Summertime in a bowl! The classic combo of strawberry + rhubarb swirled into frozen fruity ice cream and topped with deconstructed ice cream cone clusters!
I just un-invented the ice cream cone.
Because I’m pretty sure ice cream cones were invented to make ice cream easy to eat on the go without the need for utensils or dishes (although I could be getting my facts mixed up with corn dogs…?) But this recipe reverses all that functionality in the name crunchy toppings. The ice cream cone crunchies on top of this swirly bowl are one of the most scrumptious crunchy things to ever grace my tastebuds and I want to put them on every sweet creamy thing.
But I need to back up a bit from the finishing from the topping to the ice cream underneath. And then even a step further back to the homemade jam swirl. Actually all the way back to my embarrassing rhubarb confession.
This is my first time trying rhubarb.
My family were never fruit pie kind of people, and it can be a slightly intimidating produce item in it’s raw form if you are a newbie. But wouldn’t you know the day I finally decide to give it a shot I could not find the fresh stuff at either of my local stores. Luckily frozen rhubarb is a thing. A thing that’s already pre-sliced and ready to cook, making my first rhubarb cooking experience extra simple.
Whether you are using fresh or frozen, this jam is still simple to make and completely stirring-free. Because I certainly don’t want to stand by the stove and stir anything on a hot day. Unless it’s a coconut milk ice cream base, that would be worth it. But for this jam I chose a more hands off cooking method.
Roasting!
By roasting the rhubarb and berries in the oven, the rhubarb turns soft and the berries so very juicy. Honestly you could just spoon this chunky roasted duo straight from the pan to the ice cream bowl, but the leftovers are much more versatile if you go ahead and blend.
Before roasting I tossed the strawberries and rhubarb with maple syrup, lemon juice, and vanilla bean powder. After roasting, to keep with the easy jam-making theme, I transferred the steaming contents of that sticky sheet pan to my Vitamix, blended ever so briefly, and voila! Coral-colored, tart-sweet, strawberry rhubarb jam with minimum effort required.
My first impression: wow this stuff is tart! But in combination with the other sweeter ingredients in this strawberry vanilla bean rhubarb jam I do like it. And swirled into ice cream I like it even more.
This jam is quite low in sugar with just a quarter cup of maple syrup to sweeten the entire batch, so it will not last for decades in the fridge like store-bought jars do. Mine is about 10 days old at this point and still delicious, but I would estimate 2-3 weeks max.
Now onto the swirling sundae funday on a monday…
What better way to enjoy the summer vibe of strawberry + rhubarb than swirled into ice cream? Or in this case swirled into nice cream, because it’s easy and instant. Fruit swirled into fruit–nope that doesn’t seem excessive at all. The sweet-tart balance of berries to rhubarb is good, but the SWEET-tart balance of rhubarb swirled into ice cream is even better if you ask my tastebuds.
And now it’s finally time to sprinkle on those glorious cone clusters!
The process for making the clusters is similar to making granola if you were to replace all the usual oats with crushed up ice cream cones. I used my go-to cones because they are vegan and gluten-free and taste just like my most messy childhood ice cream-eating memories. Sugar cones work much better than waffle cones would for this. Their crunchiness only gets better after being crushed into shards, sticky syrup-coated, and baked for a second time into snappy sweet chunks.
Strawberry Rhubarb Swirl Nice Cream with Crunchy Cone Clusters
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Summertime in a bowl! The classic combo of strawberry + rhubarb swirled into frozen fruity ice cream and topped with deconstructed ice cream cone clusters!
Ingredients
Roasted Strawberry Vanilla Rhubarb Jam
- 1 pound strawberries, sliced ((fresh or frozen))
- 1 pound rhubarb, sliced ((I used frozen))
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean powder
Nice Cream
- Frozen bananas ((or vanilla ice cream of choice))
Crunchy Cone Clusters
- 6 sugar cones
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup oat flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- For the jam, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss to every coat.
- Spread onto a lined baking pan.
- Roast for 30-35 mins at 375F. The rhubarb should be very soft and easily pierced with a fork.
- Cool for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a blender and briefly blend to desired level of chunkiness.
- For the cone clusters, crush the ice cream cones into a bowl. Add the flour and maple syrup. Mix to combine.
- Spread onto a lined baking sheet and bake for 10-15 mins at 375F or until the edges are just starting to brown.
- Let them cool for at least 15 minutes before breaking apart into chunks.
- Blend the frozen bananas in a high speed blender or food processor until creamy and smooth. Stir in spoonfuls of jam.
- Scoop into bowls, top with cone clusters, and enjoy!
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Natalie you’re seriously ALWAYS coming up with super smart, easy methods for doing things and I’m always amazed! Love your method for making the jam – jam is always really intimidating to me, with the stovetop and the stirring and the stirring and the avoiding burning! So I love the idea of roasting, and better yet using a blender, too! The strawberry rhubarb combo is the epitome of summer, and you’ve definitely displayed it beautifully. Plus, who needs a cone under the ice cream when you can put endless amounts on top?! Have an awesome week!
As soon as I realized roasted jam was a thing, I loved the idea of homemade jam so much more! I just can’t with that while stovetop stirring thing either😜 Omg those crunchy cone prices are seriously addictive though. Happy Monday Sara!
This is everything I’ve been dreaming of since I started seeing rhubarb pop up!
I just can’t get enough of the tart stalky fruit-vegetable. Also can’t get enough ice cream soooo this is all I need all rhubarb season long <3
“stalky fruit-vegetable” lol that is the perfect description for it😂 I’m just gonna probably turn everything into ice cream for the next couple of months so I hope the world is cool with that!
Lol on your embarrassing confession. Then it’s high time I confess that I’ve never had rhubarb ever!! I really had no desire to until I saw this very frosty, very refreshing-looking treat. I must admit, I’m not always the biggest fan of tart desserts, but if you’ve given it the seal of approval, then I’m on board! This nice cream looks amazing, pretty, crunchy, creamy: basically all the things anyone needs to make this summer EPIC. 😍
Oh good, I’m not the last one to this rhubarb party at all it seems!! Yay for being decades late to funky summer produce items. You know I am sweet > tart all the way, that’s why lots of bananas and those sugary cone bits were a must. I can appreciate a little tartness when it’s paired with sweet stuff…or coated in chocolate🤗
Would you believe I’ve never tried rhubarb either?? So, you and I are very similar in that. Honestly, it just never appealed to me when there was always beautiful strawberries and raspberries to play with, lol. But, I’ve seen it paired with strawberries many times, so I’m guessing it’s a classic delicious combo! See, you saying they are tart…I never knew that! I’m completely clueless on what they taste like. Good to know they are tart, so I bet they balance out the sweetness from the strawberries really well. The nice cream is beautiful with all of those swirls. I do the roasting method as well for strawberry mousse! It’s one of my oldest recipes that I swear, am videoing this week and just bought strawberries for and then you post this and I’m like, holy moly, are we on the same wavelength or what. I’m trying to bring to life older recipes on my blog with fresh videos so they aren’t lost in dust and cobwebs, LOL! Anyways, this is gorgeous and I’m dying over the ice cream cone crumbles…you are AMAZING dear!!!
Oh good, well I feel better now that I’m not the only one new to this fruit-vegetable pink celery-look-alike stuff 😀 Yep pairing it with strawberries is the classic flavor combo, and I can see why as their sweetness is a good balance. Raspberries would be good too I’m sure but they are a little more tart themselves. It’s really tart, I was amazed, but I can totally see where it would be yummy in a sweet pastry crust too. I LOVE roasted strawberries!! I made balsamic roasted strawberries a long time ago sweetened with dates and it was so yummy. I actually never knew you had a roasted strawberry recipe on the blog, so yes it definitely deserves a video and some extra attention 🙂 Can’t wait to see!!
This is so perfect for the summer 🙂
Kinda like strawberry rhubarb pie with ice cream on top but minus the pie part 🙂 Thanks Pamela!
Natalie!!
Strawberry and Rhubarb, YUMMMMMM second best taste combo after salt and caramel. Thx
★★★★★
But what about chocolate + peanut butter??😳 Haha!
You temptress, you!! I also love pb and choc!
★★★★★
Can you believe I’ve never had rhubarb either??? I don’t even know what it looks like (i know…silly…). But you have me wanting to try it…i think i’d go for the already cut frozen variety from stores though for now. I actually love jams that are slightly on the tart side…and that paired up with nice cream sounds like an awesome summer combo. Not to mention my daughter is into all things PINK right now, so she’d love this!
★★★★★
Ha you should’ve seen me and my mom wandering around the produce section trying to find it, I kept telling her it just looks like celery but pink and is usually next to the berries…so confused lol. It’s clearly not something I’m too familiar with either. But yes the frozen stuff is so much more approachable, and I love the tart next to sweet too!
Everything about this recipe is amazing. But the crunchy cone topping… that is just pure brilliance. I am bookmarking this one!
Those cone bits really are the crunchy crispy star! Definitely not mad about having some leftovers😋😋