National Ice Cream Month ended yesterday, and unfortunately, I just couldn’t get this post up in time. So today, we’re going to pretend it’s not the first day of August (maybe I’m alone, but I am not ready for summer to be creeping closer to an end anyway) and celebrate the close of National Ice Cream Month with cherry chocolate chip ice cream. Sound good? 🙂 We started the month off with mint oreo ice cream before moving on to strawberry daiquiri ice cream then chocolate peppermint sorbet and to be honest, I had a different recipe in mind for the finale, but my plans changed when I saw this cherry ice cream on my friend Mary Ann’s blog last Friday. Fresh cherries are most readily available here in the northeast in July, so I’ve been buying a ton of them. When I’ve eaten as many as I can, I bake and/or cook with the remainder. But ice cream? I’ve never considered that possibility, and as soon as I saw it, I needed to try it.
So, first thing Saturday morning I was in my kitchen whipping up the base for this cherry chocolate chip ice cream. It’s not a custard-based ice cream (meaning there are no eggs) so it comes together pretty easily. Personally, I don’t have a strong preference when it comes to homemade ice cream made with or without a custard base. Those made with a custard base are generally thought to be richer and smoother, but I rarely notice a big difference. They’re all good in my book, and this one was no exception. I loved the gorgeous pinkish-purple color and the fresh cherry flavor. Cherries and almonds are one of my new favorite flavor combos so I couldn’t resist adding a bit of almond extract to the base before churning – it’s present but not overpowering in the final product. I just might be ready to declare cherry my new favorite fruit flavored ice cream! If you can still get your hands on fresh cherries where you live, this one is definitely worth a try.
Cherry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
adapted slightly from Simply Recipes
(The original recipe called for liquor rather than almond extract. If I’d had Amaretto on hand, I probably would have used it, but I didn’t. Even without the liquor, my ice cream didn’t get super hard – it was definitely scoopable straight from the freezer.)
3/4 lb ripe sweet cherries, pitted
3/4 cup milk (I used 1%)
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
pinch salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
4 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
Combine the cherries, milk, 1 cup of the heavy cream, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Set the pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the milk/cream mixture is warm. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and let sit for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat under the pan and use an immersion blender to puree the mixture until completely smooth. (Alternatively, you could transfer the mixture to your blender to puree it.)
Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a large heatproof bowl, pressing on the solids. Add the remaining 3/4 cup heavy cream and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate until chilled (preferably overnight).
Stir in the lemon juice and almond extract then churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When the ice cream reaches soft serve consistency, add the chocolate chips and churn for another minute or two until they are evenly distributed. Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and freeze until firm.
This is one of my FAV ice cream flavors! I think I’m in the minority, but I’m glad to see others like it, too. YUM!
This looks beautiful…I am pretending the chocolate chips are blueberries in there, of course, so it really does look beautiful! I am definitely in no hurry to see summer leave town.
This is so stunning and love the flavor choice. Cherry Garcia from Ben and Jerry’s is tasty, but I am sure that this ice cream would beat it hands down. Yum!
Everything you make makes me hungry. This is also one of my favorite ice cream flavors and I just happened to buy cherries yesterday so I feel like it was meant to be. I will be making this tonight. 🙂
colourful delicious looking ice cream beautifully presented
So pretty!
This sounds so yummy! Great recipe!
This ice cream looks amazing!
I made this ice cream just a week or two ago and it was a big hit at our house. Yours looks fabulous!
Tracey- Please ignore my earlier comment! I just got so excited when I saw this was the same ice cream that I made, I had to comment. Then, I went back and read and realized you already know that I made this too. Glad you loved it. I bet it was delish with the almond extract- wish I would have thought of that addition.
Looks amazing! Is it bad that I want some right now for lunch?
Looks great! I need an ice cream maker so bad.. lol
Your ice cream looks gorgeous. I love the color. I have never had cherry ice cream, but I’m certain it’s yummy! P.S. I’m still thinking about your cherry muffins.
This was delicious. It tasted like a cherry cordial. Thank you for sharing it!
I’m not ready for summer to be over either. It’s gone by so quickly! Thankfully, I’m guessing it will still be warm enough for several weeks to enjoy this ice cream!
Mmm, cherry chip is one of my favorite flavors! And this is so pretty!
you can keep the ice cream recipes coming far beyond ice cream month, i’m okay with that!! 🙂 this one looks amazing!—I should’ve made this last week, cherries were super cheap!
The color is gorgeous! My husband keeps looking for ice cream, so I should make some with the great summer fruit that’s available now.
I love all the ice creams and sorbets you’ve been posting, but this one might make me the most excited. I just love cherries and chocolate.