Black Cherry + Chocolate Ice Cream
Summer is kicking off and it’s time to break out the trusty ice cream machine. I put this thing to work last summer and made some all-time favorites. I’m starting this summer off with a hard one to beat — vanilla ice cream with black cherry and dark chocolate, inspired by my Norqain Sprinkles watch. Pumped to be partnering with a Swiss company (little known fact: I am Swiss myself) that makes such beautiful timepieces and keeps things fun and interesting with this limited drop. Definitely going down the rabbit hole of ice cream in the coming months, so stay tuned.
Ingredients
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
4 egg yolks
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
3 cups dark cherries, pitted
1 bar dark chocolate, thinly shaved
Instructions
Add the pitted cherries to a saucepan along with a tablespoon of sugar and a splash of water and let simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes until soft and slightly jammy. Once done, strain the cherries and set aside to cool.
Heat the cream, milk, sugar, and salt in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Continue warming over medium heat until hot, making sure it never comes to a simmer.
Add a ladle of the warm cream mixture to a small bowl with the egg yolks and whisk until smooth. Tempering the yolks will help prevent scrambling. Slowly pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan while whisking continuously. Cook for 8–10 minutes, whisking gently the entire time, until the base has thickened slightly and coats the back of a spoon.
Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and whisk in the vanilla bean seeds. Transfer to the fridge and chill completely.
Once everything is cold, pour the base into your ice cream machine (this is the one I use, but there are plenty of good options out there) and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. It should take about an hour to reach a soft-serve consistency.
Layer the churned ice cream, cherries, and shaved chocolate into a container, creating ribbons throughout. Transfer to the freezer for a few hours to firm up before serving.