You will have extra roasted-strawberry puree (it’s necessary to fill the baking dish with berries so they don’t scorch or dry out as they roast). You’ll need an ice-cream machine. Excerpted from “Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home,” by Jeni Britton Bauer (Artisan Books). At altitude, you may need to boil the milk a minute more to achieve the correct texture. Makes about 1 quart.
Ingredients
Roasted strawberries
1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Ice cream base
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) cream cheese, softened
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 cup buttermilk
Directions
Prep the strawberries: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the strawberries with the sugar in an 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish, stirring gently to mix well. Roast for 8 minutes, or until just soft. Let cool slightly. Puree the berries in a food processor with the lemon juice. Measure 1/2 cup of the pureed berries; refrigerate the rest of the puree for another use.
Prep the ice cream base: Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.
Cook: Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heat-proof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
Chill: Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Add the reserved 1/2 cup strawberry puree and the buttermilk and blend well. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.
Freeze: Pour the ice-cream base into the frozen canister of your ice-cream maker and spin until thick and creamy.
Pack the ice cream into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.
