Strawberry Ice Scramble

1 more day and it's officially Spring. Everyday, temperature has been rising and the last patches of snow have finally melted over the weekend. I'll miss the white stuff...not really, but it's time to try the Filipino icy street snack or drink. It's called Ice Scramble which is shaved ice mixed with evaporated milk, sugar, and flavoring, usually banana, and red food color, then topped with milk solids and chocolate syrup.

This is one street food item in the Philippines that I'm not aware of, having lived outside the country for almost 27 years now. To be honest, if I were living there, I probably still wouldn't know because as an adult I rarely, if not never, had street food.

Banana flavoring is not my thing. I find it too strong, artificial, and therefore nauseating. I also cannot stand the somehow acidic flavor of canned evaporated milk and although I love sweetened condensed milk, it is just too sweet for this light treat.

For my version of Ice Scramble I used mashed and strained frozen strawberries mixed with heavy cream and a little sugar. Topped with whole milk solids and homemade chocolate syrup, I can honestly say the icy treat is great and strangely addicting.

Strawberry Ice Scramble
strawberry cream
½ cup mashed and strained fresh or frozen strawberries
½ cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons sugar, more or less to taste

topping
whole milk powder
chocolate syrup

ice scramble
shaved ice

• Place 1¼ cups shaved ice in a glass bowl. Stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons strawberry cream. Transfer into a small tumbler. Top with powdered milk and chocolate syrup. Enjoy!

Chocolate Syrup

1 cup cocoa powder
1 cup raw sugar
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• Whisk together cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk in water. Simmer over medium heat for 3 minutes while stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Let cool completely. When cooled, transfer into a squeeze bottle.