Old Fashioned Strawberry Ice Cream

1. Makes 1¼ quarts

1 pint strawberries, washed, hulled and halved
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 large egg
1 cup half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups heavy cream

Cheesecloth, optional
Additional strawberries for garnish, optional

1. Place the berries in a double boiler with ½ cup of sugar. Cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fruit is very soft.
2. ​Puree the fruit in a blender.
3. If you prefer, you can now strain the mixture through cheesecloth to remove the seeds, but it is not necessary.
4. ​Transfer the puree to a bowl and cool in the refrigerator.
5. Place the remaining sugar, egg, half and half and the vanilla extract in a blender and blend until the mixture is smooth and the sugar is dissolved.
6. Slowly, while the blender is running on its slowest speed, add the heavy cream.
7. Transfer the mixture to your ice cream freezer and process according to your machine’s instructions.
8. When the ice cream is about half frozen, add the fruit puree and continue the freezing as recommended by your machine’s instructions.
9. Garnish and serve.