While you can still find good strawberries, on an early summer day, make a great strawberry shake. Retreat to that shady corner of the garden, under the oak canopy, listen to the melody of the birds and the whispering of the breezes through the branches, and linger over your shake. There's not much that's more refreshing and satisfying than a thick strawberry shake made with fresh, plump strawberries and premium ice cream. This one is topped with sweetened, flavored whipped cream.
The following recipe makes two shakes. So as to not overfill the blender, make a half at a time.
2 1/2 cups of ripe, fresh strawberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar about
3 cups premium vanilla ice cream
2/3 cup half and half (or a 50:50 mixture of milk and whipping cream)
sweetened whipped cream for topping
1. Wash, trim, and slice the berries. Sprinkle the sugar on the berries and let them soak at room temperate for two hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
2. Place half the strawberries and half the ice cream in a blender plus half the juice from the berries. Puree until smooth and combined. Add half of the half and half and mix.
3. Put the shake in a tall, chilled glass while you make the second shake.
4. Top the shakes with whipped cream and an optional strawberry and serve.
There are some tricks to making a very good strawberry shake. Start with the very best berries. If they are not fully ripe, they won't be flavorful but if they are starting to get mushy, they may have an off-taste. And put the right amount of berries in the shake. Judge the amount by the color of the shake; it should be a rich but pastel pink. If it's too light, add more berries.
Sample your shake before you serve it. If it's not sweet enough, add another spoon or two of sugar. If it doesn't have enough flavor, add a teaspoon of strawberry flavor.
Chill the blender and glasses in the freezer before making the shakes. If your blender is at room temperature, it melts the ice cream and your shakes will not be as thick as they should. Use ice cream that is rock hard. (It's easer to remove rock hard ice from the package with a spade than with an ice cream scoop.) And don't run the blender longer than is needed. The heat from the motor will start to melt your ice cream.
For the whipped cream topping:
1 cup heavy whipping cream (the fat content should be 35% or more)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or other flavor
1. Chill the cream, the utensils, and bowl that you will be using.
2. Beat the cream at medium speed until soft peaks form.
3. Add the powdered sugar and flavor and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Do not over whip.
Instead of vanilla, try a different flavor. Strawberry of course works but any of the "warm" flavors will do. French vanilla, brown sugar, and caramel are all good choices.
Baker's note: If you have extra whipped cream, try freezing it. Spoon mounds onto waxed appear and put the sheet with whipped cream into the freezer. Once frozen, you can peel the mounds of whipped cream from the waxed paper, and store them in zipper plastic bag.