Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream

Jeni Britton Bauer of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams is definitely my ice cream hero. Or I guess she's my ice cream heroine. Which does seem more appropriate because ice cream is my heroin. When I saw this recipe in her book, I was curious to see how roasting strawberries might transform them. But it didn't really do that - it just concentrated the flavor (which is a good thing, don't get me wrong). So in the end, it was a very good strawberry ice cream, but you probably wouldn't be able to tell it apart from a non-roasted strawberry ice cream. Although the buttermilk does give it a nice little tang. I don't think I'll crave it, like I do the pistachio-honey, but believe me, I wouldn't turn my nose up at a bowl.

 

ROASTED STRAWBERRY BUTTERMILK ICE CREAM

Makes about 1 quart

1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced 1/2-inch thick

1/3 cup + 2/3 cup sugar, divided

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 1/2 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/4 cup buttermilk

1.      Preheat oven to 375º F. Combine strawberries with 1/3 cup sugar in an 8" square glass or ceramic baking dish, stirring gently to mix well. Roast for 8 minutes, or until just soft. Let cool slightly. Puree in a food processor with lemon juice. Measure 1/2 cup of the pureed berries and set aside. Refrigerate the remaining puree.

2.      Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

3.      Combine the remaining milk, cream, 3/4 cup sugar and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heat-proof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

4.      Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture in to the cream cheese until smooth. Add the buttermilk and reserved strawberry puree and blend well. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.

5.      Pour the ice cream mixture into the frozen canister of electric ice cream freezer and run according to directions of ice cream maker. Pack the finished ice cream into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

6.      Serve with refrigerated strawberry puree poured over the top.

by Jeni Britton Bauer

strawberries

sliced strawberries mixed with sugar

roasted strawberries

strawberry puree

The recipe doesn't say to strain out the seeds,
but I did (it just seemed like a good idea).

mixing the cornstarch/milk slurry

adding the slurry to the hot milk/cream/sugar mixture

I used brown rice syrup as a substitute for corn syrup.

softened cream cheese and salt

mixing cream cheese with hot milk mixture

adding buttermilk

mixing in strawberry puree

strawberry custard

I cooled it off in the bowl in an ice bath
(I didn't use a ziploc like the recipe says).

strawberry custard in ice cream maker

ice cream

Instead of pouring the extra strawberry puree
over the ice cream, I decided to mix some into
the ice cream (for a little extra color and flavor).

roasted strawberry buttermilk ice cream

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Amaretto Zabaglione with Balsamic Strawberries

I couldn't fully embrace my imaginary Italian side without making a special dessert to serve with my braciole. Zabaglione is a favorite of mine. No surprise there - it's a light, airy custard (not unlike pudding, and I've never met a pudding I didn't like). Wait, that's not true. I've had some really horrible rice pudding that could have easily been spread with a trowel in between some bricks and constructed into a very strong house that even the big bad wolf himself couldn't blow down. But you can't do that with this lovely, cloud-like zabaglione (at best you might be able to fashion yourself a lego tower).

Zabaglione is traditionally made with only eggs, sugar and sweet wine (like marsala), but this recipe uses amaretto and adds whipped cream to lighten it even more. I layered it with balsamic strawberries (honestly, more so it would look pretty in the glass than anything else). Finally, something awesome to make with all those leftover yolks! Of course if you care enough about your health to eat egg white omelettes regularly, then you're probably not into zabaglione (or my blog for that matter).

AMARETTO ZABAGLIONE

Makes about 2 cups

6 large egg yolks

1/3 cup amaretto (almond liqueur)

3 tablespoons superfine sugar (or granulated sugar, finely ground)

1/4 cup whipping cream

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1.      Fill a large bowl full of ice and set aside.

2.      Whisk egg yolks, amaretto, and sugar in medium metal bowl to blend. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water. Whisk mixture constantly and vigorously (so the eggs won't scramble) until pale yellow and thick like pudding, about 5 minutes. 

3.      Remove mixture from over water and place in ice bath; mix for a few minutes until cool.

4.      In a separate bowl, whip cream to stiff peaks. Fold whipped cream into zabaglione until incorporated. Serve warm or chilled. If serving chilled, zabaglione can be prepared 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Rewhisk before serving.

 

adapted from Bon Appétit, March 2006 by Diane Rossen Worthington

egg yolks

adding amaretto to yolks and sugar

whisking over simmering water

lighter and thicker

You can stop right here for traditional zabaglione
(actually a traditional one would have wine, not amaretto,
but you know what I mean).

adding whipped cream for some extra lightness

all mixed

like eating a cloud

BALSAMIC STRAWBERRIES

Makes about 3 cups

3 1/2 cups sliced hulled strawberries (about 16 oz.)

1/4 cup sugar or maple sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (good quality)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

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Toss all ingredients in medium bowl. Let stand at room temperature until juices form, at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours.

barely adapted from Bon Appétit, April 1999

strawberries

adding sugar

adding balsamic vinegar

balsamic strawberries

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