I came upon this recipe first in Good Things to Eat, published by the globe-trotting caterer and chef Rufus Estes in 1911. A Tennessee native born into slavery, Estes found success as a chef on private railcars and ocean liners, and his book was one of the first Black-authored cookbooks published in the twentieth century. The Baltimore ice cream recipe in the book, presented with no context, puzzled me. Every time I meet someone from Baltimore, I ask if they’ve heard of it. But so far, no one has. The one-sentence recipe is incredibly simple, and it’s easy to imagine the prolific Estes rattling it off from memory while doing some other task: “Two quarts of strawberries, two cups of granulated sugar, half cup powdered sugar, one pint cream, about two spoonfuls vanilla, half cup chopped nuts, heat the berries and sugar together, when cool mix other ingredients and freeze.” My version is similarly straightforward, but a little more elegant and layered.
recipe 
yields
Makes 1 1⁄2 quarts
1⁄2 cup pecan pieces
Pinch salt
2 1⁄2 cups heavy cream
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla paste or
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 recipe Strawberry Compote
ingredients
steps
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Put the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle with the salt, and toast for 3 to 5 minutes, until lightly brown. Set aside to cool.
- Put a freezer–proof container in the freezer.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream and vanilla until it holds stiff peaks; the cream should hold its shape when the whisk attachment is lifted. Use a silicone spatula to gently fold in the condensed milk.
- Pour the whipped cream mixture into the frozen container. Swirl in 1 cup of the strawberry compote and half the toasted pecans. Top with the remaining toasted pecans. (Reserve the remaining strawberry compote to serve alongside or on top of the ice cream.)
- Cover with parchment paper or plastic wrap to prevent ice crystals from developing on the top of the ice cream and close with an airtight lid. Freeze for 4 to 6 hours or overnight before scooping.
to make the strawberry compote
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar with enough water for a wet sand consistency, about 2 tablespoons. Clean the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water to prevent crystallization. Cook over medium heat until the sugar starts to caramelize, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the strawberries. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture creates small bubbles, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. Cover and refrigerate the strawberry compote until ready to use, or for up to 5 days.
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Excerpted from Ice Cream Queen: Flavors from Black America's Past, Present, & Future. Copyright ©2026 by Lokelani Alabanza. Used with permission of the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.
