Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
Of all the strawberry shortcake ice cream recipes we tested, this one is the absolute best! This Philadelphia style churned Strawberry Shortcake ice cream is creamy and sweet with the perfect amount of crunchy cookie add-ins.
Strawberry Shortcake ice cream is nut-free and egg-free.
Love strawberries! Try this Strawberry Banana Milkshake that uses either Vanilla or Strawberry ice cream as a base. Also, this Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Recipe is one of our favorites.
Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream is another sweet and fruity Ice cream that I love making with canned or fresh fruit.
Why you’re going to love this Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
Sweet, fresh strawberries are the star of this strawberry shortcake ice cream.
Fresh strawberries are cooked into a sweet strawberry sauce that marbles with vanilla ice cream to create an amazing strawberry flavor.
All the parts of strawberry shortcake are in this strawberry shortcake ice cream. We are making a sweet cream ice cream base and mixing it with strawberry syrup and vanilla wafers to make sure that we hit all of the flavors and textures you’d expect from a strawberry shortcake.
Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream is simple to make. Philadelphia style ice cream doesn’t require a custard base, so there’s no need to cook eggs or wait for the base to cool down.
It’s also super fun in a banana split recipe.
Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Recipe
Strawberries – Roughly dice the strawberries. We’ll be cooking them to really bring out their flavor and sweetness.
Heavy Cream – The basis for all good ice creams is rich heavy cream.
Whole Milk – A mix of both heavy cream and whole milk creates the perfect ice cream texture.
Granulated Sugar – Any good ice cream will have a good amount of sugar in it, both for sweetness and texture.
Vanilla Extract – A good quality vanilla extract adds flavor and enhances the strawberry flavor.
Kosher Salt – a bit of salt makes all of the flavors in this strawberry shortcake ice cream pop.
Wafer Cookies – Chop your cookies up roughly so that they are small enough to fit on a spoon.
If you have any questions about the ingredients in this strawberry shortcake ice cream, please leave a comment below.
Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Directions
- Combine diced strawberries and granulated sugar in a medium saucepan.
- Heat over medium heat and bring to a boil. Use a spatula to smash the strawberries as they soften to get the sauce as smooth as possible. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook as directed in the recipe card below, until the sauce thickens slightly.
- Remove from the heat and strain the strawberry mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds and leftover chunks. Let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until ready to use.
- In a large bowl, combine heavy cream, whole milk, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk for 2-3 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved into the mixture.
- Churn the ice cream mixture in the frozen bowl of your ice cream machine according to your manufacturer’s instructions, until it is thick and the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
- Spoon 1/3 of the ice cream base into a shallow container or loaf pan. Drizzle 1/3 of the strawberry sauce over the ice cream, then sprinkle 1/3 of the wafer cookies over the sauce.
- Repeat two more times with remaining ice cream, strawberry sauce, and vanilla wafer cookies.
- Press plastic wrap or wax paper to the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for at least four hours or until solid. Let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving.
These numbered steps match the numbered photos above and are for illustration purposes. For the complete list of ingredients and instructions in this strawberry shortcake ice cream, please see the recipe below.
How to store Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
Store this strawberry short cake ice cream in the freezer in an airtight container (we really like these reusable ice cream containers) with a piece of parchment paper or wax paper pressed on top for up to one month.
Tips for making this Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
Use quality ingredients – When making homemade ice cream, you’ll want to make sure you are using high quality ingredients for the best outcome.
Chill out – If possible, always start with chilled ingredients. This is important for homemade no-churn ice cream recipes and ice cream maker recipes.
Don’t skimp on the fat – High fat milks and creams are essential when making homemade ice cream. Opting for a low-fat option often leads to icy ice creams and inconsistency in the texture.
Don’t go crazy with the add-ins – If you’re adding in additional ingredients, pick one or two and make sure they are chopped into pieces no larger than a blueberry or pea.
Don’t skimp on the sugar – Sugar not only adds sweetness to homemade ice creams, it also helps with the texture. Sugar is essential for the creamy texture in ice cream.
Make it your own – If you like strawberry chunks in your ice cream, you can skip the straining step while making the sauce. To save time, use your favorite store bought strawberry sauce instead of making it from scratch. For the vanilla wafers, you can substitute any type of vanilla cookies or even vanilla cake.
Gluten Free Option – If you need a gluten free option, you can use a gluten free vanilla cookie in this recipe in place of the wafers.
No churn Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
To make this strawberry shortcake ice cream without an ice cream maker, chill a shallow container or a loaf pan in the freezer while you mix the ice cream ingredients.
Pour the ice cream mixture into the prepared pan and freeze for 3-4 hours. Stir the ice cream every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours to help add air. This will help create a creamy, smooth texture.
Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Add-ins
This strawberry shortcake recipe is already packed full of delicious things, but there’s always room for a little bit more or some substitutions.
Try adding chocolate or peanut butter cookies for a different flavor.
Use your favorite fresh fruit in place of the strawberries. Try peach shortcake ice cream or raspberry shortcake ice cream.
Shaved white chocolate would be a delicious and sweet addition to this strawberry shortcake ice cream recipe too.
More Homemade Ice Cream Recipes
Here are some of our favorite tools for making homemade ice cream
- Cuisinart 2QT Ice Cream Maker – Works with ice cream, sorbets, and frozen yogurt.
- Ice Cream Scoop – Make sure you have a good ice cream scoop. This is one of our favorites.
- Ice Cream Containers – We love keeping a couple of ice cream containers on hand for when we make homemade ice cream.
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Did you make this Strawberry Shortcake ice cream recipe? Leave a comment below letting us know what you thought and if you added any additional add-ins.
Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
Equipment
- Set of 2 Reusable Ice Cream Tub Containers For Homemade Ice Cream 1.6 Quart
- Cusinart ICE-70P1 2-Quart Cool Creations Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt, Gelato and Sorbet Maker, LCD Screen with Countdown Timer, Makes Frozen Treats in 20-Minutes or Less, Stainless Steel
- KitchenAid KO117OHAQA Gourmet Ice Cream Scoop, One Size, Matte Aqua Sky
Ingredients
For the strawberry sauce:
- 3 cups diced strawberries
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
For the ice cream:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups vanilla wafer cookies roughly chopped
Instructions
To make the strawberry sauce:
- Chill the ice cream bowl for at least 24 hours or until solid. You should not hear any water sloshing around when you shake the bowl.
- Combine the diced strawberries and granulated sugar in a medium saucepan.
- Heat over medium and bring to a boil. Use a spatula to smash the strawberries as they soften to get the sauce as smooth as possible.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly.
- Remove from the heat and strain the strawberry mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds and leftover chunks. Let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until ready to use.
To make the ice cream:
- In a large bowl, combine heavy cream, whole milk, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk for 2-3 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved into the mixture. When you rub the mixture between your fingers, it should feel smooth and you should not feel any grit.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes to make sure it’s very cold before churning.
- Churn the ice cream mixture in the bowl of your ice cream machine according to your manufacturer’s instructions (mine took about 25 minutes), until it is thick and the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
- Spoon ⅓ of the ice cream base into a shallow container or a loaf pan.
- Drizzle ⅓ of the strawberry sauce over the ice cream.
- Sprinkle ⅓ of the vanilla wafer cookies over the sauce. Repeat two more times with remaining ice cream, strawberry sauce, and vanilla wafer cookies.
- Press plastic wrap or wax paper to the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for at least 4 hours, or until solid. Let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Your ice cream base and ice cream bowl both need to be very cold in order for it to churn. If your base is not cold, place it in the refrigerator for an hour or so until it is chilled.
- You can use your favorite vanilla wafers or shortbread cookies in its place. You can even use a pound cake if you’d like, too. Just chop up 2 cups of your favorite cookie or cake.
- If you want to leave chunks in your strawberry sauce, you can skip the step where you pass the sauce through the fine mesh sieve. I find that chunks of strawberry get really icy in the freezer so I personally like to strain out the chunks and seeds.
- Instead of making your own strawberry sauce, you can use your favorite store-bought strawberry sauce instead.
