Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream Recipe For Your Ice Cream Maker

This creamy strawberry swirl ice cream boasts a creamy French vanilla ice cream with thick ribbons of fresh strawberry sauce for an easy yet impressive make-ahead dessert that children and adults will both love. 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Thick and creamy custard base. The base for our strawberry swirl ice cream is a French-style ice cream, which means it has a custard base. Because this type of ice cream has eggs in it, you need to cook the base and then chill it before churning. The benefit – a big one – is that your ice cream will be extra creamy. 
• Intense vanilla flavor. Who says vanilla is boring? In this recipe, using a whole vanilla bean pod really allows the more delicate natural flavors of vanilla to shine. Of course, in a pinch, you can substitute with vanilla bean paste or even vanilla extract. See the ‘Key Ingredients’ section below for more info.
• Bursting with strawberries. Using fresh strawberries when they are in season for the swirl will give you the most intense strawberry swirl. Off season, you have options. See the ‘Key Ingredients’ section below.
• An impressive make-ahead dessert. It’s summer and you’re having guests over. Whether you have A/C or not, no one wants to spend an hour heating their house to make cake or pie or any other baked goods. Homemade ice cream (especially one that showcases summer’s bounty) is a crowd-pleasing showstopper and requires minimal time using the stovetop, can be made on the coldest day of the week and then stored until approximately 30 minutes before serving. 

Key Ingredients

• A Pound of Strawberries: When strawberries are in season, I crave them. And I think using them in this recipe, even if we are cooking them down, is better than using frozen strawberries or jam. Of course, either of these will work as a substitute when it’s not strawberry season. One of the reasons I like using fresh strawberries is because I can control how large the chunks of strawberries are in my swirl, if I decide not to turn it into a smooth swirl. (In this recipe we’ll use an immersion blender to create a smooth swirl, but I have experimented with dicing strawberries as well as using a potato masher to create a chunkier swirl.)
• Sugar: I’ve experimented with the amount of sugar to use in this recipe and the amount in the recipe is what I recommend. Fun fact: Sugar reduces the freezing point in ice cream, which keeps this frozen treat from becoming a giant, flavored ice cube.
• Lemon Juice
• Egg yolks: Using a custard base with eggs will give you a smooth and creamy ice cream, but it also prevents ice crystallization.
• Whole milk and heavy whipping cream: Everyone loves a soft and creamy ice cream. Milk fat helps us achieve that. However, adding too much heavy cream can make ice cream buttery, mask your ice cream flavor and have an unpleasant mouth feel. Inversely, the less fat an ice cream has in it, the more watery and ‘icy’ it will be. For this reason, I don’t recommend using skim milk to make ice cream. However, feel free to play around with the ratios and types of milk… but don’t say I haven’t warned you 😉
• Vanilla Bean: I used a whole vanilla bean for this recipe because I wanted the delicate floral notes to complement the fresh strawberry puree. We were not disappointed. You can, alternatively, use vanilla bean paste (you’ll get those fan-shy flecks of vanilla that way) or pure vanilla extract. Note, if you use pure vanilla extract, you’ll want to stir it into the custard once it’s cooled.
• Optional: Fresh strawberries and whipped cream to serve.

How to Make Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream: Step-By-Step

Make Strawberry Swirl

1. Prep strawberries. Rinse strawberries and remove stems. Roughly quarter them. 
2. Cook strawberry mixture. Add the strawberries to a saucepan with the sugar and lemon juice and place over medium heat. Once you hear the pan bubbling, give everything a stir and reduce heat. Let strawberries cook down and release natural juices for approximately 7 minutes. 
3. Puree strawberries. At this point you can either use a potato masher to create a chunky swirl or you can transfer the strawberries to a food processor and blitz until you have a smooth strawberry sauce. (I used a food processor to obtain a smooth puree.)
4. Store strawberries. Let the strawberry swirl come to room temperature and then store in the refrigerator until ready to use.  

Make Vanilla Custard Base

1. Start the custard base. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the sugar together until it turns a light yellow color. In a medium saucepan, combine the heavy cream and the milk. Cut the vanilla bean pod in half, and scrape it into the saucepan with the milk mixture, stirring to distribute. Heat the milk mixture over medium-low heat, until it begins to simmer. Remove from heat. 
2. Temper the eggs. Slowly add milk mixture to eggs and sugar, stirring constantly so you don’t cook the eggs to create your custard base. Add the custard base back to the saucepan. 
3. Cook the custard. Return to heat until temperature reaches 165° F. Stirring constantly so the eggs in the custard don’t cook on the edges of the pan. Visually, you’ll know the custard is done once it starts to thicken. Remove from heat.
4. Chill your custard. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve, and store either in a bowl covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight. 
5. Churn the custard. Once the custard base is chilled, stir in salt. Then pour it into your ice cream maker and process according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. (With my Cuisinart Compressor Ice Cream Maker, this took 30-35 minutes.)
6. Layer the custard and the strawberry. Layer the strawberry sauce and the custard base in a freezer-safe container and use a butter knife to swirl the two together, being careful not to over-swirl (trust me, you want there to be some distinct ribbons of strawberry in every scoop). Freeze for 3-4 hours or until the ice cream reaches your desired, scoopable texture. See the section on ‘Storing and Serving Ice Cream’ for thawing tips. 

Tips & Tricks for Making the Best Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream

• Full fat for full flavor. Fat doesn’t freeze as well, which means it keeps ice crystals from forming and creates a softer, creamier texture. In this case, fat is your friend. (And yes, you can swap whole for 2%, but you will have icy ice cream. If you are counting calories or fat intake, my rec is to indulge in the good stuff, but to limit your serving size.)
• Give in to your sweet tooth. Sugar also helps keep ice cream nice and scoopable. That’s because it lowers the freezing point of a liquid. Too little, and it will be rock hard. Too much, and it won’t freeze properly.
• Chill the custard and the strawberry swirl. Although a lot of recipes will call for chilling the base overnight, this isn’t necessary. However, you do want to work with ingredients that are as cold as possible. If your custard base isn’t cool enough, ice crystals can form, which means a less creamy ice cream.
• If you accidentally overcook the custard, you can still save the batch. Simple strain it through a fine-sieve mesh strainer. Taste it. The only reason to toss is if it tastes like scrambled eggs. 
• Don’t overchurn. Ice cream continues to harden in the freezer. To prevent a rock-hard ice cream, avoid overchurning your ice cream. 
• Add extracts after chilling the base. If you decide not to use a vanilla bean and decide to use vanilla extract, add it after the base has chilled. Adding it to the hot base may cause some of the flavor to cook out slightly.

Additions and Substitutions 

If you use high-quality ingredients, this strawberry swirl ice cream is a simple recipe with intense flavors that go together. Strawberries and cream is a classic for a reason, right?

But, if you are like me and you enjoy playing with flavor, here are a few ideas for you to experiment with. 

• First of all, you can always infuse your strawberry swirl with black pepper, star anise, orange or lemon zest or a little Cointreau, basil, or even a little splash of balsamic vinegar.
• To the custard base, you can try adding crushed biscoff cookies, nuts, or even chocolate shavings. 
• If you do decide to experiment with some of these flavor pairings, you can use vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla bean as some of these flavors may overpower the delicate floral notes you get when using a vanilla bean pod.  
• If strawberries are not in season, you can substitute strawberry jam for the strawberry swirl. 

Storing and Serving Homemade Ice Cream

Honestly, you can store this ice cream recipe in a tupperware container, although I recently purchased these double-insulated ice cream containers on Amazon.  

Either way, it’s important to know that homemade ice cream is often harder than store bought ice cream. 

If you find your ice cream is a tad on the hard side, you can put the ice cream container in the fridge 30 minutes prior to serving. This helps it thaw more evenly than when you set it on the counter, where the edges will melt faster than the middle. 

If you are impatient, you can always fill a cup with warm water and dip your ice cream scoop in it before each scoop. This tip is also great for creating better, more uniform scoops. 

How To Use Excess Strawberry Puree

If you find yourself with extra strawberry puree, it is an excellent ice cream topping, or you can use it to make a Greek yogurt parfait in the morning for breakfast. 

Equipment

• Ice Cream Machine: This is the one I use – Although spendy, it’s a commercial grade compressor ice cream maker, which means I don’t need to find space in my freezer for the ice cream bowl. The machine is always ready to go! A less expensive option is a more traditional household ice cream maker, where you place the bowl in the freezer prior to use. 
• Ice Cream Container: I use these double-walled containers, which help protect against freezer burn.

📖 Recipe