Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream

Anybody who's chatted with me about food in the last month or so knows by now that... I bought an ice cream maker! (Yes, I am that excited about it.)  I was going to go for an inexpensive one, but my dad, who has worked for an international food company for 30 years and knows a thing or two about making ice cream, wrinkled his nose at the little model I showed him.   Of course, compared to a huge factory any home machine will look like a joke, but his promises of far-superior ice cream did convince me to invest a little more money and purchase a machine with a built-in compressor that self-cools (versus freezing the canister 24 hours in advance).

I wish I could be telling you about this ice cream in the middle of a warm, sunny, spring that would be appropriate to ice cream reading and eating.  Alas, I cannot.  Zurich hasn't seen the sun yet in the month of May and according to the weather forecast, it's going to be staying gray and rainy this week, too.   Thank goodness I have an apartment that's always warm, no matter the time of year, so I can ignore the fact that it's only 12 degrees outside and sneak bites from the freezer with no ill effects.



Quite the opposite, actually. Despite the weather, strawberries from canton Thurgau have heralded spring at the store for a couple weeks now, and oh, how delicious they are. Combining them with sour cream to make this frozen delight helps them to stick around a little longer since any I buy last less than a day with my strawberry-gobbling husband around! I don't like store-bought strawberry ice cream because it always tastes so fake, but using real strawberries make it a whole different story, like a frozen smoothie.  This ice cream is also a lighter than others since it doesn't require any egg yolks, and the sour cream adds a lovely tanginess that cuts against the sweetness of the fruit.

I fully admit this recipe is not mine - thanks, David Lebovitz! I couldn't buy an ice cream maker and not do a leetle Amazon ordering to go along with it, could I? David's fun and original recipes, great photos, metric conversions on every recipe (love this - he lives in Paris and understands how much easier this makes baking in Europe!), and quirky writing make his book The Perfect Scoop the absolute stand-out of the three I picked up.



Here's to spring and sunshine coming back soon!

Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream
from The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz

450 grams fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled
150 grams sugar
1 tbsp vodka or kirsch (I used 3 tbsp kirsch... because I like kirsch.)
240 grams sour cream
250 ml heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Slice the strawberries and toss them in a bowl with the sugar and vodka or kirsch, stirring until the sugar begins to dissolve. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour, stirring every so often.

Pulse the strawberries and their liquid with the sour cream, heavy cream, and lemon juice in a blender or food processor until almost smooth but still slightly chunky. Refrigerate for 1 hour, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.