Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

This is an easy recipe for delicious strawberry cheesecake ice cream from Handle The Heat.
Tips from Tessa Arias:
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For luscious ice cream you need to use dairy whole milk and cream. Anything else will be watery, thin, and just not worth the effort.

The recipe contains a small amount of corn syrup. Why? Well it helps to prevent the ice cream from crystalizing and getting too hard. Feel free to omit it if you want. Another good trick to prevent fruit ice creams from hardening (because of all the water content) is to add a tablespoon of vodka just before you finish churning.

Lastly, if you prefer a smoother ice cream texture, feel free to use a blender to blend all of the ingredients together except the graham crackers before churning. Then add the graham crackers at the end as directed in the recipe.

You will need an ice cream machine for this recipe,  Make sure the bowl is completely frozen before you churn otherwise you will make soup.

Ingredients

• 1 quart fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup or 1 tablespoon of vodka
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 whole graham crackers, chopped

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Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Toss the strawberries with 1/4 cup sugar and the balsamic vinegar. Spread strawberries into one even layer on the prepared baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes, or until the strawberries have darkened in color, are soft, and their juices have released. Transfer the strawberries to a medium bowl and mash until only small pieces of fruit remain. Cover and refrigerate the strawberries until chilled about 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a blender or food processor, puree the remaining ice cream ingredients except the corn syrup if you're using vodka and the graham crackers until smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl and press plastic wrap against the surface. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or up to 1 day.
4. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker. Freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. Mine took about 15 minutes. Add the vodka and during the last minute of freezing, gradually add the roasted strawberries and graham crackers.
5. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container, press plastic wrap against the ice cream, and freeze until firm and flavor is ripened, at least 2 hours.