Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

I originally developed this recipe for my stepkiddo's 15th birthday (so a few years back). I cobbled together this recipe from reading many different recipes and sort of mixing-and-matching until I had a complete recipe. To my surprise, it was wonderful. (Added in 2024: The flavor of this ice cream is great, but I think I can achieve a better texture -- it's a little icy.)

Note: You should be able to substitute Jeni's ice cream base in place of the custard base if you would prefer an egg-free base. The amount of milk/cream, and sugars between the two recipes is very similar, though the ratios are somewhat different. If you elect to do this be sure to add 1 tsp of vanilla extract to Jeni's base. 

Strawberry puree ingredients: 

• 1 pint fresh strawberries hulled, chopped and pureed (about 12 ounces after prep, or 1.75 c of puree) 
• 1/3 cup sugar 
• Juice from 1/2 lemon 
• Zest from 1 lemon 

Custard base ingredients: 

• 3 egg yolks 
• ¾ cup sugar 
• 2 cups heavy cream 
• 1 cup whole milk 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 

Strawberry puree: 

1. Combine strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. 
2. Puree the strawberry mixture (puree even if starting with puree - this helps ensure the sugar is dissolved). 
3. Put back into the fridge to chill thoroughly. 

Custard base (while the strawberries are chilling) 

1. Combine egg yolks and ¾ cup sugar in a bowl 
2. Whisk until thick and pale. 
3. Combine milk, cream, and vanilla in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. 
4. Heat, stirring constantly until it reaches approximately 160 degrees, then remove from heat. 
5. Spoon cream mixture by ¼ cupfuls into egg mixture and beat between each addition until about ½ of cream mixture remains. 
6. Add the eggs/cream mixture back into the saucepan with remaining cream. 
7. Return to medium heat, stirring constantly for 4-5 minutes until mixture coats the back of a spoon, and temperature is 180 degrees. 
8. Remove from heat and chill thoroughly. 

Churning: 

1. Just before churning, add strawberry puree to custard base. 
2. Add to ice cream maker, and follow the manufacturer directions from there. 

Note: I originally reserved some strawberry chunks to stir into the ice cream, but they made hard frozen bits. Now I just puree all of the strawberry - it's much better that way, though I've read that if I soak the chunks in sugar, they might be OK.