It’s been a tough week. That calls for some basil ice cream with sugared strawberries if you ask me.
Crawley and I have moved into our new house and are getting settled. Poor guy had a time of it, getting sick in the car on the way home and then was very overwhelmed by paint smells and new floors smells and no doubt thinking, “why is my furniture not in my house?” He’s slowly emerging from under the bed, and after a day of WTF, has picked up his routine of poking me in the face to wake me up earlier than is necessary, and earlier than I’d like. Such is life.
I’m starting to get back to my pre-Vietnam normal as well. I bought a pineapple. While not normal as such, it shows that I’m ready to get busy and creative in the kitchen, and for my first recipe in the soon-to-be-open-for-summer-guests CB B&B, ice cream.
I actually really really wanted to make cassoulet, because that’s the vibe up here in these northern parts, but I realized that I had not one ingredient to do so. My bare pantry is ready for little more than a cereal buffet for breakfast. Must work on that.
I’m starting this season with ice cream because it’s comfort. It’s delicious, and since it’s no churn I’m easing back into this cooking thing with…well, ease. Churn requires more forethought than I had, and some “summer’s here” gusto that is hard to muster when it’s still 30s and wintry- mixing outside (yes, come on Michigan). I’ll get there- and no doubt in a month or so I’ll be cutting myself off from making ice cream as I stare into the freezer containing four freshly made batches. That is, if history repeats itself and when it comes to ice cream, it’s sure to do.
We’re going with fresh basil ice cream, topped with sugared strawberries and shortbread cookies. While this is, on its face, summer in a bowl, since winter/spring lines are being blurred by mother nature, so are spring/summer lines by me.
Afterthought: macerating the strawberries in some booze. Should have done it. You do it.
If you’ve never had basil ice cream- please do! If you’re weary, this goes equally well with fresh mint. If mint will be your training wheels, basil will be your end game in no time. It’s subtle and sweet, just like basil is IRL. You’ll be a convert, and will be pushing your regular flavor aside in no time.
You’ll need a good overnight to let the basil infuse in the cream. Wake up the next morning and toss the rest together before work (bonus: a bowl to lick before the day to face), and you’ll come home to a job already done!
I chose to add the berries as a topper and not to add them straight to the ice cream because I have a weird relationship with fruit in desserts (as you know) and even more issue with fruit in my ice cream. Keep it clean, I say. But, can you add the strawberries to the ice cream before freezing? Sure, but be aware that move changes up the water content of everything and you’ll have some icy berries. Just soes you’re awares.
If we eat summer food will it trick our brains into thinking it’s summer? It’s a working theory.
Written in the new house.
Basil Ice Cream with Sugared Strawberries
Basil Ice Cream with Sugared Strawberries has an easy no-churn base infused with fresh basil and mixed with crushed cookies and strawberries.
Ingredients
- For the ice cream:
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup fresh basil
- For the strawberries:
- 1 cup diced strawberries
- 1 TB granulated sugar
- For the rest:
- Crushed shortbread cookies
Directions
- Step 1 Place the heavy cream and the basil in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Step 2 The next day after the cream has been infused with the basil, remove the basil leaves and put the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat to almost-stiff peaks.
- Step 3 Slowly drizzle the sweetened condensed milk into the whipped cream, careful not to deflate the cream too much. Transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze at least 4 hours or until firm.
- Step 4 While the ice cream is freezing, mix the strawberries and the sugar well. Place uncovered at room temperature to let the strawberries juice.
- Step 5 To serve, divide the ice cream into bowls, top with the sugared strawberries and crushed cookies. Enjoy!
Um, yum!
Good tips on the strawberries….I added them to the base last year….and they were frozen solid.
For your foodies friends, you could macerate the berries in some good balsamic. Or a balsamic glaze on top! What?! So good. My fave here is a fig balsamic, that would be a little sweet, too. I’m also a vinegar freak and love that little tang with everything.