No Churn Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream

Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream the easy way – no churn! Simple ingredients and an even simpler preparation process, this ice cream can stock your freezer in no time at all! Made with cream, real strawberries, and a good helping of shortcake crumbs, who’s up for a big bowl of this delicious frozen treat?

It’s day three of my 7 Days of Strawberry Shortcake Sweets! Yesterday, I showed you how to make the most mouthwatering Strawberry Shortcake Waffles. They are warm and moist, and dripping with strawberry goodness. In contrast, today I’m going to talk about this No Churn Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream. Yes, in the middle of winter, I’m telling you to make ice cream. Why? Well, why not?

This is all in an effort to show you how versatile homemade Strawberry Shortcake Crumbs can be. On Monday, I shared a recipe for the crumbs, and the most common way to use them is to spoon them over a bowl of vanilla ice cream, but there is so much more you can do! Let me show you how to easily make ice cream at home in which the ice cream is infused with so much strawberry flavour – not just sprinkled on top!

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE ICE CREAM

Remember those pink and white ice cream bars with the strawberry flavoured crumb coating? I do! In fact, they were my favourite ice cream bar when I was growing up. Now that I’m older, I don’t care much for ice cream, because it doesn’t seem to agree with me. I’m not lactose intolerant, but ice cream makes me feel bloated and blah, so I stay away from it as much as possible.

Now, in the instance that the ice cream in question is strawberry, I can’t pass it up. Because of the fact that I’m not a fan of ice cream, it is safe to assume that I am not an ice cream connoisseur. So, go easy on me when I tell you that my favourite ice cream is the cheap ice cream, and the more artificial the strawberry flavour, the more I love it! I won’t name the brands that I like, but they package their ice cream in boxes. That’s all I’m going to say!

My homemade strawberry ice cream – this No Churn Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream is absolutely delicious and I can’t stay away from it! Almost every night after dinner, John.e will have something a little sweet. Usually, it’s chocolate. And, I never partake. He snacks, I cross stitch, we both watch Netflix, and we couldn’t possibly be more content. Enter strawberry ice cream. I had a bowl of this ice cream every night until it was all gone. That, Dear Reader, is how good this really is!

NO CHURN ICE CREAM POPULARITY

I’ve been making no churn ice cream for years now. It’s exactly what the name implies; it’s ice cream that you can make easily at home without having access to an ice cream maker. I must say though, that the old fashioned ice cream maker – the one with the metal cylindrical cavity holding the cream mixture and the wooden bowl filled with ice and salt – I have fond memories of that one. The ice cream is incomparable to anything else, but who has time to hand-churn it for such a long time?

No churn ice cream has no doubt gained so much popularity, because of the fact that not everyone has access to an ice cream maker. I always relate it to living in an apartment where storage is an issue. The machine can be quite clunky depending on the brand and size. And, then the ice! My apartment freezer is full of food. I have room for two ice cube trays, but not enough to store the amount of ice needed to keep a hand-churned ice cream machine in business.

In addition to that, the ingredients needed to make no churn ice cream and cheap and readily available almost anywhere. You can flavour it with just about anything. It takes about five minutes to prepare, rather than hours. Whip up the mixture, place it in the freezer, and wait until it is frozen. It is just too easy and the results, although not quite high end ice cream, is a delicious, homemade substitute.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE

You might have guessed by now that you need a batch of Strawberry Shortcake Crumbs. I shared that recipe on Monday, and you can find it here. Go ahead, click on the link. It will open and new page so you won’t lose this one. The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

For the Crumbs:

• Vanilla Pudding – Just a plain box of the powdered mix is all you need. There’s no need to mix it according to the instructions on the package.
• Strawberry Jello – Again, this is just the powder. You will use the powder as it is – no need to mix it and let it set.
• Flour – Regular all-purpose flour is good.
• Butter – I used salted butter to offset some of the sweetness. Unsalted butter is certainly okay too.
• Golden Oreos – These are the vanilla flavoured Oreos. You’ll use one full package of Golden Oreos.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CRUMBS

For the Ice Cream:

• Strawberries – A good ratio for me is one cup of chopped strawberries in this ice cream. You can use more, but do not exceed two cups.
• Canned Sweetened Condensed Milk – This recipe has not been tested with low fat condensed milk.  Depending on where you live, the size of the can my differ.  Be sure to have the full 14 ounces!
• Whipping Cream – Please see the next section on whipping cream.
• Vanilla Bean Paste – This has a strong vanilla flavour and has vanilla beans in it. It’s a more economical way to get the little black flecks of vanilla beans into baked goods without buying expensive pods!
• Food Colouring – Optional, but I did use two drops of liquid red food colouring to add a little pink hue to the ice cream.

HEAVY CREAM VS WHIPPING CREAM

Confession time – I use them both interchangeably, depending on what is available at the store, or whatever is on sale! Both of these can be quite costly. If memory serves me correctly, a 250mL carton, or one cup, here in Canada, will run just short of $5! There is a difference in the two, but not enough to concern yourself with when it comes to No Churn Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream.

Just in case you’re interested, the most basic difference is the amount of fat contained in both. Whipping cream has 35% fat. It can be whipped into peaks and it’s also rich enough that it won’t curdle when heated in soups and sauces. It’s nearly identical to heavy cream so if a recipe calls for heavy cream and you can only find whipping cream, feel free to use that instead. In contrast, heavy cream, which is sometimes called heavy whipping cream, contains about 38% fat. Either of those would work well in this recipe. I used 35% whipping cream.

RECIPE TIPS AND TRICKS

• Don’t have vanilla bean paste? No worries! You can use vanilla extract instead. In fact, if you want even more strawberry flavour, you could use strawberry extract as well.
• I chopped the strawberries in this recipe. However, in other instances, I have slightly mashed the strawberries to create a chunky jam like consistency. Both works well. You will want to chop the strawberries well though, because large pieces of strawberry will freeze quite hard and makes the ice cream not as smooth.
• Store the ice cream in the freezer section of your refrigerator for a slightly softer, more scoop-friendly ice cream. A deep freezer tends to run much colder, resulting in a harder, firmer ice cream.
• Once you remove a serving of ice cream, get the remaining ice cream back into the fridge. Never let the ice cream sit out for longer than needed. When the ice cream melts and is re-frozen, the previously melted part becomes icy and not creamy like it should be.

HOW TO MAKE NO CHURN STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE ICE CREAM

This recipe most certainly isn’t complicated, but there are a few steps involved. To make the ice cream a success, prepare everything first before you start to make the ice cream. It will not only make assembly quicker and easier, but will result in a creamier ice cream experience! Before you start anything at all, take the bowl you intend to use to beat the whipping cream in, and place it in your freezer. An ice-cold bowl will help to make whipping the cream faster and easier.

1. Prepare the Crumbs

If you have not already prepared the Strawberry Shortcake Crumbs, do that first. These crumbs take eight minutes in the oven and then at least fifteen minutes of chilling time in the fridge. They’re not cumbersome to make, but from start to finish, you will need about 30 minutes. Get them done and out of you way first.

2. Prepare the Strawberries

Next, chop up the strawberries. As previously mentioned, you can chop the strawberries or mash them. You will want to chop the strawberries well though, because large pieces of strawberry will freeze quite hard and makes the ice cream not as smooth. Also, this recipe uses one cup of chopped strawberries. You can add more, but do no exceed two cups, because the excess moisture creates a icy ice cream rather than a creamy one.

3. Making the Ice Cream

Okay, so by now, that bowl you set in the freezer should be nice and cold. Get it out and pour the cold whipping cream into it. Using a handheld mixer or stand mixer, beat the cream until it forms stiff peaks. At this point, you can add food colouring to tint the ice cream. It’s up to you. But, if you do, just use a drop or two – just a little liquid food colouring goes a long way. Normally, I use gel food colouring, but I used liquid so that I didn’t have to overmix the whipping cream, which might cause it to deflate. Add the vanilla bean paste or extract and beat into the whipped cream.

Next, while still beating, pour the canned sweetened condensed milk into the bowl in a steady, slow stream. Don’t empty the contents of the can in and then beat. The whipped cream will lose its fluffiness. Slow and steady wins the race. When no more pours out of the can, scrape the rest out with a spatula. You’ll want to use every drop!

Finally, add in the chopped or mashed strawberries, along with one cup of the Strawberry Shortcake Crumbs. Use a spatula to fold the ingredients into the whipped cream mixture. Once done, transfer the ice cream mixture to a freezer-safe bowl or container. I like to use bread baking pans lined with parchment, but any freezer-friendly container will do. Top with the remaining quarter cup of crumbs and get the ice cream into the freezer for 4-6 hours or until firm.