For all of you ice cream lovers who haven't ventured into the world of making your own ice cream, now is the time. Honestly, this ice cream alone makes investing in an ice cream maker completely worth it. Trust me. It is some of the best ice cream I've ever eaten, and that's coming from someone who typically doesn't even like strawberry ice cream.

My apologies for not posting it while we were still in the peak of strawberry season, but per usual I kept eating the whole batch before taking pictures (I had some help from people equally obsessed with this ice cream). This is a frequent occurrence. One of these days I'll learn to practice some restraint, but that day is not today.

It's hard for me to pick what I love about the recipe best. It could be that it's one of the easiest ice creams I've made. Unlike most other ice creams I make, this one is egg-free and doesn't require using a stove. It could also be that all of my favorite flavors involve some sort of alternating layering of toppings (examples here and here), and this recipe is no exception. It's the key to getting swirls of toppings in every scoop. Or maybe it's that it has cream cheese, and I've met very few cream cheese recipes I didn't like. Too many good things to choose just one.

The base is smooth, creamy and rich. Usually I'm hesitant to use fruit in ice cream because it has a tendency to get icy, but that's not the case with this recipe. Every single bite is as good as the last...and when you do get to that last bite, I guarantee you will want more. You will be sad that you finished your bowl, and you will sneak over to the freezer and get another scoop. Diets be damned. 

Roasted Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Recipe adapted from Baked by Rachel

Ingredients:

1C whole milk
1C heavy cream
8oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/4C granulated sugar, divided
2C strawberries
2/3 C graham cracker crumbs, roughly 6 sheets

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, blend cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth. Slowly add the cream and milk, making sure that the liquid is fully incorporated roughly every 1/4 cup or so. If you pour all of the liquid in at once, you will likely end up sloshing milk and cream everywhere, so be sure to go a little at a time. Once all ingredients are combined, use a spatula to transfer the mixture to a clean bowl. Cover and chill the mixture overnight.  

While the base is chilling, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Hull and slice strawberries, tossing with remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Roast on a parchment lined baking sheet for 15 minutes. Transfer berries and sugary liquid from the parchment sheet to a clean bowl, cover and chill.

Churn liquid according to manufacturer's directions. In the last 5 minutes, drop strawberries and liquid into the base a small spoonful at a time.

Sprinkle an even layer of graham cracker crumbs on the bottom of a freezer safe container. Carefully spread a layer of ice cream on top of the crumbs. Alternate layers of ice cream and graham cracker crumbs until container is full. Freeze until firm.

The other day I went strawberry picking for the first time in years. I purchased my carton and was determined to get as many strawberries as possible. They were everywhere -- ripe, juicy, perfect strawberries. I felt like a kid in a candy shop. I moseyed along the fields adding and adding to my box until it was completely full of the most beautiful strawberries you've ever seen.

I ended up with 12lbs. I realized shortly after leaving that piling fresh strawberries on top of one another meant the bottom ones ended up bruised (rookie mistake).

I froze some for smoothies, used some for ice cream, made cupcakes and muffins, and then decided the rest needed to go into making strawberry margaritas.

I was at dinner a month or so ago and somehow the waitress and I got to talking about soaking strawberries in tequila. I'm a fan of all fruit/alcohol combinations, so this idea was right up my alley. If you soak them in tequila for long enough, you can strain the strawberries and have delicious homemade strawberry tequila. If you really love tequila I guess you could also eat the soaked berries plain, but I wasn't feeling up for that. I decided that I would use my fresh, bursting with flavor strawberries to make strawberry margaritas. I made a lot more strawberry tequila than I've posted in the recipe, but I had 12lbs of strawberries and 1.75 liters of tequila, so I saw no reason not to go all out. I froze the rest of the strawberry mixture that I didn't use for future margaritas.

I wanted the flavors to really blend together, but if you don't want to soak the strawberries, just skip that step and use fresh strawberries with tequila. That said, it's VERY easy to hull strawberries, pour tequila over them in the morning and leave them soaking all day to use that night. You can do it more in advance if you'd like.

Point is: you need to be making these margaritas. Channel your inner mixologist and ditch the pre-made margarita mix. It's full of sugar and not nearly as good as these. Feel free to adjust the recipe proportions to your liking. Basically anything with this strawberry tequila is going to be amazing.

Enjoy!

Fresh Strawberry Margaritas

1 1/2 cup silver tequila
1 pint strawberries, hulled
4-6 limes, juiced (about 1/2 cup)
4 oz Triple Sec
4 oz simple syrup

Hull strawberries and place in pitcher. Pour 1/2 cups tequila into pitcher. Allow strawberries to soak in the tequila for 3+ hours.

When you're ready to make the drinks, pour the strawberry-tequila mixture into a blender and pulse until strawberries have blended into the mixture, but some strawberry pieces remain. If you completely pulverize the strawberries you lose the pieces of good tequila soaked strawberries that you so patiently waited for.  Alternately, you can muddle the strawberries into the tequila in the pitcher if you do not have a blender.

Add the rest of the ingredients and stir. To serve, add servings into cocktail shaker with ice, give it a good shake and pour into salt-rimmed glasses.

I have a love-hate relationship with strawberries. I love everything about them. But, while I'm eating strawberries on everything in sight, that love blinds me to the reality that I am allergic to them. A few hours later when my mouth feels like I've been eating sour patch kids all day I remember that I really should hate strawberries. Sometimes I get lucky and nothing happens. It's a daily game of chance.

The part that seems to confuse everyone I tell about my allergy is that I eat strawberries all the time. I'll throw them in a parfait at breakfast, a salad at lunch and a smoothie in the afternoon. I buy the massive cartons because I go through them so quickly. If I don't finish them fast enough I freeze them for throwing in smoothies. That's where this incredible recipe comes into play.

You take frozen strawberries, yogurt, lemon juice and a little bit of honey (all of which I already had on hand), throw them in a food processor for 5 minutes, and you end up with a tart, smooth, sorbet-like strawberry frozen yogurt that you can feel great about eating all summer long. This is probably the best thing to happen to your summer diet in years. Unfortunately I couldn't resist chowing down on some cookies I made shortly after I ate the frozen yogurt, but I doubt there will ever be a day I pass on warm cookies.

If you don't have fresh frozen strawberries you can buy them in a bag for $3 or so at the store. I used the Light & Fit Greek yogurt that I use for my parfaits, and that worked perfectly, but any plain yogurt you have on hand will do.

Enjoy!

5-Minute Healthy Strawberry Frozen Yogurt
Recipe from Just a Taste

4 cups frozen strawberries
3 Tablespoons agave nectar or honey
1/2 cup plain yogurt (non-fat or full fat)
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Add the frozen strawberries, agave nectar (or honey), yogurt and lemon juice to the bowl of a food processor. Process until creamy, about 5 minutes.

Serve the frozen yogurt immediately or transfer it to an airtight container and store it in the freezer for up to 1 month.

*Kelly also noted that if you prefer a sweeter frozen yogurt you can add in more honey or agave nectar.

When life gives you blueberries, you make blueberry muffins. Unfortunately, life (or your neighborhood grocery store in this case) does not always give you blueberries. I'm not one to shy away from out of season fruit--with the exception of watermelon--so when I decided a week ago that I was making blueberry muffins I didn't even consider that I wouldn't be able to find any. What I did find was 2 for 1 strawberries. Order was restored and I took this delicious blueberry muffin with blueberry jam recipe and just subbed in strawberries.

The only thing I didn't like about these is that I "forgot" to give any away and I couldn't eat them all on my own. Strawberries tend to hold a lot of moisture, so you won't be able to get away with eating them a few days in unless you happen to enjoy mold. I'm sure keeping them in the fridge would help. I've never frozen muffins before, but I popped a few of these in the freezer to test out the results. I'll update the post when I try them.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Lemon Muffins
Recipe Adapted from Damn Delicious

Yields 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sliced strawberries, divided
• 3/4 cup and 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the lemon sugar topping:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• Zest of 1 lemon

DIRECTIONS:Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners or coat with nonstick spray; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup strawberries and 1 tablespoon sugar. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes. Let cool 10-15 minutes.

To make the lemon sugar topping, combine the sugar and lemon zest, rubbing the zest into the sugar with your fingertips; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, remaining 3/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, butter, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla.
Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist.
Add the remaining 1 cup sliced strawberries and gently toss to combine.
Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tray. Top each muffin with 1 teaspoon strawberry jam, swirling into the batter using figure eight motions. Sprinkle with lemon sugar mixture.

Place into oven and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

ps - Sorry for the lack of creative place settings. This is what happens when you rush pictures.

As I write this post, I'm putting off starting my second to last take home exam before I graduate (it's due at noon tomorrow..it's 1am). It's funny to think that in two days I will be completely done with school for the rest of my life. No grad school for me. My bf is in law school, and I honestly feel like I've experienced the misery of it through him. I would write a longer post dedicated to nostalgia and things of that sort, but I currently have food on the brain. More specifically, this amazing cake. I think it's my favorite new recipe.

This is the kind of cake you finish a piece of and feel like you will have to be physically restrained to resist grabbing another piece. Maybe it's the lemon. Maybe it's the addition of Greek yogurt (brilliant!). Maybe it's that I find blackberries terribly addicting. But, I made it with strawberries too and it was just as good, maybe even better. Ah, the dilemmas of a bake-a-holic. The bigger problem is no one wants to eat around exam time because they're all jacked up on caffeine, stress and meds. So, it's just me chowing down on my cake. Graduation gowns are one size fits all, right?

But seriously, make this cake. You won't regret it. Blackberries, strawberries, raspberries -- use whatever is on sale or whatever you have on hand! I'm in lurve.


Fresh Blackberry Yogurt Cake
Recipe from A Spicy Perspective

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 Tb. lemon juice, divided
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 8 oz. plain or vanilla, Greek yogurt (I used Oikos)
• 12 oz. fresh blackberries *
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325*. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan (10-15 cup pan.) Sift together the 2 ¼ cups of flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the lemon zest and set aside.
2. With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 Tb. lemon juice. Alternate beating in the flour mixture and the yogurt, mixing just until incorporated.
3. Toss the blackberries with the remaining ¼ cup of flour. I rinsed them with water and didn't dry them off so the flour would stick. Gently mix them into the batter.
4. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
5. Allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Once cooled whisk together the remaining 2 Tb. of lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Drizzle over the top of the cake.
   
   *The original version of this cake is made with strawberries. Blackberries were on sale, so I used those instead the first time I made this. The second time I used strawberries. I'm honestly too blown away by both of them to pick one variation. You can't go wrong.

This is the strawberry version.

Sorry the photos aren't great -- it was a rainy morning before work!

As I sit here waiting to leave for my 6:45 cycling class, for some reason there's nothing I want to do other than bake. I think it may be that cycling continuously kills me (I'm convinced it never gets easy) and baking is just about as far in the other direction as it gets. Maybe I'm just trying to make the excuse, "Well I can't leave while it's in the oven." So, to avoid all of this I figured I should catch up posting some recipes I've made over the past week. I'll start with a delicious strawberry buttermilk cake. This cake is way too easy to be as good as it is. That's not a bad thing, though. I think anyone could make it, and the whipped cream definitely takes it to a whole new level. Truth be told, I was just experimenting around with the whipped cream and don't remember the exact measurements for how I made it, but it was amazing. I think maybe I'll just make lemon-blueberry whipped cream from now on and put it on everything. YUM. When looking at that recipe, if you make it and it doesn't taste quite sweet enough (or doesn't have enough lemon or blueberry flavoring) add to it! I got the idea from Eats Well With Others, where she made blueberry buttermilk cake with strawberry whipped cream. The same strawberry buttermilk cake has been surfacing all over the food blog world recently, but the idea of fruit flavored whipped cream sounded too good to pass up. I know local strawberry season has sadly just about ended, but they're still pretty cheap at the grocery store (or Costco/Sam's Club if you want them in bulk). Enjoy this recipe, it won't last long once you make it!

Easy Strawberry Buttermilk Cake
Recipe from Food and Fun Cafe
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
** Use 1/2 cup buttermilk instead of the egg as an alternative
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup fresh strawberries (about 5 oz)

Method
Preheat oven to 400°F, placing the rack in the middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan and keep ready.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy; this should take about 3 minutes, then beat in the vanilla. Finally add the egg and beat well for another 2 minutes.

Switch the mixer setting to low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined. Remember, do NOT overbeat.

Fold in half of the strawberries into the batter. Spoon the prepared batter into the cake pan, smoothing it on the top. Scatter the remaining strawberries evenly over the top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar.

Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, roughly about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in the cake pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely. Invert it onto a serving plate.

Using a knife warmed by placing under hot running water, slice the cake into wedges and serve. You can also make it fancier by topping it with a dollop of whipped cream, or dusting with some more Confectioner's sugar.

Blueberry Whipped Cream
1 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/4 cup blueberries
Zest of 1/2 lemon

In a blender or food processor, puree the blueberries and lemon zest. If you desire a sharper lemon flavor, lemon juice can be added to this as well. Next, beat the cream until barely thickened. Add in the powdered sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Fold in puree and beat slightly more until whipped cream reaches desired consistency.

*Everyone makes whipped cream a different way. Some people use powdered sugar, some regular sugar, some add vanilla.. that's not really what matters here. Make the whipped cream as normal, but add the zest and blueberry mixture to the almost finished product.

You can't go wrong with strawberries, whipped cream and puff pastry. This was one of the easiest, but most impressive looking recipes I've seen in a long time. I was crunched for time so had to skip a few steps and assemble it quickly (hence the messy whipped cream and one less layer than in the regular recipe). I figure if I put the whole thing together in five minutes and it looked like that, imagine what 10 minutes could do.
I don't quite know what is the best thing to cut it with. I think it's virtually impossible to get whipped cream to say in its place while cutting. I had a cake cutter with a serrated edge, but that didn't work very well. Regardless, everyone loved it. Taste is what matters most anyways.


The only change I made to the recipe is instead of simply whipping cream, I made real whipped cream. I wanted it a little sweeter so I went ahead and added sugar and vanilla.


Strawberry Millefeuille
Recipe from Sea Salt with Food ( adapted from Williams-Sonoma Cooking for Friends by Alison Attenborough and Jamie Kimm)


Ingredients
1 Sheet Puff Pastry (1/2 package), thawed according to package instructions and unfolded
1 Egg, lightly beaten
1 ½ Cups Thinly Sliced Strawberries
Juice of ½ Lemon
1 Tbsp Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Heavy Cream
Confectioner’s sugar for dusting 


Method
Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
On a lightly floured board, roll out the pastry sheet to ¼ inch thickness. Cut in half lengthwise. Transfer the 2 rectangles to a rimmed baking sheet. Prick them evenly all over with a fork and brush with the beaten egg. Bake until the pastry is puffed and golden, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, stir together the strawberries, lemon juice and sugar. Set aside.

In another bowl, using a whisk, whip the cream until soft peaks form.

Using a serrated knife, slice 1 rectangle horizontally to create 2 layers. Use the uncut rectangle as the base. Top with half of the whipped cream and 1/3 of the strawberries. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to create 2 more layers, finishing with just strawberries. Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving

Serves 6

First off, let me start by explaining my extremely long absence from blogging. It's been over a month since my last post, but I'm back! There were a few factors that led to my break. For the most part, they were all out of my control, nonetheless it's been way too long. The first problem was that my camera was stolen over Easter break (and really, what's a food blog without pictures?). So, even though I was still baking all the time I didn't post anything. The second was a random computer crash that deleted all of my food blog bookmarks. Two years worth of bookmarked recipes all gone. Bummer. And the third was that I literally haven't even had time to breathe I've been so busy recently. But, hey, that's life.
I still don't have a camera, but I've been able to borrow one to take pictures recently. Point of everything is, I'm going to get back on my regular posting schedule and sorry for the long break!
Now to the food. It's strawberry season and with the masses of fresh strawberries appearing at the stores and farmers' markets I figured I had to start the season off right. I've seen a million and one posts with strawberry shortcakes, tarts, scones, etc. This recipe is a little different, though, and I really liked it. The vanilla bean custard in the middle of these cupcakes is so good I could eat it plain. Luckily, it also complements the angel food cake and strawberries wonderfully so I held back on that impulse. Even though box cake mix makes these cupcakes not quite so homemade, you can't deny that boxed mixes are great. It also makes the recipe pretty simple. The only negative is that these cupcakes don't last very long at all (I'd say two days maximum). After that they're still good, but the custard soaks into the cupcakes and you have to eat them with a spoon. So make these, but eat them quick! This shouldn't be a problem.

Vanilla-Stuffed Strawberry Cupcakes
Recipe from Southern Living April 2010
Makes 2 dozen, Hands on Time: 30 minutes
Cupcakes will rise over baking cup edges. Use a paring knife to gently loosen from pan.

Vanilla Bean Custard (see below)
24 paper baking cups
1 (16 oz) package angel food cake mix*
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups halved fresh strawberries

*Southern Living says they used Duncan Hines and that worked best. I used Betty Crocker and I think the cupcakes themselves could've been better so I'd try Duncan Hines.

1. Prepare Vanilla Bean Custard.
2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place baking cups in 2 (12 cup) muffin pans. Do not grease. Prepare angel food cake batter according to package directions using a paddle attachment (I'm sure a hand mixer would work fine too). Stir in vanilla extract. Spoon batter into baking cups, filling completely full.
3. Bake at 325 degrees on middle oven rack 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes.
4. Gently run a knife around edges of cupcakes to loosen. Remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely (about 20 minutes).
5. Scoop out centers of cupcakes, leaving a 1/2-inch border on the bottom and sides. Spoon or pipe vanilla bean custard into centers of cupcakes. Top with strawberries. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Garnish if desired.

Vanilla Bean Custard
Recipe from Southern Living

2 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla exract

1/ Whisk together first 4 ingredients in a heavy 3-qt saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla extract. Cover and chill for 3 hours.

Buying chocolate covered strawberries is almost always a waste of money. Making them, on the other hand, is great. They look beautiful in the displays and it's tempting to buy them, but trust me, anyone could make them. I used to make trays and trays just because I liked doing it. As weird as that is, it shows that paying $5 each isn't quite worth it. With Valentine's Day coming up, make an impression and make some youself! I went to Costco and bought a huge box for really cheap, they're not as pretty as they are in season but they still work. I did these in between classes but if you spend a little longer I promise they'll turn out great.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries
1 container strawberries
1 12 oz bag chocolate (semi-sweet or dark)
2 cups white chocolate

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Wash all strawberries before using but before dipping make sure they are completely dry. If they have any water on them the chocolate won't stick when you dip. Melt the chocolate. It's best to melt over a double boiler so you don't risk burning it but if you keep a close eye on it the microwave works. If the chocolate burns, throw it out. Once the chocolate is smooth and melted, hold the strawberries at the top and dip one at a time. Sometimes it helps to have a spoon or spatula to make sure you have it even all around. Place strawberries on parchment paper leaving 1-2 inches between. Once finished, melt the white chocolate. The easiest way to do the next step is with a drizzling bottle which can be found at AC Moore but I usually use a simple ziploc bag. Put the melted white chocolate into the bag and cut the tip off the bottom corner of the bag. In a horizontal back and forth motion drizzle over each strawberry. Once finished, place the strawberries in the fridge for at least an hour, or until hardened. Enjoy!