Roasted Balsamic Strawberry Ice Cream

Today’s blog therapy session begins with a confession and ends with homemade ice cream.

I like to waste no time when it comes to getting things off my chest. I really want this one off my chest.

Here is my deepest, darkest confession:

THIS RECIPE MAKES MORE THAN WHAT FITS IN A TWO QUART ICE CREAM MAKER.

Confession is a healthy practice — you should do it more often. But not too often because then people will say, “HUH?”, when you tell them that you’re going crazy over a homemade ice cream recipe that makes MORE than what fits in a single 2-quart ice cream freezer bowl.

My goal for this recipe was to make enough ice cream mixture to fit perfectly in a 2 quart ice cream maker. But I dropped the ball. That didn’t happen. I have a hard time when I drop the ball, even while making strawberry ice cream. You might not even think that I dropped the ball, which is what I hope, because that’s why we’re in this little blog therapy session right now.

Where I didn’t drop the ball, is the actual ice cream itself. Who cares if there’s too much! This vegan ice cream tastes like summer. What you really need to know is that this Roasted Balsamic Strawberry Ice Cream is not a whimpy strawberry ice cream where you can kind of taste the strawberries but not really. Roasting the strawberries in two different balsamic vinegars brings out the flavor like a punch in the taste buds.

I could remake the recipe so that it fits perfectly in a 2 quart ice cream maker, but that would take another Saturday I don’t have, and then there would be a huge delay, and then this recipe would get moved to the bottom of the 2 year recipe waiting list (otherwise known as my paper pile where things get lost).

There are several ways you can troubleshoot the volume issue. By giving you these three options, I’m hopefully eliminating my very strong urge to re-make the recipe to fit perfectly in a two quart ice cream maker.

MATH SKILLS OPTION
You can half the entire recipe, so that everything fits into one 2-quart ice cream freezer bowl without any extras.

MAKE A LOT OF ICE CREAM OPTION
You can split the ice cream mixture in half, and make half the mixture at a time. This will require two different 2-quart ice cream freezer bowls. Both ice cream bowls will need to be frozen 2 days in advance. Store the unused half of the mixture in the fridge until ice cream bowl #2 is ready for it.

MAKE ICE CREAM + POPSICLES OPTION
You can fill your 2-quart ice cream freezer bowl according to the manufacturer’s recommended filling capacity. What doesn’t fit can be used to make Roasted Balsamic Strawberry Popsicles. This option will require one 2-quart ice cream freezer bowl and popsicle molds. This is the option I went with.

I have another tiny little confession. I made this recipe to bring to a friend’s house for dessert, except that we never ended up bringing it. The day I made it, Seattle was 90+ degrees, and it would have been soup by the time we got to her house. Sorry, Pam.

Because I was making it for another family to enjoy, I put a little more sweetener in it than I normally do. The protein in the pea milk helps to balance the blood sugar effect of the honey. That was not a typo, yes, I said pea milk. There is pea milk in this ice cream.

I was super excited to put pea milk in a dairy-free ice cream recipe, specifically for its protein content. What I’ve never liked about pure coconut milk ice cream is how low it is in protein. Using a combo of pea milk and coconut milk offers both protein and fat for the ice cream, while also keeping it vegan. You could add gelatin to a coconut milk base, which solves the protein problem but then it wouldn’t be vegan.

And, just to put it out there, I’m not vegan. Sorry. Let’s talk about that in another blog therapy session.

Roasted Balsamic Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients

Roasted Strawberries

• 2 pounds organic strawberries, washed & dried
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1 Tablespoon grand reserve balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Ice Cream

• 2 cups unsweetened pea milk (by Ripple Foods)
• 2 5.4 fluid oz cans of organic coconut cream (about 1 1/3 cups coconut cream)
• 1.5 cups full fat coconut milk
• 1/4 cup honey
• 20 drops liquid stevia
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• strained liquid from the roasted strawberries
• roasted strawberries, chilled

Makes 2+ quarts of ice cream

Before making this ice cream, ensure that your 2-quart ice cream freezer bowl(s) have been in the freezer for 48 hours.

Roasted Strawberries

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Line a 3-quart glass baking dish with parchment paper.
3. Remove strawberry stems. Cut strawberries in half. If strawberries are extra large, they may need cut in quarters.
4. Place strawberries in the parchment paper lined glass baking dish.
5. Drizzle honey and both vinegars over the strawberries.
6. Roast in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes.
7. Let the roasted strawberries cool for at least 10 minutes prior to separating them from the liquid.
8. Strain strawberries in order to separate the liquid from the strawberries, ensuring to collect the liquid.
9. The liquid will go in the ice cream mixture. The strawberries will be added to the ice cream while it’s churning.
10. Use a knife or kitchen shears to gently cut the strawberry chunks into smaller pieces. Chill the strawberry pieces in the fridge until the ice cream is ready for them.

NOTE: Strawberries can be roasted a day prior, since they should be chilled prior to using them in the ice cream.

Ice Cream

1. Place pea milk, coconut cream, coconut milk, honey, stevia, vanilla, and the strained roasted strawberry liquid in a stainless steel pot. (Do NOT put in the roasted strawberries, only the strained liquid.)
2. Cook on medium to low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring regularly and ensuring that the mixture doesn’t boil. If it starts to boil, turn the heat down.
3. Place mixture in the fridge. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
4. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for your particular ice cream maker. Once the ice cream mixture is chilled, it is ready for the ice cream maker, unless you want to give it a quick blend in a blender or Vitamix to eliminate any film or separation that occurred in the chilling process. Add the ice cream mixture to the ice cream maker.
5. After the ice cream mixture has been in the ice cream maker for a few minutes, slowly add the chilled, roasted strawberries.
6. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for when it should be done. Most homemade ice cream in an electronic ice cream maker is done after 30 minutes of churning.

Enjoy fresh out of the ice cream maker. To firm up the ice cream, freeze it for 1-2 hours after churning.

If you freeze the ice cream overnight, it will need to soften at room temperature for about 15 minutes.

Best when it’s been frozen for only 1-2 hours after it’s been made.

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