This old-fashioned ice cream has fresh cherry sauce layered with the chocolate mixture before freezing and on top when served; it is an irresistible combination. It's smooth and velvety, with a deep but sweet chocolate flavor, and it requires an ice cream maker.
Homemade ice cream
I've wanted to share this chocolate ice cream with you because it's one of my favorites! Making and eating homemade ice cream is a very different experience than buying the commercial kind.
Its superiority is due to the use of fresh, quality ingredients. And you can also mix and match flavors according to your preferences.
This is a very old-fashioned ice cream recipe with a custard made with egg yolks and cream.
The flavor is intense because it uses cocoa powder and semisweet chocolate. Together, they intensify the flavor!
Ice cream machines
These machines churn the ice cream base for about 20 minutes to prevent crystallization when it's frozen.
I have an old ice cream maker that requires the custard to be very cold and the bowl to be frozen before you churn it, so there's some planning ahead.
But it produces the chocolate ice cream we want, simply luscious, so creamy and unctuous you'd want to eat it like that. So I don't complain. I use it for all of my other churned recipes like dark chocolate ice cream or coffee ice cream, my personal favorite.
It's from Cuisinart, and I use it regularly. I keep the bowl in the freezer year-round, ready whenever I want to make ice cream.
Make the chocolate custard
This is the base of traditional, old-fashioned ice creams.
It's yolk-based and not complicated to make, but you must be focused and watch the mixture so it doesn't burn or scorch.
Always remember that ice cream custards taste sweeter before they are frozen, so consider that when you make this part.
Chocolate mixture
The chocolate base is made with cocoa powder and cream.
It's then lightly whisked into the egg yolks before returning everything to the stove again.
The key is pouring the chocolate very slowly and using a hand whisk to stir constantly and avoid curdling the eggs.
When is the custard ready?
- It coats the back of a spoon: dip a spoon into the custard, then quickly (it's hot) run your finger along the back of it. If the custard leaves a clean line and does not run back together, it is ready. This is often referred to as the "nappe" consistency.
- Use a kitchen thermometer to measure the custard's temperature. It should be between 170°F and 175°F (77°C and 80°C). At this temperature range, the custard will thicken sufficiently without curdling. I hardly ever use this method, but it might be a good idea if you're a beginner until you get the feel of how the custard should be.
Straining
I recommend you do this to catch bits of cooked egg that might've formed and other impurities from the ingredients. It happens, and you don't want to bite into them.
Chilling
Churning
The cold chocolate custard is churned in the ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. It slowly freezes the mixture while breaking up crystals that might form. This makes the ice cream creamy and not icy.
If using a basic machine like mine, the ice cream will still be soft in places, but it will firm up nicely after a few hours in the freezer.
Cherry sauce
Any cherry type qualifies for the sauce as long as it's edible and not rotten.
Are your cherries not very ripe or sweet? They are great for making this sauce.
I love using brown sugar, but you can also use white, powdered, coconut, muscovado, etc. Each sweetens differently.
Pitting cherries
Start by pitting fresh cherries. A cherry pitter is essential. Or maybe you're lucky to be able to buy frozen pitted cherries.
Make sure you wear an apron or something to cover your clothes because some pits will probably fly where they're not supposed to. Cover your clothes.
Make the sauce
You cook the ingredients together, except the liqueur (which is optional), until soft and syrupy. The cherries can be whole or halved, plumper or shriveled—however you like them.
Freezing
I put half the chocolate custard, cover it with cherry sauce and top them with another layer of custard.
You can make more layers or marble them. Just make sure the cherries are spread throughout the pan.
Related recipes you might like:
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Chocolate Ice Cream with Cherries
Ingredients
For the chocolate ice cream:
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3 egg yolks
For the cherry sauce:
- 1 pound fresh cherries, pitted and halved
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, light or dark
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon cassis liqueur, optional
Instructions
For the ice cream:
- Chop 6 ounces semisweet chocolate and place in a medium bowl.
- In a medium heavy saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar, ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 ½ cups heavy cream and 1 cup whole milk with a whisk. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- In the meantime, whisk 3 egg yolks until smooth in a large bowl.
- Pour the hot milk and cream mixture very slowly into the beaten yolks, whisking constantly. Do so slowly so you don’t ‘cook’ and curdle the eggs.
- Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden, metal or silicon spoon, until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. If you slide your finger, you should be able to leave a streak that doesn't form back quickly. If you have a thermometer, the mixture has to reach 170°F (79°C). Don’t let it curdle or scorch.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate. Continue whisking until the chocolate is completely melted.
- Strain the mixture with a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl.
- Cover the custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least three hours or overnight if your ice cream machine instructs it should very cold before churning.
- Before churning, beat the custard with an electric mixer until thick and fluffy. Churn according to the ice cream maker instructions.
- Transfer to a freezer-safe container (metal is great), layering it with the cherry sauce. Make two layers of each and lightly swirl them. Freeze until firm, about 4 hours and up to a month.
For the cherry sauce:
- Put 1 pound fresh cherries in a saucepan, add 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and cook, stirring for 2 minutes.
- Add 1 tablespoon water and 1 tablespoon cassis liqueur, if using. If you're not using the liqueur, increase the water by 2 tablespoons.
- Cook for about 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until the cherries soften a bit and the sauce is syrupy.
- Keep refrigerated and use with the ice cream.
Notes
Adapted from an old Bon Appetit magazine.
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