No.155 Cherry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

There used to be this amazing ice cream in the UK that then suddenly disappeared overnight. Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia was the perfect blend of cherry and chocolate that divided opinion. Simply imagine black forest gateau in ice cream form. That is, until it disappeared into the ether never to be seen again in a UK supermarket.

One major difference between my recipe and their’s is alcohol. Using cherry brandy is going to give a strong cherry flavour and an almost medicinal note to the ice cream, but additionally, the alcohol helps prevent large ice crystal formation. This makes the ice cream smoother in the end product. If you want to avoid alcohol use 40g of good cherry jam to add flavour and colour.

Makes: 800ml

Serves: 4-6

Difficulty: Straight Forward

300ml of Full Fat Milk

100ml of Double Cream

4 Eggs Yolks

80g of Granulated Sugar

40ml of Cherry Brandy

16 Frozen Cherries (defrosted)

70g of Dark Chocolate

Day Before

1. In a large bowl whisk together the sugar and the egg yolks.
2. Heat the milk and cream together to a simmer and pull from the heat.
3. Slowly add this mixture to the egg whilst whisking.
4. Add back to the pot and continue cooking on low until slightly thickened. It should stick to the back of a teaspoon.
5. Sieve into a container. Allow to cool and store over night.
6. Place the bowl of your ice cream maker in the freezer.

On the Day

1. Roughly chop the chocolate into chocolate drop sized pieces.
2. Remove the bowl of the ice cream maker and set up the machine.
3. Add the ice base mixture to the machine followed by the cherry brandy.
4. Lightly crush the cherry and add them to the machine.
5. After 30 minutes the ice cream should begin to thicken. Now add the chocolate.
6. Keep the machine churning the ice cream for 15 minutes or until it looks like soft serve.
7. Remove the mixture and place in a container. Either eat now as soft serve or store in the freezer for 6 hours for a firmer ice cream like consistency.
8. Remove from the freezer 30 minutes before serving to soften.