Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Recipe
If your grocery store is always out of Ben & Jerry's strawberry cheesecake ice cream, don't fret, because you can make it at home! This strawberry cheesecake ice cream recipe is rich with a custard base and layered with graham crackers and strawberry preserves for the perfect scoop!
Whether you want a treat to cool off during summer or you're looking for the perfect Easter recipe to make for dessert, this homemade strawberry cheesecake ice cream is the perfect addition to your dessert table.
Looking for more ice cream recipes? Try this no-churn carrot cake ice cream or this funfetti ice cream. They both have chunks of easy mug cake included!
Recipe Overview: Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Recipe
🕒 Ready In: 7 hours but only 20 minutes prep!
👪 Yield: 2 quarts
🍽 Calories: 423 calories (estimated)
🥣 Main Ingredients: strawberry cream cheese, heavy cream, milk, egg yolks, sugar, strawberry preserves, and graham crackers
👌 Difficulty: Intermediate - a little technique is needed for a successful custard!
SUMMARIZE AND SAVE THIS CONTENT ON
Why You'll Love This Ice Cream Recipe
- It uses an old-fashioned custard base, just like my old-fashioned homemade banana pudding, so it's rich and creamy!
- It combines two of your favorite desserts into one delicious dessert!
- Add as many mixins as you want or leave them out. The strawberry cream cheese flavors the base well, so mixins are optional!
Jump to:
Key Ingredients
Strawberry cream cheese. This is the base of the ice cream, and it offers both the strawberry and cream cheese flavors. The cream cheese also adds butterfat to the ice cream, giving it a smoother and richer texture.
Heavy cream and milk. Heavy cream contributes most of the butterfat to the ice cream. I include milk so that the texture doesn't feel too greasy.
Egg yolks. The thickening agent for the custard base. Egg yolks make the ice cream's texture smooth and emulsify the base, preventing ice crystals in your finished strawberry cheesecake ice cream. Make this Chinese chicken and sweet corn soup or this Italian meringue buttercream recipe with the leftover egg whites!
Mixins. This ice cream is perfect without any add-ins, but you can layer in strawberry preserves and graham crackers to make this more like an actual strawberry cheesecake.
How to Make Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
- Step 1: Whip the egg yolks with half of the sugar until pale and set aside.
- Step 2: Stir the heavy cream, milk, strawberry cream cheese, and the remaining sugar over medium heat until the cheese is melted.
- Step 3: Temper the egg yolks with the hot cream cheese mixture, then return to low-medium heat until it coats the back of a spatula.
- Step 4: Strain the custard to get rid of any strawberry seeds, then refrigerate overnight.
- Step 5: Churn according to the directions on your ice cream maker.
- Step 6: Layer the strawberry cheesecake ice cream with strawberry preserves and graham crackers if desired, and freeze for an hour.
FAQs
For best results and convenience, an ice cream maker with a built-in compressor is a good option. I use this 2-quart Whynter ice cream maker. You don't have to worry about freezing any part of the machine in advance - just pour in the custard and churn. Ice cream makers like these will have a higher price tag, though.
For a more budget-friendly option, try a frozen bowl ice cream maker. It requires some advanced planning since the bowl needs to be as cold as possible.
It depends. For thinner swirls of your mixins, like strawberry preserves, add them towards the end of churning. For bigger pockets of your mixins, add them in layers when filling your ice cream container.
A curdled custard will appear visibly separated, gritty, and watery. Straining the custard before refrigerating will also reveal if it is curdled or not. If there are numerous white/yellowish chunks, it has definitely curdled. You will need to start over for the best results.
To avoid curdling the custard, keep the heat low and never allow the custard to boil and stir continuously while scraping the bottom of the pot.
Ice cream is most commonly enjoyed in hotter months, and unfortunately, a warmer ambient temperature can work against your ice cream maker - especially freezer bowl machines.
To help counteract this, churn your ice cream in a cool, dark spot that is away from other running appliances and cover it with a clean towel.
No. Once a custard curdles, it is no longer an emulsion since the overcooked eggs squeeze out water. Even if you blend the mixture, it will separate during refrigeration and freeze into an icy, gritty mess.
Ainseanlea's Top Tips
- Line the container with parchment paper to help prevent freezer burn. If you're using a container specially intended for ice cream storage, you only need a layer of parchment on top.
- Go slow with the custard and be patient. If you turn the heat up to get the custard to thicken faster, you run the risk of curdling the egg yolks.
- Refrigerate the custard for at least 6 hours. The custard base becomes thicker as it cools, and a thicker-set custard actually translates to a softer, less icy churned ice cream.
- Cut your favorite cheesecake into chunks and add them when layering the mixins.
More Strawberry Recipes You'll Love!
Tried this recipe? Please leave a comment with a star rating. I love hearing your feedback, and it greatly helps me improve recipes for you!
Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Whisk the egg yolks with half of the sugar (you can eyeball half) in a large heat-resistant bowl until the yolks pale.6 large egg yolks, 205 grams granulated sugar
- Add the strawberry cream cheese, heavy cream, milk, salt, and the remaining sugar to a large saucepan. Stir over low-medium to medium heat until all the cream cheese has melted.225 grams strawberry cream cheese, 675 mL heavy cream, 225 mL whole milk, ⅛ teaspoon salt, 205 grams granulated sugar
- Once the cream cheese mixture is smooth, remove from the heat and temper the egg yolks. While continuously whisking, slowly pour about a cup of the cream cheese mixture into the egg yolk mixture set aside earlier.
- Once the portion of the cream cheese mixture has been completely whisked in, repeat the process. Continue adding the hot cream cheese mixture slowly in 1-2 cup increments until all of it has been incorporated with the egg yolks.
- Once all the cream cheese mixture has been incorporated with the egg yolks, return the mixture to the saucepan and, over low-medium heat, continue stirring with a spatula until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula well as shown here.
- Pour the thickened custard into a heat-resistant bowl through a fine-meshed strainer. There should only be strawberry seeds. If you see a large amount of white/yellowish clumps and the strained custard seems watery, this means that the yolks likely overcooked and the custard curdled. This will not make a good ice cream; you'll have to start over.
- Stir in the vanilla extract, then cover with plastic wrap, pressing it to the surface of the custard to prevent any condensation.1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Refrigerate for at least 6 hours but preferably overnight for the custard to set and thicken.
- After 6 hours in the refrigerator, pour the refrigerated custard into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's recommendations (it takes about 30 minutes in my Whynter ice cream maker). The ice cream should have the consistency of soft serve when ready. Be careful not to over-churn it since it will become butter.
- Layer the ice cream in your chosen container with dollops of strawberry preserves and broken/crushed graham crackers. Repeat the layering until everything has been used up.Larger chunks of graham crackers will take longer to soften.110 grams strawberry preserves, 4 sheets graham crackers
- Cover the top of the ice cream with a piece of parchment paper to prevent freezer burn and allow it to rest in the freezer for at least an hour before scooping.
Nutrition
Notes
- Go slow with the custard and be patient. If you turn the heat up to get the custard to thicken faster, you run the risk of curdling the egg yolks.
- Cut up pieces of your favorite cheesecake and layer them into the ice cream for an even more indulgent scoop. When I do this, I typically use 1-2 slices from the Cheesecake Factory or even a store-bought cheesecake.
This recipe was a creamy dream! I lve never thought to try strawberry cheesecake but I'm never going back. My favorite thing about this recipe was that it was simple with the necessary tools!
This ice cream is so good! It was made for me by a friend and my son loved it as well. She said it wasn’t hard to make at all. Can’t wait until she makes me more.