Roasted Strawberry Balsamic Crème Fraîche Ice Cream

When I knew we were going to talk about strawberries in this week’s Seasonal Recipe Round-Up, I asked my friend Marilynn Beard (from Just Making Noise) if I could share one of her ice cream recipes. She is the nourishing ice cream queen and has in fact written the book on it — Just Making Ice Cream.

Of the four strawberry-based recipes in the Just Making Ice Cream book — any of which I could have shared — I picked this one: Roasted Strawberry Balsamic Crème Fraîche Ice Cream.

Mare said that when our other friend, the lovely Diana of A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa, made it for her doesn’t-care-for-ice-cream husband, he asked for it again. 🙂

Why did I choose this one to feature? Well, two reasons… I love balsamic vinegar. And I think this recipe could easily be modified to GAPS by using honey for the sweetener and 100% crème fraîche for all the milk. I would choose the no-cook option for the ice cream.

What is crème fraîche? It is a thinner consistency sour cream. You can easily make it at home by combining 2 to 4 tablespoons buttermilk or sour cream containing active cultures with 2 cups cream (not heavy) and letting the mixture culture at room temperature for 24 hours while loosely covered. Then chill.

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Roasted Strawberry Balsamic

This recipe could easily be modified to GAPS by using honey for the sweetener.

Course Dessert

Author Wardee Harmon

Ingredients

• 6 cups strawberries ripe (fresh is better, but frozen is fine)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons rapadura or other sweetener
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar good quality, aged many years without added sugar

Instructions

1. Remove stems and rinse strawberries in cool water.
2. Place them in a strainer and shake off the water.

3. Slice the strawberries (about 1/8 inch thick) and place them in a large bowl.

4. Toss with balsamic vinegar & rapadura and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Pour strawberries and juices into a large ovenproof dish.
7. Roast them in the oven until they start to caramelize, juices are bubbling, and strawberries are hot (but not mushy), about 10 to 15 minutes.
8. Scoop the strawberries and juices into a container and let them chill in the fridge while preparing the ice cream base.

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Crème Fraîche Ice Cream

Make the Roasted Strawberry Balsamic first. There will be lots of roasted strawberries left, just before serving... top with a spoonful and some chopped nuts!

Course Dessert

Author Wardee Harmon

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup raw whole milk *goat milk is excellent for this
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup rapadura or other sweetener
• pinch sea salt
• 4 to 6 organic or pastured egg yolks
• 1 cup Roasted Strawberry Balsamic
• 1-1/2 cups crème fraîche or sour cream**

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, mix together milk, raw sugar and sea salt.
2. Heat on low until comfortably hot to touch.
3. In a medium bowl, whip up the egg yolks.
4. Slowly pour a couple tablespoons of hot milk into the yolks and whip together.
5. Scrape the yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk, whisking continuously while pouring.
6. Cook the mixture over medium low heat, stirring continuously and scraping the bottom of the pan with a spatula, until the custard thickens and coats the spatula.
7. Pour mixture into a container and let it cool.

8. Cover and chill thoroughly in the fridge for a few hours or (preferably) overnight. (For no-cook method, see below.)

9. Once chilled, mix in the crème fraîche and 1 cup of roasted strawberries.

10. Freeze mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions or use one of the no-maker methods listed in the Just Making Ice Cream book on page 26.

11. When the ice cream is done churning, quickly scoop it into a container.
12. Serve right away or let it firm up in the freezer for a couple hours before serving.

Recipe Notes

*You can use crème fraîche in place of the whole milk, if you'd like. (GAPS-friendly).

**What is crème fraîche?

It is a thinner consistency sour cream. You can easily make it at home by combining 2 to 4 tablespoons buttermilk or sour cream containing active cultures with 2 cups cream (not heavy) and letting the mixture culture at room temperature for 24 hours while loosely covered. Then chill.

No-cook method

Follow the recipe for the roasted strawberries.

For the ice cream, use 3 cups crème fraîche and mix everything together (including strawberries).

Pour into your ice cream maker or use one of the no-maker methods (make sure the base is cold!).

Want More Nourishing Ice Cream Recipes?

So it is summer and that means ice cream, right? Wouldn’t you love serving nourishing desserts this year?

If you answered yes to either question, you need to take a look at Mare’s Just Making Ice Cream book. It includes over 70 recipes for ice cream, gelato, cultured milk, sherbet, and sorbet.

Plus you’ll get an ice cream education — for real! The ice cream 101 section is worth its weight in gold.

Don’t have an ice cream maker? Mare shares five ways to make ice cream without one. 

But perhaps the best reason to check out this book is so you can share in supporting Mare’s family’s ministry. She, her husband Jon, and their three children live in Honduras as missionaries for youth (visit the Rancho Oasis for Youth website). Here are a few words from Mare about her life and family’s ministry.

“I am a wife to an amazing man, a mama of three beautiful kids and a missionary in Honduras. We are currently living on six and a half acres of land surrounded by gorgeous pines and mountains, starting up our ministry Rancho Oasis for Youth.

I’ve been writing my blog, Just Making Noise: Sound Bites From a Deaf Mama, since 2009 because I love to share my passions for healthy food, wholesome lifestyle and photography. I also love to make healthy sweets (especially ice cream!) and try to cook almost everything I can from scratch.

My family and I are learning how to run a productive homestead and currently learning many things from gardening and caring for animals. We desire to teach the people in the surrounding villages how to raise their own food through the square-foot gardening method and caring for goats to provide milk. Your purchase of this book is helping us reach those goals to not only help the Honduran people, but to also spread the gospel of Jesus Christ! Thank you!”

The book sells for a suggested donation of $12. You can’t go wrong with that!

This post is part of the Seasonal Recipe Round-Up featuring… strawberries! Come on by and share your favorite strawberry recipes, too!