Recipe

Strawberry Ripple Ice Cream

by Dan Souza

The inspiration for this ice cream is the classic dessert of fresh strawberries and cream. To pull that off, I needed fresh strawberry flavor. But fresh strawberries contain a lot of water, which turns to coarse ice crystals in the freezer. Adding sugar to the strawberry puree helped keep some of that water from freezing, but the real secret here is adding freeze-dried strawberries to the mix. Having never been heated they taste fresh, and because they’re dried, they absorb and trap excess water from the fresh berries. Don’t worry about being messy when adding the ripple to the ice cream—it will look and taste good no matter how you do it.

Yield
Makes about 1½ quarts (1300 grams)
Ingredients

Sweet Cream Base

110 g sugar
80 g nonfat dry milk powder
0.8 g kosher salt
325 g plus 50 g whole milk, divided
355 g heavy cream
85 g corn syrup
15 g cornstarch

Strawberry Ripple

170 g fresh strawberries, hulled
112 g sugar
15 g freeze-dried strawberries

Sweet Cream Base

½ cup plus ⅓ cup nonfat dry milk powder
½ cup (3½ ounces) sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1¼ cups plus ¼ cup whole milk, divided
1½ cups heavy cream
¼ cup corn syrup
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Strawberry Ripple

6 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon (4 ounces) sugar
1 cup (½ ounce) freeze-dried strawberries
Essential Equipment
Instructions
    • 110 g sugar
    • 80 g nonfat dry milk powder
    • 0.8 g kosher salt
    • 325 g whole milk
    • 355 g heavy cream
    • 85 g corn syrup
    FOR THE SWEET CREAM BASE: In small bowl, whisk together sugar, milk powder, and salt. Whisk sugar mixture, milk, cream, and corn syrup together in large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until tiny bubbles form around edge of saucepan and mixture registers 190 degrees F/87.8 degrees C, whisking frequently to dissolve sugar and break up any clumps, about 5 to 7 minutes.
    • 50 g whole milk
    • 15 g cornstarch
    Meanwhile, whisk remaining milk and cornstarch together in small bowl.
  1. Reduce heat to medium. Whisk cornstarch mixture to recombine, then whisk into saucepan. Cook, constantly scraping bottom of saucepan with rubber spatula, until mixture thickens, about 30 seconds. Immediately pour ice cream base into large bowl and let cool until no longer steaming, about 20 minutes. Cover bowl, transfer to refrigerator, and chill to 40 degrees F/ 4.4 degrees C, at least 6 hours or up to 8 hours. (Base can be chilled overnight. Alternatively, base can be chilled in about 90 minutes by placing it over ice bath of 750 grams ice, 113 grams water, and 42 grams salt).
    • 170 g fresh strawberries, hulled
    • 112 g sugar
    • 15 g freeze-dried strawberries
    FOR THE STRAWBERRY RIPPLE: Meanwhile, combine fresh strawberries, sugar, and freeze-dried strawberries in blender and blend on high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer to airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.
  2. Churn base in ice cream maker until mixture resembles thick soft-serve ice cream and registers 21 degrees F/-6.1 degrees C. Spread one-quarter of ice cream in bottom of airtight container and top with ¼ cup ripple. Repeat three more times. Cover, transfer to freezer, and freeze until hard, at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.
Instructions
    • ½ cup plus ⅓ cup nonfat dry milk powder
    • ½ cup (3½ ounces) sugar
    • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1¼ cups whole milk
    • 1½ cups heavy cream
    • ¼ cup corn syrup
    FOR THE SWEET CREAM BASE: In small bowl, whisk together milk powder, sugar, and salt. Whisk sugar mixture, milk, cream, and corn syrup together in large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until tiny bubbles form around edge of saucepan and mixture registers 190 degrees F/87.8 degrees C, whisking frequently to dissolve sugar and break up any clumps, about 5 to 7 minutes.
    • ¼ cup whole milk
    • 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
    Meanwhile, whisk remaining milk and cornstarch together in small bowl. 
  1. Reduce heat to medium. Whisk cornstarch mixture to recombine, then whisk into saucepan. Cook, constantly scraping bottom of saucepan with rubber spatula, until mixture thickens, about 30 seconds. Immediately pour ice cream base into large bowl and let cool until no longer steaming, about 20 minutes. Cover bowl, transfer to refrigerator, and chill to 40 degrees F/ 4.4 degrees C, at least 6 hours or up to 8 hours. (Base can be chilled overnight. Alternatively, base can be chilled in about 90 minutes by placing it over ice bath of 6 cups ice, ½ cup water, and ⅓ cup salt).
    • 6 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled
    • ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon (4 ounces) sugar
    • 1 cup (½ ounce) freeze-dried strawberries
    FOR THE STRAWBERRY RIPPLE: Meanwhile, combine fresh strawberries, sugar, and freeze-dried strawberries in blender and blend on high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer to airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.
  2. Churn base in ice cream maker until mixture resembles thick soft-serve ice cream and registers 21 degrees F/-6.1 degrees C. Spread one-quarter of ice cream in bottom of airtight container and top with ¼ cup ripple. Repeat three more times. Cover, transfer to freezer, and freeze until hard, at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.
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