Adapted from Jeni’s famous ice cream, this Reduced Sugar Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk Ice cream will surprise you with its deliciousness no matter your ice cream expectations.
My most productive time of the day (most arguably) is between the hours of midnight and 3 am. That is also the time of day when my sweet tooth hits me like a semi. Unfortunately… I don’t always have reduced sugar ice cream on hand. Real bummer.
It was during this time of night/morning a few years ago, on the night of July 3rd. July 4th, in the near distant!!– the time when all people everywhere prepare their 4th of July desserts….right??
My dessert of choice this wonderful patriotic holiday was Jeni’s Strawberry ice cream. Now I’ve made Jeni’s Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream before..many times before…in fact, it’s usually over the 4th of July. I mean, what screams the 4th of July more than roasted strawberry buttermilk ice cream. I mean, if you’re into Vanilla…then here it is—Homemade Eggless Vanilla Ice Cream—but if you are craving a change and you have all night then you have got to try this Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk ice Cream!
Brady says to me, as I’m running to the store in the 10,000 degree humidity on July 3rd at 10 pm. “Are you sure you dont just want to BUY ice cream this year??” yes Brady I’m sure. That would be denying everything I know to be true! Homemade Ice cream IS the fourth of July to me!
Ice Cream ingredients:
- 1 lb strawberries
- milk
- can use whole milk or 2%. I think whole milk makes it creamier but I often use 2% because it is less creamy and I am okay with that.
- buttermilk (lowfat)
- heavy whipping cream
- cream cheese
- Have used regular full fat and also 1/3 less fat version
- Light corn syrup
- Sugar
- lemon juice
- cornstarch
- salt
- sparkling water (for moi)
So as I was making it this particular year, I had on whatever music Alexa chose to play when I said, “Play hip radio” ha. It was a mix of new stuff in many different languages ha! Its fine.
I’m mixing and pouring and singing along and having a great time. Surely being sure to measure everything perfectly because I know this recipe is a FAIL SAFE for me.
My mom calls and I start to talk with her. (Normal, because she also is most productive between the hours of 12- 3 am.)
We are just shootin the breeze with each other, cooking in our respective kitchens in our respective states on either side of the country. And since it is so late, I had already brushed my teeth. So I hadn’t tasted anything. But, during the process of boiling the milk and cream and then whisking in the cream cheese and then stirring in the strawberry’s, I thought, someone has to try a lick from this bowl!
No one better for the job (or around) than my dear husband. And lucky for me, even though it is 2 am I am confident HE hasn’t brushed his teeth because he is lying on the couch with his eyes closed. So I took the bowl over to him and woke him up with a spoonful of Roasted Strawberry Ice cream drippings.
He opened his mouth, (with his eyes closed of course), accepted the offering, said, “ooh honey thats good, thank you”, then continued off back to sleep. ha! Great! I took his word for it. He’s not the hardest critic but I feel like he would have told me if it were yucky right??
Fast forward to 1 hour later. I’m still talking to my mom, having robotically just dumped and poured ingredients into my ice cream when I quickly thought…Did I double the sugar in the ice cream??
Ah!!
I quickly realized I definitely did NOT double the sugar. What. an. idiot. Well now, I HAD to try it for myself. I got it out of the fridge and dunked a whole spoon in. AND I was surprisingly shocked. With the sweetness of the strawberries, the ice cream was PLENTY sweet.
What are the other changes I made to make Jeni’s Reduced Sugar Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream reduced sugar you ask? Let me tell you.
These changes were…purposefully (of course).
#1: Not using WHOLE milk. Although that is what the recipe calls for, I am confident that using 2% milk works just fine. My theory is as long as you don’t cut the fat on everything…and the balance is good, the texture and taste do not change enough to tell.
#2: Decreased the sugar on the roasted strawberries. The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup for 1 lb of strawberries. People have you ever tried a strawberry before!?? They contain natural sugar and if your lucky and having a good day, your strawberries are sweet at your local fruit guy. Sometimes the batch might be a tad bit sour but do you usually sprinkle 1/2 cup of sugar on our strawberries when you eat them on the regular? I think not. Therefore, 1/2 cup is by no means needed in this case. However, because you are roasting them, a little sugar is crucial to assist in caramelizing the juice. I’ll take it. What I used, and what I MEANT to use on the strawberries is 1/4 cup for 2 lbs of strawberries. Remember I doubled the recipe. My batch was sweet already so I didn’t see the need for the extra 2/3 cup of sugar.
I’m happy to say that with all of these changes I think it cut the calories and sugar a lot!
Just a fun fact–Do you know that the regular person only needs 25 mg of sugar a day. That’s just 6 tiny teaspoons! That is NOTHING. Sure you can say that this is ice cream so just enjoy your ice cream. Which I agree. Which I am. But what I say to you is if you can cut some of the sugar? –and it still tastes good!? Then why the heck not!
PrintJeni’s Reduced Sugar Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream
Adapted from Jeni’s famous ice cream, this Reduced Sugar Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk Ice cream will surprise you with its deliciousness no matter your ice cream expectations.
- Prep Time: 30 min + overnight
- Total Time: overnight + 20 min
- Yield: 2 quarts 1x
- Category: ice cream
- Cuisine: dessert
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
STRAWBERRY PUREE
- 1 pint of strawberries
- 1⁄4 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
ICE CREAM BASE
- 1 1⁄2cups whole milk *
- 1 1/2 cups 2% milk
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1⁄4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 2⁄3 cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
Instructions
STRAWBERRY PUREE:
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
- Hull strawberries and slice.
- Combine strawberries with sugar and place in an 8″ square glass or ceramic baking dish. Roast for 8 minutes, or until just soft.
- Puree strawberries and its caramelizied sauce in a food processor/blender along with the lemon juice. Measure 1/2 cup of the pureed berries; refrigerate the rest of the puree for another use!
ICE CREAM BASE:
Notes
* I have used a combination of 2% milk ONLY + the heavy whipping cream. It is more soft but still works!
** I always double or TRIPLE the recipe because there is never enough!!
These changes were…purposefully (of course).
#1: Not using WHOLE milk. Although that is what the recipe calls for, I am confident that using 2% milk works just fine. My theory is as long as you don’t cut the fat on everything…and the balance is good, the texture and taste do not change enough to tell.
#2: Decreased the sugar on the roasted strawberries. The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup for 1 lb of strawberries. People have you ever tried a strawberry before!?? They contain natural sugar and if your lucky and having a good day, your strawberries are sweet at your local fruit guy. Sometimes the batch might be a tad bit sour but do you usually sprinkle 1/2 cup of sugar on our strawberries when you eat them on the regular? I think not. Therefore, 1/2 cup is by no means needed in this case. However, because you are roasting them, a little sugar is crucial to assist in caramelizing the juice. I’ll take it. What I used, and what I MEANT to use on the strawberries is 1/4 cup for 2 lbs of strawberries. Remember I doubled the recipe. My batch was sweet already so I didn’t see the need for the extra 2/3 cup of sugar.
I’m happy to say that with all of these changes I think it cut the calories and sugar a lot!
Just a fun fact–Do you know that the regular person only needs 25 mg of sugar a day. That’s just 6 tiny teaspoons! That is NOTHING. Sure you can say that this is ice cream so just enjoy your ice cream. Which I agree. Which I am. But what I say to you is if you can cut some of the sugar? –and it still tastes good!? Then why the heck not!
Ok so, you should try this ice cream.
HOWEVER…if you visit NYC anytime soon, you should visit our personal favorite ice cream shop Morgensterns NYC.
Pictured on the LEFT:
Boring Cliffords who have to share one ice cream cone. Poor Theo. Just eying it because he knows that he only gets 1/4 th.
Pictured on the RIGHT:
Our fun spontaneous cousins who buy three ice cream cones because they have 3 people in their family. Makes sense. Oh to be a Benson. And the look on their faces clearly project the happiness they are feeling.
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