over a generous scoop of the strawberry ice cream!
share.eat.repeat.
