Chocolate Ice Cream with Cherries
This old-fashioned ice cream has a deep chocolate flavor and cherry sauce layered with the chocolate mixture before freezing. It's smooth and velvety, and requires an ice cream maker.
Servings 6 servings
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
You can also freeze the chocolate ice cream alone and serve it with the cherry sauce on top.
