Fresh Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

When I told my men the ingredients Kristen chose for May's Improv Challenge, and asked what we should create, our family was immediately divided into two camps. The hubs & the redhead called for cheesecake; while the shortest & the tallest clamored for ice cream. The resulting recipe is a product of our compromise. 

When it comes to homemade ice cream styles, I am most definitely a French custard-style as opposed to Philadelphia (egg-free) style. I love the rich smoothness that clings to my tongue when I eat ice cream. 

You might as well buy some ice milk, if you're not gonna go for the rich stuff! 

The trick for this recipe was to balance the ice cream flavor with a true cheesecake flavor. I debated making a cheesecake then stirring chunks of that into the finished ice cream -- but I didn't have that kind of time! (I did, however, take the time to bake some gluten-free graham crackers to stir into my dessert.) 

Several recipes I found utilized strawberry jam. ummmmm -- why? You just have got to have fresh ingredients, all the way around!

I used one pound of berries. (That comes out to about 3 cups, once you start cutting them up...) I sliced about half of them to macerate with a little sugar. The other half were quartered to stir in prior to putting the ice cream into the home freezer to "ripen".

(The hubs asked if I needed to define "macerate" for my readers...)

Next time I'll cut the "stir-in" berries a little finer.

The custard was simple to make. 

milk & eggs

I used corn starch instead of flour to make it gluten free

the liquid whisked in rather easily

The hardest part was standing patiently beside the stove stirring until it thickened.

(argh! finally!)

I didn't want an overly-sweet product -- the final flavor was perfect for me. (If you like your ice cream very sweet you should add more sugar.)

The lemon just adds that "authentic cheesecake flavor" to the mix. (Next time I might try limes from our tree.) I found that a medium-sized lemon gave me the portions of zest & juice that were perfect for my concoction.

(Can you see those lovely flecks of lemon? That's what made this taste so "cheesecakey"

Yes, my ice-cream maker is archaic! 

(Glad the boys were at school so I could lick the beaters myself...)

It did the job, though...

YES! It does taste as good as this looks!

Some people might desire a "pinker" product. It's an easy matter to add a few drops of food coloring (or a touch of beet juice) to achieve your desired shade. Attractive coloring is less important to me than optimal flavor, so I devoured inhaled licked the bowl enjoyed mine just the way it was.

(...& I didn't hear any complaints from the fellas...)