Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Makes 1 Quart
3/4 Cup Sugar
3 oz. Cream cheese
2 Large egg yolks
1 1/2 Cups Milk
1 Cup Half-and-half
1 1/2 Cup Fresh Strawberries, coarsely chopped
1/8 Cup Powdered sugar
1/8 Cup Water
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
4 Graham crackers, crumbled (Optional)
Combine the sugar, cream cheese, and egg yolks into a large bowl. Beat them with a mixer at high speed until smooth. In a medium heavy saucepan, combine the milk and half-and-half. Bring the mixture a boil and then remove the pan from the heat.  Add 1/4 of the hot milk mixture to the sugar/cream cheese/egg mixture, while stirring constantly with a whisk to combine. This is called tempering.  Return this milk/sugar/cream cheese/egg mixture back to the saucepan with the remaining milk in it. Cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, until the mixture reaches 160 degrees when tested with a thermometer. (This just pasteurized your egg yolks) Ensure you continue to stir throughout the process.
Cool the mixture by placing the pan in an ice-filled bowl. Stir occasionally.While the mixture is cooling, combine the strawberries, powdered sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Let the mixture thicken a bit and stir frequently. Set this mixture aside to cool in a pan of ice as well.
Once both of your mixtures are completely cooled, stir the strawberry mixture into the milk mixture. Place into your refrigerator and chill for at least 3 hours. Once it’s cold, process it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When the ice cream is almost done processing, add the optional graham cracker pieces.
Place the ice cream in a separate container and put it in the freezer, for at least 3 hours, or overnight if possible. Enjoy.
