Craftwytch Ice Cream

This recipe includes 2 modified recipes from Dana Cree’s Hello, My Name is Ice Cream, an absolute essential resource for making ice cream. I highly recommend picking up a copy.

Each of these ice cream flavors are remarkable on their own and worth making individually.

To make the strawberry ice cream, start by making a puree of fresh or frozen strawberries. I prefer frozen berries since thawing them will break open the cell walls and produce more strawberry flavor. I thawed a pound of strawberries, but you will ultimately only need 300 grams of the puree.

Once thawed, blend the berries until liquefied, and pass through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Transfer 300 grams of the strawberry puree to a small bowl and add 100 grams (1/2 cup) of buttermilk. Mix to combine and set in the refrigerator to chill while you make the base.

In a medium saucepan combine 350 grams (1 3/4 cup) milk and 100 grams (1/2 cup) whipping cream, 150 grams (3/4 cup) sugar and 40 grams (about 6 tbs) malted milk powder and 100 grams (1/2 cup) glucose syrup or corn syrup.

Before heating the liquids, set up an ice bath by nesting a medium heat safe bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice water.

Heat on the stovetop until it comes to a boil, whisking to incorporate all the ingredients. Let simmer for a minute on medium and then transfer to the bowl nested in the ice bath.

Once cooled down to room temp, add the strawberry and buttermilk mixture and 1/4 tsp xanthan gum, using a whisk or immersion blender to fully incorporate. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours or ideally overnight.

Make the chocolate ice cream. In a small microwave safe bowl combine 75 grams of dark chocolate (I used 55%) and 75 grams milk chocolate. Microwave for thirty second bursts, stirring in between until fully melted. Add 20 grams (3 tbs) of cocoa powder, mixing to fully incorporate.

Set aside and make the base by combining 450 grams (2 1/4 cup) milk, 160 grams (3/4 cup) cream, 150 grams (3/4 cup) sugar, 50 grams (1.4 cup) glucose syrup or corn syrup, and 40 grams (about 6 tbs) malted milk powder in a medium saucepan.

Again, set up an ice bath to be prepared to quickly cool down the mixture. In the nested bowl, add the melted chocolate.

To be honest I don’t always bother with the ice bath method unless I’m making a custard base with eggs because there’s no danger in the liquids curdling.

Heat on stovetop until it boils and then pour into a heat safe bowl with the melted chocolate mixture over the ice bath.. Whisk to fully combine, cover and place in refrigerator to chill for a few hours or overnight.

Make the marshmallow cereal treat. I used a strawberry milkshake flavored Frosted Flake cereal but I found this to be a little dense for my liking. Puffed Rice cereal is ideal as it is mostly air and will be easier to bite into when frozen. I use the original Rice Krispie Treat recipe and add 1 cup of crushed freeze dried strawberries to give it some color and flavor.

You’ll be using the marshmallow cereal treats for the top and bottom of the ice cream sandwich, so you’ll want to make it on a rimmed sheet pan. I use an 18″ x 13″ pan, greased with butter for easy removal. Once it’s fully set, cut the Cereal Treat sheet in half, and place one half in a rectangular cake pan with the same width as the cereal treats. I use a pan that is 9″x15″x2″ since the width (9″) is half that of the sheet pans (18″). You want to use a deep pan (mine is 2″ deep) because you’re piping the ice cream into it.

Churn the strawberry ice cream and pipe it onto the cereal treat in the cake pan. Use a spatula to smooth it out and then pop it into the freezer for a couple hours to set. Then churn the chocolate ice cream, and pipe it over the strawberry. Because chocolate is such a dominant flavor, I only used half of the batch, making the chocolate layer about 1/3 the amount as the strawberry. This allowed both flavors to really shine in the final tasting.

Place the top layer of cereal treats on the chocolate and let it set in the freezer for 4 hours or overnight, then cut into squares or rectangular shapes of your preference. If you like you can pipe on some melted white chocolate and add powdered freeze dried strawberry for a bit more flavor and decoration.