Ultimate Strawberry Milkshake

Strawberry milkshakes are delicious when they are done well. A milkshake should be flavorful and indulgent, as well as the perfect way to treat yourself on a hot day. Too often, however, strawberry shakes don’t have enough fresh strawberry flavor or are so light and fluffy that you don’t get that rich ice cream consistency that you want to have in a milkshake.

My Ultimate Strawberry Milkshake tastes the way that I wish all strawberry milkshakes tasted: like strawberries! It is made with pan-roasted strawberries. Cooking the strawberries with a little bit of sugar releases the berries’ juices and allows their flavor to become more concentrated. It also tenderizes the berries so that they blend up even more smoothly than fresh berries do – and that means you shouldn’t have any chunks of berry clogging up your straw. I combined the berries with vanilla bean ice cream and a little bit of milk just to thin the shake to a drinkable consistency without diluting the other flavors. I think that vanilla is a fantastic base that lets the strawberries really stand out. The milkshake has just the right amount of sweetness and it goes down far too easily once you’ve poured it out into serving glasses. Fortunately, you can double or triple this recipe to serve a crowd – or just to have extra on hand when you’re ready for seconds.

You can prepare the pan-roasted strawberries well in advance and keep the in your fridge so you have them on hand, or prepare them as-needed. Since I don’t like to wait for my milkshakes, I will often cool the cooked strawberries down by transferring them to a clean bowl and putting them in an ice bath. This cooling method means that I only have to wait 5-10 minutes after cooking until I have my milkshake in my hand and it is ready to drink.

Ultimate Strawberry Milkshake
6 oz fresh strawberries, diced (1 heaping cup, diced)
3 tbsp sugar
8-oz vanilla bean ice cream
1/4-1/2 cup milk

In a small nonstick skillet, combine strawberries and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the berries begin to release their juices and the sugar dissolves into the juice. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2-4 more minutes, allowing the strawberries to become very tender and the juice to become concentrated.
Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Combine strawberry mixture, vanilla ice cream and 1/4 cup milk in a blender and blend until very smooth. If desired, add up to 1/4 cup additional milk to thin the milkshake.
Top with whipped cream and serve immediately.

Serves 2.