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Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream ~ creamy and smooth, with tart undertones that you’d expect from a good ripe strawberry. Add in a touch of Grand Marnier, buttermilk and mascarpone cheese, the richness shines through in this eggless, dreamy, frozen treat!
I was just wondering if you’re tired of my Grand Marnier / strawberry obsession?
This lovely orange liqueur performs some kind of magic on strawberries! We added Grand Marnier to our gorgeous and Easy Strawberry Sorbet Recipe, and this Easy Small-Batch Strawberry Jam. Don’t miss our fun and delicious Strawberry Dutch Baby with Grand Marnier soaked berries – so good! And finally, we’re absolutely nuts for our Strawberry Mascarpone Cake made with a simple lemon scented cake filled with mascarpone cream and topped with Grand Marnier soaked strawberries.
If you’re not a fan of cooking and baking with alcohol, feel free to substitute fresh orange juice in equal amounts, or leave it out all together.
In frozen desserts, the little bit of liqueur keeps the ice cream from freezing hard as a rock. It’s easily scooped but not at all like soft serve. The texture is practically perfect and you can’t even taste the alcohol. And I would know – because I tasted, and re-tasted this Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream, one spoonful at a time! Just to make sure, of course.
You’ll need a blender, or food processor, and an ice cream maker for this recipe.
Don’t let the equipment scare you, this is super easy to whisk together and there’s no cooking, no tempering the eggs or any other steps to worry about. Fast and easy – and delicious. Hope you’ll give it a try with your best, fresh strawberries this season.
Grocery store strawberries can be hit and miss so here are a few tips for finding the best:
- Look for strawberries with light colored seeds. If the seeds on the outside are dark brown and dried up, the strawberry probably is too.
- Buy local strawberries if at all possible. Less time traveling to your kitchen will yield fresher strawberries, thus better flavor. If you’re buying strawberries from another country they may have been picked before they were fully ripe to survive the long distance commute.
- Look for strawberries that are red all the way to the top. If the top is white, the middle of the strawberry will be too. White strawberry tops yield less flavor.
- Finally, if you can pick your own strawberries at a local farm – go for it!
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Creamy and smooth with a touch of Grand Marnier, buttermilk and mascarpone cheese, the richness shines through in this eggless, dreamy, frozen treat!
- 2 cups fresh, hulled strawberries
- 2 ounces mascarpone cheese
- 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier liqueur
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- pinch of fine sea salt
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
Clean and wash the strawberries removing the hulls and stems.
Add the strawberries to a food processor or blender carafe. Add the mascarpone cheese and Grand Marnier. Process or blend until pureed, but leaving a few small chunks. Set aside.
In a 2 quart bowl with a lid, combine the milk, sugar and salt. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Add the cream, vanilla and buttermilk. Add the strawberry mixture and blend together until combined.
Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Process the ice cream in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer instructions. Serve immediately for soft serve texture or freeze in an airtight container for 8 hours or overnight.
Substitute fresh orange juice, or other orange liqueur, for the Grand Marnier if desired.
You may also substitute cream cheese for the mascarpone if desired.
This recipe has not been tested with frozen store-bought strawberries. As with any fruit dessert, the quality of the fruit will have a big impact on the taste of the recipe. Use the seasons best strawberries for best results.
We love ice cream here at SRFD and have a few more recipes you might like to try. One of our favorite ice cream recipes to ever come out of my kitchen is this Buttermilk Honey Ice Cream. You just have to try it! For the chocolate lover, we have a terrific Chocolate Chocolate-Chunk Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream that is worth every, single calorie. This Salted Watermelon (No Churn) Ice Cream ~ from Pint Sized Baker sounds like a terrific summer treat. How about diving into a bowl of Dark Chocolate Orange Ice Cream ~ from Barefeet in the Kitchen?
Here are a few of our favorite kitchen tools that can be used in making ice cream – click on each of the photos for more information:
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Thanks so much for stopping by. Tricia
Originally published May 2017, updated May 2019
Liz says
Such a dreamy, creamy ice cream!! My son asked why I was posting so many strawberry recipes….I hadn’t noticed, but it must be the spring air! I’ll be adding your ice cream to my must make list!
Tricia Buice says
I saw the more strawberry recipes the better! I never seem to tire of their versatility and amazing flavor. Looking forward to all your great recipe Liz!
Chris Scheuer says
I love your obsession, Tricia, keep it coming! This ice cream is so pretty and just seems to scream “summer”! Pinning for a summer ice cream party!
Tricia Buice says
Thanks Chris! We always had ice cream at family holiday gatherings during the summer. Ready for summers holidays 🙂
sue | the view from great island says
Mascarpone adds such a lovely flavor to ice cream, and I’m drooling over the pretty pink color!
Tricia Buice says
Thanks Sue!
2 Sisters Recipes says
Oh my! This sounds wonderful with the addition of mascarpone and Grand Marnier -and your mouth watering photos? oh my – another pure heaven recipe!!
Tricia Buice says
Awww thanks Anna! Hope you are both doing great.
Robyn says
You have the most beautiful light in your kitchen, Tricia, and the way it highlights this yummy dish is crazy! I could o a swan dive onto your table!
I love strawberries and Grand Marnier so I’m all over this. Strawberry season is almost here and I may just buy myself a tent and pitch it in the local fields. 🙂
Can’t wait to hear about your trip. I know you’re having a fabulous time and how great to be disconnected from the internet for 10 days!
Tricia Buice says
Thank you Robyn! You are the sweetest. We had such a great trip and I have so much to share! Being unplugged was much more fun than I thought it was going to be. But happy to be home and look forward to getting back in the kitchen too.
Susan says
I love to add a splash of Grand Marnier when I macerate strawberries! It is a delicious combination but I’ve not tried it with ice cream. Great idea, Tricia!
Tricia Buice says
The little bit of liqueur really makes a difference in ice cream Susan. It helps keep it from freezing so hard without making it too soft. LOVE the flavors!
John/Kitchen Riffs says
Impossible to get tired of strawberries and Grand Mariner! Good combo. And this is good — really good! — ice cream. Thanks!
Tricia Buice says
Amen John! Thanks 🙂
Gerlinde says
What a great combination, I have to try it because I love strawberry icecream.
Tricia Buice says
If you love strawberry ice cream, I bet you love this too Gerlinde. Thank you!
tanna says
You had me at Grand Marnier…. then there was the buttermilk and mascarpone cheese! Hooked! Sounds so delicious. Thank you, Tricia!!! blessings and hugs ~ tanna
Tricia Buice says
Thank you Tanna!
sippitysup says
Some folks are chocolate, some are vanilla, but I’ve always been strawberry. GREG
Tricia Buice says
There you go! I was always chocolate until I grew up and found variety is the spice of life. We love this recipe and the flavor combination. Hope you’ll try it sometime.
cheri says
Hi Tricia, oh this has to taste heavenly, Orange liqueur and mascarpone…….oh my!!!!
Tricia Buice says
I am stuck on this wonderful combination Cheri. Thank you – it is delicious!
Pam says
Grand Marnier, mascarpone and strawberries and sugar–sounds like a winner to me! Ummm! I haven’t made ice cream in ages and now I guess, I’ll have to after seeing this! Thanks, Tricia, for the recipe!
Tricia Buice says
My ice cream maker was calling to me Pam – it had been too long! Thank you so much.
handmade by amalia says
This looks AMAZING. I always say that my favorite ice cream is the chestnut ice cream I had in Italy, but it is not, it is strawberry 🙂
Amalia
xo
Tricia Buice says
Yeah! Hope you get the chance to try it Amalia. Thank you so much.
[email protected] is How I Cook says
OK. So I always choose chocolate. OK. Now I can’t wait to try this with buttermilk and mascarpone cheese, I am SOLD!
Tricia Buice says
We love this recipe Abbe – hope you’ll try it too 🙂 Thanks again for all your help. We had an amazing trip and can’t wait to share it with you.
Nicole says
This looks gorgeous!
Tricia Buice says
Thanks Nicole! It is so delicious – the perfect summer treat 🙂
Karly says
Drool. Totally craving this right now… the perfect summertime dessert! Would be perfect sandwiched between two sugar cookies, too… just a thought 😉
Tricia Buice says
Thank you Karly! We finished this off last night and everybody loved it … again 🙂 A strawberry ice cream sandwich is a perfect idea. Thank you!
Genevieve Broadway says
Can I make this recipe in my vitamix?
Tricia Buice says
I think that would be fine Genevieve. You won’t have any chunks at all, but the flavor is what matters. Just don’t over-blend. Thanks for the great question 🙂
Monica says
Of course you would nail strawberry ice cream, which I hear is hard to make well at home. Your version looks absolutely perfect. So smooth and inviting, and I’m all for the Grand Marnier combo. Ice cream is my kryptonite so I try not to start too often because I end up way over-indulging. I don’t think I could resist this.
Hope you had a great Mother’s Day!! And safe travels!
Tricia Buice says
Thank you Monica! We’re getting very excited, and nervous. Hope you had a nice Mother’s Day too!
sue | theviewfromgreatisland says
What a luscious ice cream, the mascarpone cheese sounds incredible, and of course a little booze never hurt anything! Pinning and sharing 🙂
Tricia Buice says
It does have a flair for the luscious Sue. So creamy and delicious! Thank you very much for sharing!
Chris Scheuer says
This looks AMAZING!! I was actually thinking of making strawberry ice cream today but I think I’d rather just come and have a big bowl of yours!! It’s almost too pretty for words!
Tricia Buice says
Better hurry Chris – it’s going fast 🙂 Hope you enjoyed a lovely Mother’s Day. Thanks for stopping by!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says
Absolutely perfect Tricia! You had me at mascarpone 🙂 Can’t wait for fresh, local strawberries here!
Tricia Buice says
Thanks Jennifer. That little bit of mascarpone really gives it that extra creaminess we all love in ice cream. Hope your berries ripen up soon!
Larry says
Looks delicious and perfect for our high 80’s temps this week. As it turns out, we rough blended some local berries last week and stuck in the freezer and I would guess your two cups of whole berries would yield a cup or so of the puree, so we may give it a try with then.
Tricia Buice says
Sounds like a great idea Larry. Thank you so much!
[email protected]'s Recipes says
Orange liqueur, mascarpone and local berries…such a heavenly combo! I seriously need to get my ice cream maker out…it’s covered with dust sitting somewhere in the kitchen cabinet.
Tricia Buice says
I hear you and I understand Angie – it had been a long time since we made homemade ice cream. We even shared this delicious treat with our kids. I guess we’ll need to make some more soon!