Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream Recipes

CHERRY ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Combine the cherries, cream, milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla in the blender. Puree until completely smooth. Serve immediately for soft-serve ice cream or pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

VANILLA CHERRY ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Combine the cream, milk, and sugar in a bowl. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in the vanilla and almond extract. Add the cherries. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.

FRESH BING CHERRY ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Pit 2/3 of the cherries. If you have a cherry pitter or a totally awesome Cherry Chomper, I am jealous of you. Though I just cut the cherries in half with a paring knife, then carefully pried them apart and removed the pit - not too bad. Still no Cherry Chomper, though. (Update: I have since learned this method, which is way easier!)
• Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice over the cherry halves and toss lightly.
• Pit and dice the remaining 1/3 of the cherries. Cut the cherry in half, remove the pit, and then cut each half into fourths. Or, you know, cut 'em how you like.
• And then sprinkle the other teaspoon of lemon juice over the diced cherries and toss a little. We're keeping the cherries a nice burgundy so they can become a nice light burgundy. Not pink!
• Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl until the mixture is frothy. This takes a good couple of minutes.
• In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and whipping cream over low heat, until the mixture is very warm - when it forms bubbles around the sides, it's about ready.
• Very slowly pour the hot cream/milk mixture into the beaten eggs, whipping briskly the entire time. You're tempering the eggs - heating them slowly and evenly so that you don't make scrambled eggs instead of beautiful custard.
• Return the milk/cream/eggs/sugar mixture to the saucepan and, stirring constantly over medium-low heat, cook until the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon - about 10 minutes (sometimes takes as long as 15, but watch carefully and remove from the heat as soon as it's thick).
• Remove from the heat.
• Stir in the cherry halves (NOT the diced cherries - those go into the ice cream at the last minute).
• Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes or so.
• Stir in the vanilla.
• And then puree! I use my handy dandy immersion blender. You can also use a good old fashioned blender. Be careful, though. The mixture is still hot. Let it sit for a few more minutes if you're not sure.
• Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve.
• Let the custard cool completely. This can happen in the fridge, or you can set the container in a bowl or sink of ice water to speed up the process.
• Once it's cooled, pour the mixture into your ice cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer instructions. I use this handy dandy Cuisinart number. It's way easy.
• When the mixture is just about frozen, add the diced cherries.
• Now you can eat it, or spread it in a container and freeze the rest of the way.
• We enjoyed this plain, and I also whipped up some dark chocolate hot fudge to try over the top. Both are equally, sinfully great.

CHERRY VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, beat the sugar into the eggs until it is pale yellow. Beat in the flour and salt and set aside.
• Bring the milk to a simmer in a heavy saucepan. Slowly beat hot milk into the eggs and sugar mixture. Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and place over low heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the custard thickens slightly. Do not let the mixture boil.
• Remove from heat. Strain the custard into a clean bowl. Cool slightly then refrigerate until cold or overnight.
• Stir the custard. Turn machine on and freeze according to your machine's instructions.
• Add the maraschino cherries when the ice cream is semi-frozen and allow the machine to mix the fruit inches.
• The ice cream will be soft and ready to eat. If you like firmer ice cream, transfer to a freezer container and freeze for at least 2 hours.