White Chocolate-Rose Ice Cream with Strawberry Swirl

I like making ice cream.  It’s sort of my thing.

Sometimes I dream up flavors in the wee hours of the morning, or as I’m trying to fall asleep at night.  (Sometimes it’s the same thing.)  I like eating ice cream too, so it’s a win-win situation for me.

This flavor came from a bar of chocolate I bought on a whim.  It just looked good to me.  I was out with my kindred spirit, Amy, and there it was–a bar of white chocolate infused with rose and teeming with little tart pieces of dried strawberries.  (Amy, there were two bars in the package.  I’m sorry I forgot to give you the other bar.  Really sorry.  You totally missed out because I was a glutton.)

The rose flavor hit me first, followed by the sweet, creaminess of the white chocolate.  Then the tart strawberry was left after the chocolate melted away.  Pure love.  That’s all I can say.

I’ve eaten my share of chocolate.  I have the bum and thighs to prove it.  But never have I enjoyed a bar of chocolate so much in my life.  Truly.

The next thought that came to my mind was that I wanted those flavors embodied in an ice cream.  It had to be done.  The Universe willed it to happen the day my eyes fell on that bar.

I will always love rose-flavored anything.  I will love anything that smells like roses.  I wear rose perfume almost every single day during the summer.  My maiden name is Rose.  My grandmothers and my great-grandmother all grew roses in their yard.  Roses are simply my favorite.  And now there’s this ice cream to love too.

Rose-White Chocolate Ice Cream with Strawberry Swirl

original recipe

Ingredients:

For ice cream:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
6 oz. best quality white chocolate, chopped (I used Valrhona Ivoire I got from Caputo’s)
2 cups whole milk
6 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
2 Tbsp. rose water
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For strawberry swirl:

8 oz. fresh or frozen strawberries, sliced in half, plus more for a garnish
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. rose water

Instructions:

For ice cream:

Place the white chocolate in a heat proof bowl.  Bring heavy cream just to a boil in a medium, 2-quart saucepan.  Pour over the white chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes.  Whisk well.

In the meantime, in the same pan, heat the milk until very hot, but not boiling.  In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and pinch of salt until thick and pale yellow.  Carefully drizzle a little of the hot milk into the egg/sugar mixture, whisking well.  Add the rest of the hot milk in a slow, steady stream while whisking.  Add to the white chocolate and cream.  Pour everything back into the saucepan and cook gently over medium heat until the temperature reaches 170 degrees F. on an instant-read thermometer.  Immediately remove from heat and pour through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl.  Add the vanilla and rose water.  Let cool slightly and cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 3 hours or overnight.

While ice cream custard base is chilling, prepare the strawberry swirl.

For strawberry swirl:

Place the strawberries and sugar in a small pan and bring to a simmer.  Cook until syrupy.  Mash the strawberries with a potato masher.  Let cool, cover and chill until very cold.

Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer directions.  Transfer the ice cream to a large freezer-proof container with a tight-fitting lid.  Add the strawberry sauce to the ice cream and using a butter knife or thin spatula, swirl the sauce through the ice cream.

Cover tightly with the lid and freeze until firm enough to scoop.

To serve:

Scoop ice cream into serving bowls and top with fresh or frozen sliced strawberries.  Or a sugar cone would not be out of order here too.

Yields about 1 1/2 quarts of ice cream.