I browsed Pinterest for inspiration to make milkshake but what greeted me was a ton of photos of colorful concoctions with toppings so ridiculously high that I must have made a loud sound of exasperation. Alex was suddenly on my side and telling me about their experience in U.P. Maginhawa where people her age were lining up at a stand that sold ridiculously overdecorated drinks. Her friend, Joshua, who was vacationing from Australia had been seeing photos of the stall’s milkshakes on Instagram and he’d been craving for a glass. As it turned out, the pretty drinks didn’t taste as good as they looked.
Yes, I know that the current fad is to top milkshake with every imaginable thing—including donuts, cake slices and cotton candy—but over-the-top just isn’t my style. In my book, if the milkshake tastes like crap, no amount of decoration will magically make it taste good. So this is old-fashioned strawberry milkshake made with frozen strawberries, ice cream, milk, sugar and dark chocolate ganache. The garnish is secondary; the flavor and texture of the milkshake are paramount. A delightful snack you can share with loved ones on Valentine’s Day.
- 2 cups diced strawberries
- 125 grams dark chocolate chopped
- 1/2 cup cream
- 2 cups vanilla ice cream homemade or store-bought
- 2 cups cold milk
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- scoops of vanilla ice cream
- whole strawberries
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Place the strawberries in a tightly covered container and freeze.
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When the strawberries are rock hard, place three milkshake glasses in the freezer. Leave for ten minutes.
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Make the ganache by heating the chocolate and cream in the microwave, on HIGH, for about 30 seconds. Stir until smooth.
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Take the glasses out of the freezer and drizzle some of the ganache down the sides--inside the glasses, NOT outside.
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Dump the frozen strawberries, ice cream, milk and quarter cup of sugar into the blender. Process until smooth. Taste and add the rest of the sugar, if needed. Pulse a couple of times to blend in the added sugar.
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Pour the milkshake into the prepared glasses.
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Top each glass of milkshake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
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Dip the whole strawberries in the remaining chocolate and press into the ice cream.
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Drizzle the rest of the ganache over the milkshake.
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Serve the old-fashioned strawberry milkshake at once.
