Strawberry Mint and Almond Ice Cream
We are deep into the intense Texas summer. These are the only couple of months that I wished I was some place else – a long vacation in the mountains sitting on the porch and enjoying the crisp pleasant air. The sun is burning down the garden and the flowers and one has to squint beneath the sunglasses when outdoors.
The desire to eat and cook has disappeared. But we are having enough of coolers, salads, fresh fruits and of course ice cream. Never before have I used a gadget more than I have been using the ice cream maker. Every batch I make lasts through only for a few days.
The fun of making ice cream at home is we can demand and have it – any color, any flavor, any way we want. We made this ice cream back in may when my MIL was still visiting and have done many more after that. The children ask for new flavors every time and we have been through the Chocolate and the Rocky Roads, but we are mostly utilizing the seasonal fruits for the ice cream flavors. Today’s recipe will be the fresh summer berries, mint from my garden and some almonds that I love to use in my recipes.
Strawberry Mint and Almond Ice Cream
Ingredients:
- 20-25 large strawberries, fresh or frozen
- 500 ml half and half or heavy/double cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1.25 cups sugar or to taste, or as per taste + 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds
- 1/4 cup packed fresh mint leaves
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon vodka (optional – alcohol helps reducing crystal in the ice cream and prevents it from getting rock hard)
- fresh mint to garnish if you wish + more nuts to garnish
Preparation:
Mash and macerate strawberries with all the sugar for about 2 hours or overnight.
Muddle the mint leaves with the 2 tablespoons sugar OR process the mint and the sugar in the food processor till crumbly but no big pieces of leaves are left.
Combine the half and half/cream, milk, macerated strawberries, processed mint, lemon juice and nuts in a bowl and pour it in the ice cream maker; process as per the instruction of the ice cream maker.Add the vodka at the last 5 minutes of processing.
If the ice cream maker makes soft serve ice cream like mine does, freeze the soft serve ice cream in the freezer for a couple of hours.
Without an ice cream maker: Blend everything together in a blender or with a hand blender. Freeze. Every couple of hours, blend the ice cream with a hand blender or scrape with the your arms to break up the crystals. Repeat this process at least 3 times.
Serve garnished with nuts and fresh mint.
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A terrific ice cream! I could do with a big bowl of it right now…
Cheers,
Rosa
This is a very flavorful ice cream, looks beautiful!
Love it…….Soma, U r right once u get hang of home-made ice cream it’s difficult to stop specially with this hot weather…me too I should say he too made almond ice-cream this sunday……and these ice-creams disappear so quickly…
😛 😛 😛
superb ice cream ..looks so colorful n tempting ..lovely combination …thanks for sharing this beautiful dessert
Satya
http://www.superyummyrecipes.com
Absolutely yummy icecream
OOooohhhh! Yay! I feel like a little kid seeing pink icecream on polka dot! Arent those dishes and napkins the cutest?
You are right, my dish is slightly different from yours Mine has more purple to it, yours has more green. Love it!
Wow, that looks amazing! I’d love that on a hot day like today!
That is indeed so delectable! Very beautiful and vibrant picture, Soma:). And it was nice having you on my space after quite some time. I won’t complain so please do not be apologetic about it because I know life calls and one should answer! I go into hibernation ever so often:).
Ok now because of you, am planning to step out in this heat to shop for an ice cream maker. I had seen your earlier ice cream recipes, drooled and then pacified myself saying “it’s just not ok to shop hours for an ice cream maker in this summer heat and went ahead and digged into a store bought tub”. But those colours pink, green and the almonds are driving me mad. So you suggest I buy the Cuisinart one?
Sakshi, I haven’t used any other ice cream maker, so I have no idea how they work. But I am really happy with this one. Before I picked this, I went to amazon and other places and read through most of the reviews. Compared to the other ones in the market, this is towards the higher end, but this came for free for me from CSN for the review. i did not have to think of the price 🙂 Look online.. there are different prices in different places.
Soma,
I am silent reader of this blog. This ice cream made me come out. It looks really delicious.
Soma, for me mint is biryani or chutney material. I would never let it near my ice cream. Yours looks terrific though.
Looks lovely … both the ice cream and the holder. 🙂
But it is so chilly here right now that I’ll take a rain check on it. 😉
Wow, this sounds so refreshing esp with the mint! Times like that, I wish I have an ice-cream maker.
You are surely on a ice-cream making wagon lately! 😉 Here’s another fab recipe!
Looks Delicious. Ice cream with strawberry & mint……drooling.
mmmmmm
Looks amazingly good!
Hi Soma
What a perfect looking strawberry mint ice cream. Loved the way it has turned out to be . Phataphati hoyeche. Aami kaal ke cream kinechi. Will try it out very soon this week.
Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi
That looks fabulous! Summer and ice-cream are a must-do combination!
This heat, although not as bad as last year, is getting to me! I need ice cream every day. 😉 Strawberry with mint sounds delicious. I have to try this!
I love the sounds of this Ice cream and I love the flavors, perfection!
I totally agree about the southern summer heat! My Dad would NOT visit my sister (Texan) or I (Miss’ppi’) anytime after may until october! This ice cream looks to die for and I love the fresh theme!
You know the word dessert is for me! Wonderful flavorful ice cream, even to enjoy in winter 🙂
Cheers,
Gera
That is one beautiful dish of ice cream. The color is amazing. I love the flavors you’ve combined here. The mint must give it a bit of crisp freshness. I am with you — not been cooking much or baking at all. Too warm outside which makes it even warmer in my apartment!
I want to grab that bowl right away. My diet has forced me to resist my cravings..
What s delightful ice cream…yummy !!!
Hi! I LOVE ALL your recipes, thank you soooo much for sharing them with us! Look, I found this and I will contribute with one recipe, I though you & perhaps more people in your blog might like to contribute as well, since it is to help children who do not have parents. http://kochbuch.sos-kinderdorf.at/start.php All the best!!! RT
Hello
Great recipe. But how many servings does this make ? My Ice cream maker is small cuisinart one
I used my 2 qt ice cream maker (Cuisinart) to make this. It filled up pretty much to the top and then there was some extra. So it make a little more than 2 quarts. Sorry cannot be exact and while I should have written the amount, I did not and now I cannot remember.
super delicious