Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Yesterday was National Ice Cream Day. Better late than never, right?

Cheesecake ice cream is my favorite kind (after birthday cake, of course) and I hate how most store-bought ones contain strawberries but for some reason I couldn’t bear to leave out the strawberries that I had sitting in my fridge.

The ice cream turned out great! If you get a bite of the strawberry with a cream cheese piece it really does taste like a frozen cheesecake. You could definitely make it more cheesecake-y if you were willing to actually make a cheesecake and cut it up but I think that’s kind of unnecessary. The tanginess of the cream cheese provided a nice contrast which would be almost lost if you used an actual cheesecake.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

2 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
⅓ cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup strawberries (diced)
2 ounces cream cheese (cut into small pieces)

Whisk egg yolks in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, heat cream and sugar until sugar dissolves and cream is almost boiling. Pour a small amount of the mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Pour eggs into the cream while you continue to whisk the entire thing. Cook at low heat until the mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Chill in refrigerator.

Once chilled, freeze in ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. About 10 minutes it, add strawberries and cream cheese. Store in airtight container.