No one needs an introduction to the famous Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, known for their wacky flavors and chunky-textured ice cream. Founded in 1978 by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the first Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop was born in a renovated gas station in downtown Burlington, Vermont. The little shop celebrated their first anniversary by offering their customers a free scoop, known as “Free Cone Day”. The annual ice cream give-away still takes place at scoop shops around the globe.
The company’s charitable, “give back to the people” culture continues on to this day. The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation was created in 1985, with a focus on supporting community -oriented projects, specifically children’s-based charities.
I didn’t have my first taste of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream until I was 21 years old! What rock was I living under? It was the “Cherry Garcia” flavor and my World was changed forever. I began a mission to try every other B&J flavor I could get my hands on. It was during this flavor journey that I discovered “Cool Britannia”. Never have I, before or since, loved an ice cream flavor as much as this!
And then the unthinkable happened. After only a 3 year “life span” (1995-1998), Cool Britannia went to the Ben & Jerry’s Graveyard and my heart was broken for eternity. I have had an easier recovery after a college break-up!
If you are unfamiliar with the Ben & Jerry’s graveyard, it is a small plot of land in Vermont at their home office. Here is where they lay to rest the retired flavors, never to to be resurrected again. Visitors (and mourners) can tour the gravesite and pay tribute to their favorite, forgotten flavors. Each flavor even has it’s own epitaph. Here is what is said about my beloved Cool Britannia:
A flavour so smashing –
& yet it fouled out:
Strawberries & shortbread –
a love match devout
But sadly it missed
all the fame it deserved,
A bit too much English
put into the serve.
BUT, with a little ingenuity and creativity, I have found a way to bring back to life my beloved. Using Ben & Jerry’s Vanilla as the base, you will get as close to the original Cool Britannia as ever. I hope you find as much joy with this flavor as I have. A love match devout, indeed!
Ingredients
- 3 pints of Ben & Jerry’s Original Vanilla Ice Cream
- 1 package (8 count) of Walker’s Shortbread
- 9-10 oz. (2-2 ½ cups) of dark chocolate chips
- 2 pints of fresh strawberries, cleaned and trimmed
Instructions
Microwave the chocolate chips in 30-second increments, until thoroughly melted.
Line a plate with parchment paper. Dip shortbread into the melted chocolate until thoroughly coated. Feel free to give the shortbread a second dip for more chocolate goodness. Place chocolate covered shortbread on lined plate and freeze until chocolate completely hardens.
Set ice cream on counter to soften. Place strawberries in a food processor and pulse until slightly chunky. Do not over pulse. You want the berries to have texture, not a puree.
When chocolate is completely hardened, remove shortbread from the freezer. Carefully chop the shortbread into bite-sized pieces.
Using a stand-mixer, mix the ice cream, strawberries and chocolate covered shortbread. I recommend blending the mixture in 3 separate batches for an even mixture, and not to over-crowd the mixing bowl.
Transfer the bended ice cream mixture into a freezer safe container, cover and freeze until completely frozen.
*Tip: If you do not have a stand-mixer, you will have to blend by hand. I recommend allowing the vanilla ice cream to set on counter for an additional 5-10 minutes to soften further, for easier mixing.
Other great Berry dessert recipes to try: Ruth’s Chris Steak House’s Berries with Sweet Cream and The Cheesecake Factory’s Original Classic Cheesecake with Glazed Strawberries.
FULL VIDEO TUTORIAL
