Taking the ordinary and elevating it beyond everyday standards, is one coping mechanism I've been using during the past year. From a different flavored coffee syrup every week or so, to making snacks a little more jazzy, it's been my most reliable form of self-comforting, control-taking, and source of enjoyment. When I want my ice cream to be more fun, I put this roasted strawberry ice cream topping atop my evening scoop.
This roasted strawberry topping would be equally delicious on a cheesecake too. Lately I've been in a bit of a cooking and baking rut. The idea of making a cheesecake seems like way too much! Like most people I am in a weird phase of pandemic burn out, even if I enjoy the staying at home. It's mostly the everyone else and their opinions everywhere all of the time that I am burning out on. Anyways, more strawberry ice cream topping and less ennui.
Roasted Strawberry Ice Cream Topping
Ingredients
- 16 ounces fresh strawberries, quartered
- ½ cup brown or turbinado sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla paste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Mix the three ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Line an 8x8 or 9x9 Pyrex baking dish with parchment paper. Spoon the strawberry mixture in, and spread evenly in the pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Let cool and use a spatula to pour the berries and pan juices into a resealable container. Keep refrigerated until use. Use within 7 days as a topping for ice cream, cheesecake, or anything else.
The Difference Between Brown and Turbinado Sugar
Brown sugar and turbinado sugar both have a lot of different names between the two of them for being such similar things in the end. Brown sugar is processed into white sugar. This separates out the molasses that makes it brown. But then the molasses is added back in, to make light brown sugar with less molasses and dark brown sugar with more molasses. So the only difference here is how molasses-y you want your final product to be.
Turbinado sugar is made similarly. It is a little more "natural" in that the proper amount of molasses is spun out, and isn't added back. So it goes through less processing and manipulation. Turbinado sugar is also commercially sold as "Sugar in the Raw" in the United States. A similar product called demerara sugar is sold in Great Britain. Turbinado sugar has notably less molasses than light brown sugar, and is the lightest colored sugar with molasses left in it.
You can use any of the above interchangeably depending on your preference for the deep, molasses-y taste from a darker brown sugar versus the lighter turbinado. Neither way is wrong, it — like so much in cooking — is up to your personal taste.
