These no churn strawberry shortcake ice cream bars are a fabulous way to enjoy this much-loved nostalgic treat at home. Guaranteed to put you in good humor!
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Ah strawberry shortcake ice cream bars. Also known as strawberry crunch ice cream bars, shortcake ice cream bars and many others. They are a nostalgic part of many people's childhood. Many people have fond memories of the Good Humor ice cream truck coming around, dispensing treats such as shortcake popsicles, candy crunch and chocolate eclair.
After taking a hiatus for some time shortcake popsicles were brought back by popular demand in 1992 and have remained a firm favorite ever since. But in the words of Regurgertator, 'I like your old stuff better than your new stuff'. These iconic bars have changed over the years and not always in a good way.
So satisfy your strawberry shortcake cravings with these homemade ice cream bars. With no ice cream machine needed and plenty of that all-important crispy crunchy coating, you'll be munching on these delicious bars all summer long!
Recipe tips and frequently asked questions
Who created the strawberry shortcake ice cream bar?
According to Good Humour their founder Harry Burt created chocolate-coated ice creams in 1920. It was good, but the suggestion of his son to add a stick to make it easier to eat perfected it. Harry painted his invention but was only grated in for the production machinery, not the actual ice cream bars themselves.
Despite my digging so far I've been unable to find when shortcake popsicles specifically were first sold. If you know let me know in the comments and I'll update the post!
What is strawberry shortcake ice cream made of?
The original bars have a mix of cake crunch ingredients paired with industrial ice cream ingredients including milk, sugar, colors and strawberry puree. The homemade version has a shorter and simpler list of ingredients.
What are the crumbs on strawberry shortcake ice cream?
The crumbs on the outside of the ice cream bars, also called crunches, are traditionally made of cake crunch, with the usual cake ingredients of flour, sugar etc. Many will tell you these are also hands down the best bit of a strawberry crunch ice cream bar!
Is there coconut in strawberry shortcake ice cream?
Yes the original bars contain coconut. It's not a distinctive flavor in the bars but it's in there!
Is strawberry shortcake ice cream healthy?
Not so much. Like most ice cream it's full of sugar, fat and you know, flavor, so as with anything best enjoyed in moderation 🙂
Can I make this as regular scoopable ice cream?
You sure can. If you don't want to make the ice cream bars you can simply swirl the vanilla and strawberry ice cream elements together and freeze until firm. Mix the strawberry coating with the melted white chocolate, allow to set then chop and crumble over the ice cream.
Ingredients
Strawberries: Fresh strawberries add to the wonderful flavor of these classic ice cream bars. You could use just freeze-dried strawberries, but I find the combination of roasted fresh strawberries And freeze-dried strawberries gives the best flavor. Its worth the extra effort I promise!
Freeze-dried strawberries: are an essential part of ice cream bar to add the strawberry flavor to the outside coating. You can pick them up online or from health food stores. You only need about 1.5 oz (45 gms) in total.
Thickened cream: I use thickened cream which has a fat content of about 34%. You could also use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream which is similar.
Sweetened condensed milk: the sugar and other ingredients in the sweetened condensed milk means no additional sugar is needed and helps keep a smooth texture when the ice cream is frozen without the need for an ice cream machine. This is not the same as evaporated milk and you can not substitute with it.
Vanilla extract: sometimes also called vanilla essence, depending on where you live. You can use either, or imitation vanilla essence, depending on your preference and budget.
White chocolate melts: the chocolate forms a delicious crispy shell around the ice cream bars and provides the perfect thing to stick that crispy crunchy coating to!
Refined coconut oil - sometimes also called expeller pressed coconut oil. Using refined coconut oil is important because the refining process removed the coconut flavor and smell, resulting in a neutral oil. Unrefined coconut oil has a much stronger coconut taste a smell.
Rice Krispy cereal: also called rice bubbles. These give the best crispy crunch to these bars, but are not strictly speaking cake. For a more traditional coating you can substitute with shortbread cookies, sugar cookies or even dried toasted pound or vanilla cake.
White sugar (not pictured): a little white sugar helps get the juices going from the strawberries to roast them. You only need a teaspoon.
How to make Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
See the full recipe card at the end of the post for ingredient amounts and instructions.
Pre-heat your oven to 320°F (160°C/140°C fan-forced). Hull the fresh strawberries and half or quarter. Mix in a bowl with 1 teaspoon of sugar and spread out on a baking tray. Bake for 40 minutes or until the fruit is starting to roast and dry out. Allow to cool then blitz in a food processor.
Roughly divide the tin of sweetened condensed milk into roughly half. Wash and thoroughly dry the food processor. Measure the freeze-dried strawberries and process in food processor until a fine powder forms. Add the roasted blitzed strawberries and freeze-dried strawberry powder to one half of the condensed milk.
Whip the cream until firm peak form with electric hand beaters or in a stand mixer. Add half the whipped cream to the strawberry mix and carefully fold through. The mix will be quite thick.
Add the vanilla and the rest of the cream to the other half of the sweetened condensed milk and fold in well.
Spoon the vanilla mix into the molds until about half full. Put the strawberry mix into a piping bag with a large nozzle attached. Insert the piping bag into the vanilla mix in the molds. You want the nozzle near the bottom of the molds, then gently pipe in, putting the nozzle up so it fills the center of the molds with the strawberry mix.
There's a bit of a knack to this but you get it with practice! Even if the filling is a bit wonky it still tastes delicious. Leave a small gap at the top, then top with vanilla mix.
Put the lids on the popsicle molds and insert the sticks. Freeze for at least six hours or until very firm. Once the bars are frozen gently remove them from the molds. Run the bottom half of the molds very briefly under cool water. Insert a butter knife gently down each side of the ice cream bars, then gently pull them out by the sticks.
Hot tip: do not try to remove the ice cream bars directly from the molds without loosening them first. The ice cream does not freeze firm enough and they will break as you try to remove them from the molds.
Have an airtight container ready to put the unmolded bars into and some baking paper to keep them separated. Return the ice cream bars to the freezer for about an hour to firm up.
Add the white chocolate melts to a microwave-proof bowl and melt in the microwave in 30 second bursts until melted through. Add the refined coconut oil and mix well. You may need to heat the mix for another burst or two to get the coconut oil fully melted and mixed in.
Blitz freeze-dried strawberries for the coating in a clean, dry food processor. Add the rice crispy cereal and blitz briefly.
Prepare your dipping station with the chocolate coconut mix on one plate, then the strawberry rice crispy mix, then a container to return the bars to the freezer.
Working quickly dip one short side and one flat side of the bar into the chocolate mix. Quickly shake the drips off then put in the strawberry coating straight away and press down. Dip the other sides of the ice cream bar into the chocolate, shake off the excess and into the coating mix, pressing the coating on any exposed edges. Shake off any excess coating and put into the storage container.
Repeat with the remaining ice cream bars. Return to the freezer for one hour to firm up and you're done!
How to serve
To serve these strawberry shortcake popsicles remove them from the freezer and tuck in!
How to store
In the unlikely you have any left these strawberry shortcake bars will store well in an airtight container for up to three days for maximum crispy crunchy coating. If storing stacked together put a piece of baking paper between them to stop them from sticking together. They will still be good to eat for up to two months after this, but the coating will start to go soft and be less crunchy.
Have you made this recipe? Tell me how it went in the comments below and tag me on instagram so I can see your delicious creations! @keep_calm_and_eat_icecream
Looking for more yummy dessert recipes?
Why not try making
- No Churn Strawberry Ice Cream
- 3 Ingredient Ice Cream (no churn vanilla ice cream)
- Strawberry Compote (strawberry sauce)
- Strawberry Ice Cream (churned)
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📋 Recipe
Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
Equipment
- Stand mixer or electric hand mixers
Ingredients
For the ice cream layers
- 1 punet (250gms) fresh ripe strawberries
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1 x 14 oz (397 gms) tin sweetened condensed milk
- 2 cups (500mls) thickened cream
- 18ish (25gms) freeze dried strawberries
For the coating
- 2 & ⅓ cups (350gms) white chocolate melts
- ¾ cup (125gms) refined coconut oil
- 14ish (20gms) freeze-dried strawberries
- 1 & ½ cups (50gms) Rice krispy cereal/ rice bubbles
Instructions
To make the ice cream bars
- Pre-heat your oven to 320°F (160°C/140°C fan-forced). Hull the fresh strawberries and half or quarter. Mix in bowl with 1 teaspoon of sugar and spread out out a baking tray. Bake for 40 minutes or untill the fruit is starting to roast and dry out.
- Allow the strawberries to cool then blitz in a food processor. The strawberries will be reasonably dry so you may need to stop the machine and carefully poke them down a few times to blend them.
- Roughly divide the tin of sweetened condensed milk into two bowls. Wash and thoroughly dry the food processor. Measure the freeze-dried strawberries for the ice cream and process in food processor until a fine powder forms. Add the roasted blitzed strawberries and freeze-dried strawberry powder to one half of the sweetened condensed milk.
- Whip the cream until firm peak form with electric hand beaters or in a stand mixer. Add half the cream to the strawberry mix and carefully fold through. The mix will be quite thick.
- Add the vanilla and the rest of the cream to the other half of the sweetened condensed milk and fold in well, taking care not to knock the air out of the cream.
- Spoon the vanilla mix into the molds until about half full. Put the strawberry mix into a piping bag with a large nozzle attached. Insert the piping bag into the vanilla mix in the molds. You want the nozzle near the bottom of the molds, then gently pipe in, pulling the nozzle up so it fills the center of the molds with the strawberry mix. Leave a small gap at the top, top up with vanilla mix.
- Put the lids on the popsicle molds and insert the sticks. Freeze for at least six hours or until very firm.
- Have an airtight container ready to put the unmolded bars into and some baking paper to keep them separated. Run the bottom half of the molds very briefly under cool water. Insert a butter knife gently down each side of the ice cream bars, then gently pull them out by the sticks. Return the ice cream bars to the freezer for about an hour to firm up.
To coat the ice cream bars
- Add the white chocolate melts to a microwave proof bowl and melt in the microwave in 30 second bursts until melted through. Add the refined coconut oil and mix well. You may need to heat the mix for another burst or two to get the coconut oil fully melted and mixed in.
- Blitz freeze dried strawberries for the coating in a clean, dry food processor. Add the rice crispy cereal and blitz briefly.
- Prepare you dipping station with the chocolate coconut mix on one plate, strawberry rice crispy mix on another plate and a container to return the bars to the freezer.
- Working quickly dip one short side and large flat side of the bar into the chocolate mix. Shake the drips off then immediately put in the strawberry coating and press down. Gently brush off excess coating.
- Dip the other sides into the chocolate, shake off the excess and into the coating mix, pressing the coating on any exposed edges. Gently shake off any excess coating and put into the storage container.
- Repeat with the remaining ice cream bars. Return to the freezer for one hour to firm up and you're done!
Notes
- For an extra crispy crunchy (but less traditional) coating, use rice crispy cereal.
- To make regular scoopable ice cream simply swirl the strawberry and vanilla ice cream together into a loaf tin then freeze until firm. Mix the strawberry coating without the melted chocolate. Allow to set, chop and sprinkle on top of the ice cream and you're done!
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