THE FRENCH-STYLE ICE CREAM
With fresh strawberries, milk, heavy cream, sugar, and egg yolks.
This is a French-style ice cream which means that it contains egg yolks cooked with milk over the stovetop to make a custard. Making a custard is a little tricky but worth the effort for the velvety ice cream it creates.
Just like all our ice cream recipes, this is not your typical strawberry ice cream: this is Strawberry Ice Cream at its best, with a refreshing strawberry flavour and a popping pink colour, thanks to an unusual method we have for preparing the fruit for ice cream making: instead of cooking the strawberries, we macerate them in the sugar for a few hours. This simple process brightens their flavour, reduces the acidity and softens their flesh, making for a perfect ice cream body and strawberry flavour.
3 more ways to make a strawberry ice cream:
Do not reduce or replace anything; everything is there for a reason.
This is a quick overview of the recipe. If you are new to ice cream making, do read the recipe before proceeding.
In a bowl stir together the chopped strawberries with 1/3 of the sugar.
Let them macerate for 2-3 hours at room temperature until the sugar dissolves. Stirring occasionally speeds up the process.
A red syrup will begin to form.
Make the custard: warm the cream with the rest of the sugar until hot and steamy and pour over the egg yolks, whisking contintuously.
Return to the heat and cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring continously.
Cool down the custard over an ice bath.
Put the strawberries and the custard in the refrigerator overnight; or until completely cold.
Blend the strawberries until smooth.
Add the custard and blend to combine.
Churn the cold blend until fluffy and creamy.
Put it in the freezer for a few hours to set.
As soon as it sets, you can either serve it from the ice cream maker bowl or transfer to a container and store it in the freezer.
Frozen strawberries should be defrosted and at room temperature before using in the recipe. Keep any water they release during thawing; it is part of the recipe.
When making ice cream prefer to weigh all the ingredients by weight. We also recommend weighing the liquids directly into the bowl/pan as you proceed with the recipe instead of transferring them from one bowl to another because this transfer causes a small -but unwanted- loss of quantity.
If you do not have a kitchen scale, follow these guidelines:
• 1 cup (US) = 237 ml | 1 Tbs. = 15 ml
• strawberries: measuring the strawberries in a cup is not recommended because the results vary depending on the size of the strawberries. If you do not have a scale, you can have them weighted at the grocery store, or estimate how many you need from the net weight, as given on the packaging
• sugar: measuring sugar in tablespoons is more accurate than measuring it in cups. Use a 15 ml measuring tablespoon (not a regular one); this is 13 gr of sugar. To measure correctly, each time you scoop the sugar, level it with the flat side of a knife.
Note that the quantities in each measuring system (grams, ounces, and cups) in our recipes may not always be accurate conversions; any deviations in conversions you may notice do not affect the outcome.
This recipe makes a 1.2 litre/quart ice cream mixture (before churning), perfect for ice cream makers with a capacity of 1.5 and up to 2 litres/quarts (like Cuisinart ice cream makers).
If you need to scale the ice cream mixture up or down, use this ratio of the ingredients (in weight only):
strawberries 39.8% / heavy cream 37.9% / sugar 14.3% / egg yolks 8%
in desired total weight of ice cream mixture.
For example, if you want to make 1000 g of ice cream mixture, you need:
You can combine double cream with whole milk to make heavy cream for this recipe.
To make 475 g (16.8 oz) heavy cream, stir together:
The resulting heavy cream has 36% fat, perfect for this ice cream. Proceed with the recipe just as if you had the 475 g (16.8 oz) heavy cream needed.
A flexible rubber spatula is good for:
-wiping the bottom of the saucepan when you cook dairy on the stovetop.
-scraping residues from bowls, saucepans etc.
If you do not have one, we strongly encourage you to buy one, preferably a flexible one.
The strawberriess and the custard need to cool completely before blending and churning, so prepare them in advance (approx. 8 hours before) to give them time to chill in the refrigerator.
If your ice cream maker has a removable freezer bowl, put it in the freezer for the whole time indicated by the manufacturer before churning, usually 24 hours.
Slice the strawberries: with a sharp knife, cut the strawberries (500 g; 17.6 oz) into clean, neat slices. No need to cut them very thin; just slice them to a thickness you feel comfortable with.
Mix the strawberries with part of the sugar: in a large bowl, put the strawberry slices and 100 g of the sugar (3.5 oz; 8 tablespoons). Stir with a rubber spatula, leaving the spatula in the bowl.
Macerate the strawberries: leave the strawberries to macerate at room temperature for 2-3 hours (or more if the strawberries are cold from the fridge). Stir every hour or as needed to help the sugar dissolve. Each time you stir, scrape the sugar that sits on the bottom and sides of the bowl and mix it in the strawberries.
Place a rubber spatula and a whisk on a plate next to the stovetop to have them ready to use interchangeably.
Prepare the egg yolks: put the egg yolks (5 egg yolks) in a medium bowl, and whisk them lightly to break them down. Set the bowl next to the stovetop.
Warm the heavy cream: put the heavy cream (475 g; 16.8 oz) and the rest of the sugar (80 g; 2.8 oz; 6 tablespoons) in a medium saucepan and warm over medium heat, stirring often, until the cream is hot and steamy and the sugar dissolves (this is at 75° C / 167° F if you have a thermometer).
Temper the egg yolks: remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly pour roughly half of the warm cream over the egg yolks with one hand while whisking them vigorously with the other hand to temper them.
Cook until thickened: pour the tempered yolks & cream back into the saucepan and over medium-high heat. Cook, constantly stirring with a rubber spatula and scraping the bottom of the saucepan to prevent the custard from scalding. Maintain a medium temperature, do not let it come to a boil.
Remove from the heat when the custard starts to thicken (82ºC / 179 ºF / when it thickens to coat the back of a spoon / when you tilt the saucepan, a layer of thickened custard appears to form on the bottom).
Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve and into a heatproof bowl; stir to combine.
Cool down the custard:prepare an ice bath by putting the bowl with the ice cream mixture into a larger bowl and filling the empty sides with ice cubes and cold water. How many ice cubes? A tray of ice cubes (200 g; 7 oz of ice) is enough to cool down the ice cream mixture: we just need to cool it down until it is no longer warm to the touch so that you can safely put it in the refrigerator. This will take approx. 30 minutes; do stir occasionally.
Check the strawberries for undissolved sugar: check the bottom of the bowl with the strawberries and if you see any sugar granules, give it a vigorous, focused stir with the spatula, aiming to dissolve the sugar; if needed, leave it at room temperature for some more. All the sugar must dissolve before putting the strawberries in the refrigerator.
Chill until completely cold: cover the bowl with the custard and the bowl with the strawberries and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. The strawberries keep up to 24 hours in the refrigerator, whereas the custard keeps up to 3 days.
Blend the strawberries: with a slotted spoon, remove the cold strawberries from their syrup, and put them in the blender jug. Blend until smooth, pouring some strawberry syrup to get things going, if needed. When it is completely smooth, pour in the rest of the strawberry syrup and blend to combine.
Gradually add the cold custard, blending as you go. Blend until it is a uniform pink colour with no streaks; stop the blender and scrape with the rubber spatula the insides of the blender jug as needed.
Prepare the ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Blend before churning: briefly blitz the ice cream mixture with an immersion blender, stopping once to scrape down the sides and bottom with a rubber spatula. This improves consistency and ensures a smooth, even texture.
Churn: with the machine running, pour the cold blended strawberry mixture through the canister and into the ice cream maker.
Leave to churn until fluffed up and creamy; depending on your ice cream maker, this can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes.
This ice cream mixture expands and becomes airy as it churns. You’ll know it’s ready when it looks smooth, creamy, and slightly wavy—similar to soft-serve ice cream. Churning time varies depending on your machine and can take anywhere from 30 to 70 minutes.
To check the texture, lift a spoonful. It should be thick enough to stay on the spoon, but still soft. If it looks too thin or starts melting immediately, it needs more time.
If you’re unsure, let it churn for 10 more minutes. Keep in mind that it won’t look like store-bought ice cream at this point—it will still be soft. It only becomes firm and scoopable after a few hours in the freezer.
Stop the machine once the mixture is thick and creamy. If you continue churning beyond that point, the mixture can start losing the air it has built up and may seize, resulting in a dense, heavy texture.
One important note: some ice cream makers are programmed to stop automatically after a fixed time, but that doesn’t always mean the ice cream is ready. If your machine stops and the mixture still looks too soft, simply restart it and continue churning until the texture improves.
Put in the freezer to set: before serving the ice cream or moving it to a container for storing, you have to put it in the freezer to set. To do so, turn off the ice cream maker and:
· remove the removable freezer bowl (still filled with the ice cream) from the ice cream machine
· remove the paddle, scraping any ice cream attached to it back into the ice cream bowl
· cover the ice cream bowl and place it in the freezer
Setting time depends on many factors; see notes below for indicative times.
Serve or store: when it sets, you can serve it directly from the removable freezer bowl or transfer it to an airtight container for longer storage.
The setting time depends on the type of ice cream maker you’re using. Here are the general guidelines:
3–5 hours for machines with removable freezer bowls (these bowls must be pre-frozen before churning)
Under 1 hour for machines with built-in compressors and aluminum bowls
⚠️ Important: Ice cream in aluminum bowls sets quickly. Do not leave it for too long—once fully frozen, it can become extremely hard and difficult to remove without risking scratches to the bowl. Always monitor it closely.
To check if the ice cream is ready, aim for an internal temperature of –11°C (12°F). If you don’t have a thermometer, use this simple test:
Insert a round-tip knife all the way to the bottom of the ice cream:
✔ If it goes in smoothly but meets gentle resistance, it’s ready
✖ If it feels hard on top but soft underneath, it needs more time
✖ If it’s too firm to insert the knife, it’s over-frozen and likely too hard to scoop
If it’s over-frozen, don’t worry—head to the next section for how to bring it back to scoopable.
If the ice cream sits in the freezer in the removable freezer bowl for too long after it has set, it can become too hard to scoop or remove.
To make it scoopable again:
Place the bowl in the refrigerator and allow the ice cream to soften gradually.
Here’s how long that may take:
4–10 hours for removable freezer bowls (pre-freeze models)
1–2 hours for aluminum bowls (from compressor ice cream makers)
Note: These times are approximate and may vary depending on your fridge and the amount of ice cream. Check the texture occasionally as it softens.
Once the ice cream is soft enough to scoop—or its internal temperature reads approximately –11°C (12°F)—you can:
✔ Transfer it to another container and store it in the freezer
✔ Or serve it directly from the bowl
Just be sure to avoid digging into an over-frozen bowl with hard utensils, especially if using a nonstick-coated or aluminum bowl.
Straight after churning, the ice cream has a soft-serve consistency and melts almost instantly on contact. At this stage, it’s too soft to serve neatly or transfer easily—it’s simply too messy to handle.
Freezing the ice cream immediately after churning allows it to set properly. This step brings it to the right texture: scoopable, stable, and easy to portion or transfer into a storage container.
It’s the final step that turns churned ice cream into finished ice cream.
Storing: Transfer the finished ice cream to a lidded container and store it in the freezer for up to one month.
Cover it well to protect it from absorbing any unwanted freezer smells.
Scooping: Like all artisanal-style ice creams, this one freezes hard over time.
To make it scoopable again, place the container in the refrigerator for 45–60 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches about –11°C (12°F).
Once softened, it’ll scoop cleanly and serve beautifully.
