Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Ice Cream

Everyone in our family loves pie, and what is pie without a scoop of ice cream? We decided to take the best of both worlds and make a strawberry rhubarb pie ice cream, and it has quickly become one of our favorite summer treats. While rhubarb is not for everyone, Boy Mimi especially loves the sweet tart flavor it gives to pies, crumbles, and now ice cream.  When he was small, my sister owned a pie shop and she brought him his first strawberry rhubarb pie, and the rest is history. He is the first to suggest a rhubarb treat as soon as we see some at the farmer's markets in the spring.

Although I usually have a fairly successful garden, rhubarb is something I've had a difficult time growing. This year I finally had enough to make a few batches of jam with some rhubarb left over for a few extra treats. For this ice cream, we used a combination of our classic vanilla base with a strawberry rhubarb swirl, and topped it off with the pie crust crumble from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook. It might look like just a scoop of ice cream, but the tartness of the rhubarb and the sweetness of the strawberries, combined with the creamy vanilla ice cream and crunchy pie crust all make for a few perfect bites full of the taste of summer. I hope my rhubarb is successful again next year- this ice cream will be one of the first things we make. 

 Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Ice Cream

Ice Cream
5 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
3/4 cups milk (I use 2%)
2 Tablespoons corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a bowl,mix the eggs yolks with half of the sugar. In a medium sauce pan heat milk,cream, remaining sugar and corn syrup together until it simmers.
Gradually add the milk to the egg mixture. Return mixture to pan and cook stirring constantly until thickened and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Mixture will hold a clear path when you run your finger across the spoon.
Remove from heat, strain through a fine mesh strainer, stir in vanilla and cool to room temperature. Chill mixture 3 to 4 hours or overnight before processing  in your ice cream maker, according to manufacturers directions.

Strawberry- Rhubarb Swirl
1 cup chopped strawberries
1 cup chopped rhubarb 
1/2- 1 cup sugar depending on the sweetness of the strawberries
juice of 1/2 lemon.

Mix all ingredient in a sauce pan. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil and cook for about 4-6 minutes until mixture thickens slightly (like runny jam, it will thicken further as it cools). Cool to room temperature and chill until ready to use.

Pie Crumbs 
 Momofuku Milk Bar 
1 1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick butter melted 
1 1/2 tablespoons water

 Heat oven to 350 F. Combine flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and paddle on low speed until well mixed. Add the butter and water and paddle on low speed until mixture starts to come together in small clumps. Spread the clumps on a parchment/silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, breaking up the clumps occasionally.
The crumbs should be golden brown and still slightly moist to the touch at that point; they will dry and harden as they cool. When ice cream has churned, swirl in the strawberry rhubarb mixture. Freeze until firm. Sprinkle with pie crumb  when serving.
printable recipe

Link:Foodie Friday

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Boy Mimi loves rhubarb pie. When his auntie had a pie shop, that was always his request and she never let him down. Sadly, the pie shop is no longer around, but his rhubarb requests have not ceased. To make up for the lack of a family pie shop, I've been trying to grow rhubarb for a few years, but it always succumbs to the summer heat. This year I added a heavy mulch to keep the soil cool, and so far this seems to be doing the trick. The rhubarb is healthy and producing nice big stalks. Since I know my pies will never measure up to my sister's in Boy Mimi's eyes, I made a strawberry rhubarb crisp instead with our first harvest.

This crisp hit all the right strawberry rhubarb notes- sweet and juicy from the berries, with a nice burst of tart from the rhubarb. The crumb topping added the perfect amount of crunch to the soft baked fruit. Despite all my years of failed rhubarb crops, this crisp made all the work worth it. We will definitely be making it again before our rhubarb is gone this summer, and are looking forward to an even bigger harvest next year.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

1/2 lb rhubarb

1/2 lb strawberries

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter 
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the rhubarb into 3/4 inch-thick slices and place in an 8x8 pan. Hull the strawberries and cut in half (or quarters if very large) and add to rhubarb. Toss with 1/2 cup sugar (more or less depending on the sweetness of your strawberries) and 2 tablespoons of flour.

2. In a food processor, pulse the remaing 1/4 cup flour with butter until you have pea sized pieces. Add the remaining 1/4 sugar, rolled oats, salt, and cinnamon, pulse to combine. Sprinkle over the strawberry rhubarb mixture.

3. Bake until rhubarb is tender and the topping is golden, 25-35 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream. 

printable recipe

link:Foodie Friday