Strawberry & Buttermilk Ice Cream

If you read my other blog, This American Wife, you have heard all about my trip to my Hometown and the stops AJ and I made along the way. One of the stops was at the urging of my bloggy BFF, Moe. She told me that we would no longer be BFFs if I didn't make a trip to Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams when we passed through Ohio. I'm so glad we stopped there. I had some of the best (and most exotic) ice cream I've ever eaten.

When I told my Aunt that we were planning to go to Jeni's she was excited. They live near a few of Jeni's locations and had been a few times. When AJ and I got back from our outing, my Aunt handed me an article she had found in a magazine. It was about Jeni's! When I saw the recipe for ice cream base, I could not pass it up. I carried the article with me for 2 weeks until I got home and was able to make it.

If you have an ice cream maker, you MUST, I repeat, you MUST make this recipe.

Strawberry & Buttermilk Ice Cream

1-1/2 c whole milk
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 oz. (4 tbsp) cream cheese, softened
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
1-1/4 c heavy cream
2/3 c sugar
2 tbsp light corn syrup
1/4 c buttermilk

1 jar canned strawberries

1. Mix 2 tablespoons of 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.


2. Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heat-proof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.


3. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Add all the strawberries and syrup from the jar 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.


4. Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister 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. Makes about 1 quart.
   

This ice cream is so creamy and delicious, I wish we had more leftover! Its obviously not health food, but what dessert is healthy?

I hope you all enjoy this as much as we did, and if you're ever in Central Ohio, definitely make sure you check out Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams.