Strawberry Mascarpone Ice Cream

Another strawberry recipe?  Yes, of course!  Strawberries are still in season and they are getting more red and sweeter by the minute.  I hope you are not tired of strawberries yet because there is at least one more strawberry recipe to come.  Other than eating the fruit whole, it is obvious that my favorite way to use strawberries is in ice cream. What is your favorite way to use Spring strawberries?  I would love to hear your ideas!

After another share of strawberries arrived in my CSA, I started playing around with a Jeni’s Ice Cream recipe that uses strawberries.  The original recipe is for a Strawberry Buttermilk ice cream, but I had some left over mascarpone in the fridge from another ice cream recipe (more on that later) so I decided to add it to the recipe.  LOVE IT!  Adding the mascarpone gives this ice cream a grown-up strawberry cheesecake taste.  Enjoy!

Strawberry Mascarpone
Adapted recipe from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home
Makes about 1 quart

Roasted Strawberries:
1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced ½ inch thick
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Ice Cream Base:
1 ½ cups whole milk
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 ounces mascarpone cheese
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
¼ cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Spread strawberries evenly in an 8″x8″ glass baking dish.  Toss with 1/3 cup sugar.  Roast strawberries for about 8 minutes, until just softened. Remove strawberries from oven and let cool slightly.  Transfer strawberries and sugar syrup to blender.  Add lemon juice and puree until smooth.  Reserve ½ cup strawberry puree and store remainder to future use (great for making strawberry soda!).

Fill a large bowl with ice water.  In a small bowl, mix 2 Tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch.  In a medium bowl, whisk the mascarpone and salt until smooth. Set a fine mesh sieve over the bowl and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine remaining milk, cream, remaining sugar, and corn syrup and bring to a low boil over medium heat. Boil until the mixture begins to thicken, about 4 minutes.  Remove from heat and off the heat, gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture.  Return to a boil and cook over moderately high heat until the mixture is slightly thickened (draw a line on a spoon), about 1 minute.

Gradually pour the hot milk mixture through the sieve into the mascarpone and whisk until smooth.  Add buttermilk and strawberry puree and stir to combine.  Set the bowl in the ice water bath, and let stand, stirring occasionally, until cold, about 20 minutes.  Chill overnight.

Once chilled, pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Transfer ice cream to a freezer-safe container for storage.  Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.