You scream, I scream we all scream for black pepper, basil and strawberry ice cream. I am always completely shocked when I hear people say they don’t like ice cream. Ice cream has so many great qualities. It’s full of flavour, luscious on the tongue, available almost everywhere in the world and its relatively easy and inexpensive to make. People on Facebook keep talking about a wine or scotch truck making the rounds and even though I do love my wine, I really just want to see the ice cream truck come back. Generations are missing that experience of running in the house and begging to please, pretty please have an ice cream, promising to eat all your dinner and then of course not doing so. A true experience in the workings of Pavlov.
Strawberries are abundant on Vancouver Island and there are so many great places to either grab a basket or u-pick a bushel that it would be sacrilegious not to.Strawberries are abundant on Vancouver Island and there are so many great places to either grab a basket or u-pick a bushel that it would be sacrilegious not to.
Not really wanting to fuss with an ice cream maker, I remembered a recipe that I had seen in Laura Calder’s Paris Express cookbook for a coffee ice brick. Sure enough she suggested that it could also be made with strawberries so I followed her lead and learned a few things which I will share with you so that you don’t make some of the same mistakes that I did (My ice cream “loaf” looked like a 90 year old as the cling wrap created wrinkles!) So bad I just couldn’t show you what it looked like!
Print
Black Pepper, Basil & Strawberry Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream (whipping cream)
- 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 medium box of strawberries (about half of a regular food processor bowl or 1 lb)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp coarsely ground fresh pepper
- finely grated zest of 2 organic lemons
- 7–10 basil leaves
Instructions
- Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Place the whipping cream and condensed milk ingredients into the mixing bowl and whip until it has the consistency of thick whipped cream. Place the strawberries, basil in the food processor and puree. Add the vanilla to the whipped cream and then carefully add the strawberries folding them in gently. Grind the black pepper and fold in also.
When pouring the mixture into the loaf pan make sure that you smooth the sides and ensure that they are even. I suggest that when you are taking the ice cream out of the loaf pan first dip the sides and bottom of the pan in warm water to loosen it. Once you have flipped the loaf onto your serving dish, heat an offset spatula with warm water and run it over the top and sides to smooth any inadvertent aging caused by the plastic wrap. Next heat a knife and slice away.
If you have fussy eaters, you can just omit the last 3 ingredients and make a wicked regular strawberry ice cream!
This would pair very well with a Pernod, Sambuca, Ouzo or other licorice flavoured liquor. Yum, now you don’t need the ice cream truck and can just keep hoping for the wine or scotch truck!
