This super creamy Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream tastes like a frozen version of the classic dessert. This no-churn recipe is made without an ice cream maker and with only 5 ingredients. The perfect way to satisfy your shortcake craving on warm summer days.
We have traditional Strawberry Shortcake, Strawberry Shortcake Cake, Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes, and now… Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream.
This no-churn recipe is made up of swirls of vanilla ice cream and strawberry ice cream with crushed shortbread cookies mixed throughout. Grab a spoon, let’s dig in!
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What is no-churn ice cream?
No-churn ice cream is ice cream that can be made without an ice cream maker. A typical no-churn ice cream recipe uses a combination of sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream that has been whipped to stiff peaks. The sweetness from the sweetened condensed milk and the fluffy quality of the whipped cream combine to make ice cream with an unbelievably smooth and creamy texture.
Recipe overview
You will need the following ingredients for this recipe:
- Heavy whipping cream
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Vanilla extract
- Freeze dried strawberries (processed into powder)
- Shortbread cookies
There are the three components of this recipe that work wonderfully together:
Vanilla ice cream: This is the equivalent to the whipped cream in strawberry shortcake. Layers of smooth and creamy vanilla ice cream are swirled into strawberry ice cream.
Strawberry ice cream: Here’s where the strawberry flavor comes in. Freeze dried strawberries are ground into a powder that is added to the ice cream base. This creates a vibrant pink ice cream with lots of strawberry flavor. Looking for even more strawberry flavor? See below for an optional topping.
Shortbread cookies: This is the “shortcake” portion of the recipe. Crumbled shortbread cookies are stirred into the ice cream adding a buttery crunch to every bite!
Special ingredient
Adding strawberries to ice cream can be a bit tricky. Strawberries contain a lot of moisture, so adding fresh strawberries to ice cream can make it icy. By using freeze dried strawberries we get an intense strawberry flavor without any extra moisture. The freeze dried strawberries are ground into a powder (I use a food processor), then the powder is whisked into the ice cream base.
Freeze dried strawberries are often sold near the dried fruit and nuts in the grocery store. Reminder: you want freeze dried strawberries (which are dry and crunchy) not dried strawberries which are chewy (similar to raisins).
Optional strawberry topping
I highly recommend serving this ice cream topped with Strawberry Sauce. When my family first tasted this ice cream we loved it, but found the only thing lacking was the juicy sweetness of fresh strawberries that you typically get in a shortcake. We started adding Strawberry Sauce on top and we were all blown away. Perfection!
Recipe tips
- Make sure the heavy cream is really cold. This ensures that it will whip up easily.
- Freeze in a loaf pan. A freezer-safe loaf pan is my favorite way to store this ice cream. It makes for super easy scooping! See more on this below under “storage”.
- Run your ice cream scoop under hot water before scooping to get the ice cream out easily.
Serving and storage
Serving: Serve this ice cream straight from freezer. Like other no-churn ice cream recipes this one will get quite soft and creamy after sitting out, so eat it right from the freezer.
Storage: This ice cream will keep for about one week if frozen in a loaf pan and tightly covered with plastic wrap (I use two layers). If you’d like to store it for longer than that (up to one month) you will want to store it in a tightly sealed freezer safe storage container.
More frozen treats
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Recipe
Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups freeze dried strawberries
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons malt powder *, optional
- 2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup crushed shortbread cookies
Instructions
- Place the freeze dried strawberries in a food processor and process into a fine powder. You should have about ⅓ cup powder. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, and malt powder (if using). Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold half of the whipped cream into the sweetened condensed milk. Then fold the remaining whipped cream into the sweetened condensed milk.
- Remove 2 generous cups and whisk the strawberry powder into that portion (it will be thick). You now have two ice cream bases: vanilla and strawberry.
- Alternate large scoops of the vanilla ice cream base and the strawberry ice cream base into a freezer safe container (I use a loaf pan). Sprinkle the shortbread cookies throughout and reserve some cookies for the top. Use the tip of a sharp knife to swirl the white and pink layers together. Sprinkle more crushed cookies on top. Tightly cover and freeze until frozen, at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.
Hanna
Adding the freeze-dried strawberries was a great tip. It turned out great! I found some at Trader Joe’s. Thanks for the great recipe!
Lisalia
YUMMY! I found freeze dried strawberries at Trader Joes – and because it’s strawberry season I topped this delicious ice cream with fresh chopped up strawberries too! This is my new favorite and I think I’ll make it year round. SO so so good. 10 star rating if I could leave one!!