My youngest son Wesley has been having some health issues. Ever since he was 6 months old he’s had a team of doctors watching out for him. Between his food allergies, acid re flux, developmental delays, and his consistently slow weight gain (sometimes he even loses weight), we’ve had our work cut out for us. This week we are meeting with a Genetic Pediatrician in New York City. I am hoping that this doctor can help us solve the mystery. One of Wesley’s main problems is that he is of very low weight. Every time he loses weight our pediatrician recommends giving him avocado, peanut butter, cheese, even bacon so as to fatten this boy up. This is particularly difficult because Wesley doesn’t seem to want to eat at all. Some days I can only get him to take in watered-down juice. But I carry on, and try new things in the hopes that maybe his appetite might change. This week I made strawberry and basil ice cream especially for him. Because Wes is allergic to eggs I used a non-custard base. I bought the strawberries and fresh basil from a local farmers market. I used heavy cream and half and half for added fat. Finally, I churned the cream with great love using my Cuisinart ice cream maker, all the while, crossing my fingers that he’ll have at least a few licks.. The verdict is in… Wesley is not hungry for homemade strawberry and basil ice cream. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am going eat the rest in frustration and defeat.
Don’t listen to Wesley. This ice cream is delicious. I was inspired by Serious Eats Best Strawberry Ice Cream recipe, and the Julia Moskin’s New York Times Easiest Vanilla Ice Cream recipe. Martha Stewart once told me (from my TV set) that strawberry and basil pair nicely together, and by golly, she’s right. I started by bringing heavy cream, half and half, salt, sugar, basil, and vanilla to just about a boil. I then took it off of the heat, covered it, and set it aside for 30 minutes to infuse all of the flavors.
I strained the basil/cream mixture, and then I cooled it in an ice bath.
I added 1 and 1/2 cups of pureed strawberries, then I refrigerated the basil/strawberry cream mixture overnight.
When ready, I churned the cream according to my ice cream maker’s instructions.
When it was just about finished, I poured in 6 ounces of strawberries that had been macerating in sugar. I drained the sweet juice first, however. And then I drank that juice.
- 2 cups Heavy Cream
- 2 cups Half And Half
- 1/2 Vanilla Bean, split lengthwise, and scraped
- 1 cup (200 g) Sugar, divided
- 1/2 tsp. Salt
- 30 oz. Strawberries, hulled, sliced, and divided
- 1/4 cup Basil, chopped
- Salt
- In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the heavy cream, half and half, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and salt. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Add the basil, vanilla pod, and vanilla seeds. Bring mixture to just about a boil, then remove the saucepan from the heat, cover, and set aside for 30 minutes to infuse all of the flavors.
- Meanwhile, in a blender, puree 14 ounces of the strawberries. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, and set aside. Clean fine-mesh sieve.
- Once the basil cream has had a chance to infuse, strain through the now clean fine-mesh sieve into a medium-sized bowl. Place this bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice water, and occasionally stir to bring down the temperature.
- Once the basil cream has cooled, add 1 and 1/2 cups of the pureed strawberries. Mix to combine and then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but ideally overnight if possible.
- With the remaining 6 ounces of strawberries, slice them up, place in a bowl, and sprinkle over top the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Gently stir to coat, then cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days.
- When ready, churn the basil/strawberry cream according to your ice cream maker's instructions.
- Strain the small bowl of macerated strawberries. At the last minute of churning, add these sweetened strawberries to the ice cream.
- Freeze the ice cream for at least 4 hours before serving.
- Blender
- Ice cream maker
- Saucepan
- Bowls
- Fine-mesh sieve
