Cherry Amaretto Ice Cream

Making your own ice cream may seem daunting, but do it once and you will have it mastered for life. Equip yourself with an ice cream maker (an absolute MUST have kitchen gadget) to open your world to the endless variations you can create! I LOVE cherries, and living in the Okanagan, we get buckets of them from BC Tree Fruits around this time of year. So it only made sense to create an Okanagan cherry ice cream with a perfect hint of Amaretto. You won’t be putting any leftovers back in the freezer, so no need to make room, I promise!

Cherry Ingredients:

• 2 cups BC Tree Fruits cherries, pitted
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 2 oz. Amaretto

Ice Cream Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups 18% cream
• ½ cup whipping cream
• 1 ½ cups 2% milk
• ½ vanilla bean
• ¼ cup sugar
• 5 egg yolks
• ¼ cup sugar
• Pinch of sea salt

Directions:

1. Freeze the ice cream maker container for at least 12 hours, preferably overnight.
2. Combine the BC Tree Fruits cherries and sugar in a medium saucepan on medium-low heat and simmer until the cherries are soft, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.  You may need to add a tablespoon or two of water at the beginning of the cooking process until the cherries start to break down so that it doesn’t burn.
3. In a small glass, combine the cornstarch and water and stir until smooth and the cornstarch is fully dissolved.  Add the cornstarch mixture to the cherries, stirring while adding, and cook the mixture for 1-2 minutes until the cornstarch has thickened the cherries and the cherry mixture is clear.  Add the Amaretto and stir.  Set aside to cool, cover and refrigerate.
4. Using a sharp knife, split the vanilla bean length ways, open the pod, and scrape out the vanilla seeds with the back of a knife.  Set both the bean and the seeds aside.
5. Place a large saucepan on medium-low heat and add the cream, milk, vanilla (the bean and the scraped seeds) and sugar.  Stir until the mixture starts to simmer, remove from the heat, cover, and set aside for approximately 20 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, in a separate medium bowl, combine the egg yolks, remaining sugar and the pinch of salt and whisk vigorously for 2 minutes until the egg yolks are light.
7. Add a soup ladle full of the warm cream mixture to the egg mixture, slowly and stirring while you add (this tempers the eggs and reduces the chance of the eggs curdling), and slowly add the tempered egg mixture to the cream, stirring while adding.
8. Place the mixture back on the stove on low heat and stir constantly until the mixture JUST starts to thicken – immediately remove from the heat.  Do NOT overcook this mixture as it will curdle and you will have scrambled eggs!
9. Using a sieve, pour the cream mixture through the sieve (or strainer) and into a large bowl.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
10. Once the ice cream container is completely frozen, place the container onto the ice cream maker base, pour the cream mixture in, and turn on the machine.
11. When the ice cream is almost completely frozen (it will still be soft at this point), add in your cooled cherry mixture and allow the machine to finish freezing the ice cream.
12. Pour the ice cream into a container of your choice and freeze for at least 2 hours before enjoying!

Ice Cream Maker | Ice Cream Scoop | Ice Cream Holders | Storage Tub | Cherries | Kitchen Towel

What is your favourite kind of homemade ice cream!?!?!

Enjoy!!