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This is a tale of serendipity, defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as the faculty of making happy and unexpected discoveries by accident.
Etymology: < Serendip, a former name for Sri Lanka + -ity suffix.
A word coined by Horace Walpole, who says (Let. to Mann, 28 Jan. 1754) that he had formed it upon the title of the fairy-tale ‘The Three Princes of Serendip’, the heroes of which ‘were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of’.
What began as a quest to use up a mountain of extra strawberries turned into an attempt at strawberry-pinot noir jam (said to be an excellent accompaniment for cheese and grilled meats) and evolved further to become strawberry ice cream. That didn’t work out exactly as planned either but it turned out to be a delightful, serendipitous surprise – Frozen Strawberry Mousse, enhanced by wine AND liqueur. Oh happy day!
The strawberry + wine jam was inspired by this recipe (which uses rosé – that sounds good too) but I did a poor job of fulfilling its destiny. I had issues with the candy thermometer and ended up with a too-dense fruity substance. It tasted good but was just not spreadable.
What to do? Ilise suggested swirling it into homemade vanilla ice cream. Upon consulting my go-to guide, The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein, we decided that a variation on their no-cook Marmalade Ice Cream was the way to go. Substitute the strawberry-pinot jam and Chambord for marmalade and Grand Marnier. (The recipe calls for strawberry schnapps, but come on, who’s got that [or wants that] in their liquor cabinet? Raspberry liqueur works well.) Mix it all up and freeze in the ice cream maker. Bada boom bada bing.
The recipe forewarned that the ice cream would be soft, and it was. Fine, no problem. We kept it in the freezer until the dessert course of our Mother’s Day brunch. My MIL loves ice cream (who doesn’t?!) so we knew this would be a hit. And it was.
It just wasn’t ice cream.
I’ve tried multiple methods for making ice cream/gelato/sorbet/frozen dessert/what have you, and it’s just a fact that the no-cook versions end up … different. It was creamy, rich, flavorful, and had a nice soft-frozen texture. Although there’s no chocolate in it at all, I swore I tasted some melting on my tongue as I savored each bite of this luscious treat, whatever we want to call it. To gild the lily you could add another little drizzle of the liqueur over top of each portion at serving time.
So you see? Through a series of happy accidents, we’ve discovered a new favorite decadent dessert and now, serendipitously, pass on it on to you. Enjoy!
Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
The recipe forewarned that the ice cream would be soft, and it was. Fine, no problem. We kept it in the freezer until the dessert course of our Mother’s Day brunch. My MIL loves ice cream (who doesn’t?!) so we knew this would be a hit. And it was.
It just wasn’t ice cream.
I’ve tried multiple methods for making ice cream/gelato/sorbet/frozen dessert/what have you, and it’s just a fact that the no-cook versions end up … different. It was creamy, rich, flavorful, and had a nice soft-frozen texture. Although there’s no chocolate in it at all, I swore I tasted some melting on my tongue as I savored each bite of this luscious treat, whatever we want to call it. To gild the lily you could add another little drizzle of the liqueur over top of each portion at serving time.
So you see? Through a series of happy accidents, we’ve discovered a new favorite decadent dessert and now, serendipitously, pass on it on to you. Enjoy!
Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
| Printable Recipe- Strawberry Jam Ice Cream |
Boozy Strawberry Mousse
aka Strawberry Jam Ice Cream
Recipe source: The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein
INGREDIENTS:
DIRECTIONS:
Yield: 1 quart
aka Strawberry Jam Ice Cream
Recipe source: The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 ¼ cups strawberry jam
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons Chambord (raspberry liqueur) or strawberry schnapps if you have it. Can substitute simple syrup if desired.
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1 cup heavy cream
DIRECTIONS:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the strawberry jam, vanilla, and liqueur or syrup. Mix well.
- Stir in the half-and-half and cream.
- Freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- When finished, the ice cream will be very soft but ready to eat. Although this ice cream will not freeze hard, you can transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze to firm up a little more.
Yield: 1 quart
Image: Pixabay
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