Loaded with crushed meringues and macerated strawberries!

It’s too hot to bake. I have a list as long as your arm of projects I had intended to tackle over my summer vacation, but with temperatures hovering around 38°C (100°F), there is no way I am turning the oven on! We have eaten salad every night for a week and will continue to do so for the… well, the foreseeable future is the 10 day forecast on the weather app.

But to balance all that healthy salad, my freezer holds a veritable mountain of ice cream 😉

There is a lovely range of textures to this dessert treat – ever-so-creamy ice cream, bites of chewy meringue and frozen chunks of sweet strawberry. And it’s another no-churn jobbie.

Makes about 2.5 litres (5 pints)
Active: 10 minutes
Resting: 1 hour
Freezing: 6 hours or overnight

Ingredients

500g (about 1 pound) strawberries
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
500ml (2 cups) whole cream
1 x 397g (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk, chilled
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large or 8 small meringues – about 2 cups when crumbled

Directions

Wash, hull and dice the strawberries into pieces about 1cm (2/5″), place in a glass or ceramic bowl and sprinkle with the sugar. Stir briefly then cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to macerate for at least an hour.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream on medium-high speed until thick and fluffy, but not to the texture of whipped cream, 3 – 4 minutes on medium. Be careful not to overbeat.

Add the condensed milk and vanilla and beat just until very soft peaks form when the whisk is lifted – it should have a thick, mousse-like consistency.

Crumble the meringues roughly.

Stir the strawberries (and the juice in the bowl) and the meringue pieces into the cream mixture.

Pour mixture into a container, seal tightly and freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight.