Alright, I understand that the mention of basil in the ice cream title might raise some eyebrows, but imagine this for a minute. On your first bite, sweet velvety and elegant vanilla lures you in, providing that satisfying coziness. Creamy fragrant strawberries boasting with deep flavor wait to burst open and play the sweet-acidic game on your tongue. For the final refreshment you hit the hints of refreshing lime basil emulsion. For me, this roasted strawberries & lime basil ice cream has it all, indeed a perfect summer indulgence. The same goes for the Blueberry lemon thyme ice cream, especially given all the recent heat waves.
Ingredients
As this is a very seasonal ice cream and you would want to ingredients to pop, try to make the ice cream when the strawberries are in full season and they are actually picked ripe and dark red in color. Same goes for basil, but generally these two grow around the same time so it shouldn’t be a problem.
Given that it’s summer, sourcing the ingredients for this roasted strawberry & lime basil ice cream should be straightforward. Beyond the basic ingredients for ice cream—whole milk, heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla bean—you’ll need strawberries, basil, and limes.
Strawberries are the star of this ice cream. You want high quality strawberries to accentuate the flavor of the ice cream. The ice cream should carry a delightful strawberry aroma..
Note that lately, more often than not, it is very hard to find good strawberries. Often they are picked way too early or are pushed to ripen to fast leading to a strawberry without the proper amount of natural sweetness and flavor. Be careful in your strawberry selection because the entire effort can fall flat if the strawberries lack taste.
How to Make Roasted Strawberries & Lime Basil Ice Cream
This is not one of those no-churn, just whip-it-up ice creams. I admit, you will need to put in some time and work the magic, but the magic will be returned as well. There are five (5) steps in making this ice cream:
- Roasting the strawberries
- Make the base ice cream – we will use the egg-free (Philadelphia style) vanilla ice cream
- Make the sweet basil “pesto”
- Churn the vanilla ice cream
- Assemble the roasted strawberry & sweet lime basil ice cream
Let’s quickly go over each:
Roasting the Strawberries
Roasting strawberries draws out their water content and enhances the aromatic strawberry flavor. When it freezes in the ice cream there are no ice chunks but nice and creamy strawberry flavor. I tested this recipe using fresh strawberries, but the flavor wasn’t as rich. Also, I really didn’t like the small ice chunks and uneven freezing of the ice cream.
To further enhance the strawberry flavor I always roast the strawberries with balsamic vinegar and vanilla beans.
To roast the strawberries, simply clean them, mix with the other ingredients, and spread them on a baking tray (ensuring they aren’t overcrowded). Be careful not to burn them. If some edges do burn, toss those out as they will be bitter.
Once the strawberries have cooled off blitz them several times in a small food processor. You don’t want to have large chunks of strawberries in the ice cream.
Make the base ice cream
This is a very simple step. First, you need to bring the mixture to simmer. Then, add the corn starch and simmer for a minute to cook it through. At this point I like to leave the cooked mixture to get to room temperature. Leaving the vanilla beans further infuses the milk and cream. Finally strain the mixture, cover it and cool completely.
Make the lime basil emulsion
Once the base vanilla ice cream has cooled and is ready to be churned, you can begin making the lime basil emulsion. Make sure to pick young basil leaves as they will not bruise immediately and oxidize. In the mortar and pestle, add Demerara sugar and the juice of 1/2 lime and pound the basil until it is pesto consistency. At that point add the rest of the lime juice and extra virgin olive oil and make a basil emulsion.
Churn the vanilla ice cream
Churn the base vanilla ice cream according to your ice cream machine’s instructions. While it is churning, place the ice cream bowl in the freezer to cool thoroughly.
Assemble the roasted strawberries & lime basil ice cream
To assemble the roasted strawberries & lime basil ice cream you will create layers of all the things you made so far in the following order:
- vanilla base ice cream
- basil pesto
- roasted strawberries
Repeat until you have no ingredients left and preferably the vanilla base ice cream is the last (top) layer.
Use a thin long knife and stick it into the ice cream and make several zig zags along the container. This will marble the layers inside.
Don’t overdo it, as you still want to layers be distinct when you scoop the ice cream.
It might appear that there are a lot of strawberries and basil for the amount of vanilla ice cream, but once the ice cream is thoroughly frozen, you will notice only a thin layer of both, with a rather large layer of vanilla ice cream.
Ice Cream Recipes
Coconut lavender roasted berry popsicles
Blueberry lemon thyme ice cream
Roasted Strawberries & Sweet Lime Basil Ice Cream
Equipment & Tools
- Cooking pot medium
- Spatula
- Whisk
- Baking tray with parchment paper large
- Food processor small
- Ice cream maker
- Ice cream container
- ice cream scoop
INGREDIENTS
Base Vanilla Ice Cream
- 625 g heavy cream
- 250 g whole milk
- 130 g sugar
- 2 vanilla beans (Tahitian)
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 1/4 tsp salt
Roasted Strawberries
- 500 g strawberries (cleaned, left whole)
- 45 g sugar
- 7 g vanilla paste
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar (good quality)
Sweet Lime Basil
- 35 g basil leaves
- 1½ limes, juice only
- 2 tbsp Demerara sugar
- 1 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin)
INSTRUCTIONS
Roast the Strawberries
- Place the strawberries on a baking tray, add the rest of the ingredients and mix until all evenly incorporated.Bake at 200ºC (392ºF) for about 1 hour or until the water has evaporated and strawberries are starting to take on color. The consistency should be creamy – jam like.
- Left to cool completely – Note 1.
- Once cooled process them slightly using a small food processor or a hand held mixer.
Make the Base Vanilla Ice Cream
- Take 50g of whole milk and place into a small bowl. Add the corn starch and mix until there are no lumps. Set aside.
- Place all other ingredients into a cooking pot and bring to simmer while continuously stirring with a whisk. Add the corn starch and milk mixture, continue whisking and cook at simmer level for 1 minute.
- Turn off the heat and leave on the kitchen counter for at least an hour – Note 2.
- Strain into a clean glass bowl. Place the cling film on top of the cream mixture to prevent the milk skin from forming. Let cool completely.
- Place the empty ice cream container in the freezer.Once cooled, churn the ice cream according to your ice cream machine.
Make the Sweet Lime Basil – Note 3
- Chop the basil roughly. Place in the mortar & pestle.Add sugar and lime juice of ½ lime.
- Pound until a nice creamy structure is formed.
- Add the remaining lime juice and extra virgin olive oil and mix further until creamy – Note 4.
Assemble the Ice Cream
- Take the ice cream container from the freezer.
- Create layers in the following order:1. vanilla base ice cream2. lime basil emulsion3. roasted strawberries
- Repeat until you have no ingredients left and preferably finish with the the vanilla base ice cream as the last (top) layer.
- Use a thin long knife, stick it into the ice cream and make several zig zags along the tube.
- Cover and place in the freezer to freeze completely.
NOTES
- Make ahead – once the strawberries have cooled to room temperature transfer them into a clean glass jar and place in the fridge. They can stay in the fridge for several days. Alternatively, you can place them in a freezer bag and freeze, which gives you much more flexibility in term of when you would want to make the ice cream. Winter is fine as well if you can find some basil!
- Leaving to cool with the vanilla bean will further enhance the cream mixture by infusing with vanilla. Don’t worry about the skin forming, they will disappear when you will strain the mixture.
- While the ice cream is churning you can prepare the basil.
- Note that there will still be some small bits and pieces of basil, it will not be perfectly smooth. This is fine as the basil is very tender and once it freezer this will not be noticable.
