It’s strawberry season on Cape Cod!  If you take a walk around the community, you’ll see an abundance of perky little red berries peeping out from under their lazy green foliage in many of our gardens.  If we can get to them before the deer and rabbits, then we are bound to have some scrumptious desserts here in the Convent, which is a rare and welcome treat!

Summer on Cape Cod usually conjures up images of days at the beach followed by ice cream and sunsets. We are fortunate to have cream from our Jersey cows, freshly picked strawberries, and a generous donation of agave nectar, so I set out to make a creamy homemade strawberry ice cream.  I found just the recipe to pull all of these together.  Start it the day before as it needs to chill before transferring to your ice cream maker.  Enjoy this on a hot and humid summer day and you are sure to feel refreshed!

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Homemade Strawberry Agave Ice Cream

SERVINGS 7 CHANGE SERVING SIZE

COOK TIME 30mins

PREP TIME 10mins

READY IN 24hrs

Ingredients

• 2 cups puréed strawberries about 1 1/2 pints, whole
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 4 cups half and half
• 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp agave nectar
• 2 egg(s) + 1 egg yolk
• 1 Tbsp vanilla

Instructions

1. If your strawberries aren’t already pureed, do that in a Cuisinart (I used a potato masher to leave some good chunks). Add lemon juice and set aside.
2. Beat eggs and egg yolk together very well. Set aside.
3. In a heavy pot, heat half and half and agave nectar over med-high heat until temperature is 180 F. Stir frequently.
4. Drizzle ½ cup of hot mixture into eggs, whisking briskly. Add another 1/2 cup in the same manner. (This keeps the eggs from scrambling).
5. Then, drizzle egg and cream mixture back into the pot, whisking briskly.
6. Turn heat down to med-low and bring to 190 F, stirring bottom constantly. To check for doneness, dip a metal spoon in the pot. Remove. Run a finger through the custard coating the spoon (like parting the 'custard sea'). If the custard stays on either side of the stripe (doesn't run in to fill the space), then it's done.
7. Strain into a 2 qt. bowl and add all but 1/3 cup of the strawberry puree to this.
8. Cool in an ice bath and then transfer to fridge overnight.
9. Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. When the ice cream is done, take the remaining 1/3 cup of the strawberry sauce and swirl it directly into the finished ice cream. Freeze again, if needed, before serving.