Cherry Chip Ice Cream

Before we start, just a reminder that you have until Wednesday 7/16 to enter my GIVEAWAY to win a FREE Author-signed copy of Scoop Adventures: The Best Ice Cream of the 50 States.  Details are at the bottom of the post.  Good luck!

I love to travel.  Over the years my husband and I have traveled all over the US.  I will eventually make my way to Europe and beyond, but I have been lucky to visit so many great places in the States.  We just returned from a trip to Portland, Maine and we had a wonderful time.  Although the weather did not cooperate during some of the trip, we made the best of it and still saw some picturesque views of the coastline.  If you follow me on Intragram then you were able to follow along on our adventures, particularly our food adventures.  My husband will be quick to tell you that all of our vacations revolve around food.  I am a major planner when it comes to eating and I found several great restaurants to try in and around Portland, with the help a beautiful website called Map & Menu, authored by husband and wife team Meredith and Michael and their dog Orvis.  If you are visiting Portland, you need to check out this website; they have some great reviews of other travels as well.

Another purpose of our trip to Portland was to drink some great beer.  Since we are big beer fans, we purposely picked a “beer town” to visit for our 4th of July trip.  During our stay we found our way to Allagash, Maine Beer Company, Shipyard Brewing, Foundation Brewing, Bissel Brothers, and Rising Tide Brewing.  I enjoyed almost all of the beers, but I am bit partial to Maine Beer Company beers.  Try their a tiny beautiful something beer; it lives up to its name. An excellent sessionable beer from Maine is the Rising Tide Maine Island Trail Ale.

Enough about Maine and beer, let’s get to the ice cream.  The Cherry Chip Ice Cream I bring you this week is a collaboration of sorts between my cookbook and a friend in need.  As you well know, I love taking ice cream requests.  When I heard that my friend and yoga instructor was having surgery, I offered to deliver ice cream to her (because ice cream has healing powers).  She requested Cherry Chip Ice Cream.  It was perfect timing because I happened to have cherries from my CSA in the fridge! To make the ice cream, I adapted the cherry ice cream recipe from the Scoop Adventures cookbook and added some delicious chocolate via the straciatella method.  So wonderful and summery.  Enjoy!

Cherry Chip Ice Cream
Adapted from recipe in Scoop Adventures: The Best Ice Cream of the 50 States
Makes 1 1/2 quarts

3 cups (465g) sweet cherries, pitted
1 ¼ cup (250g) sugar, divided
1 tbsp (15ml) lemon juice
2 cups (473ml) heavy cream
1 cup (237ml) whole milk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3.5 ounces dark chocolate

Macerate cherries with ¾ cup (150g) sugar and lemon juice.  Refrigerate cherries for approximately 6 hours, stirring every hour.  Puree macerated cherries in a blender. Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove cherry skins; reserve juice, cover and refrigerate.

Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside. Combine remaining ½ cup (100g) sugar with heavy cream and whole milk and place over medium heat. Bring milk mixture to a low boil.  Cook until the sugar dissolves, 3 minutes.  Remove from heat, transfer to a medium bowl and set in the ice water bath to cool, 20 minutes, whisking occasionally.  Add vanilla and whisk to combine. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.

When you are ready to churn, combine cherry mixture and milk mixture in an ice cream machine and churn according to directions.  When churning is near completion, use a double boiler to melt dark chocolate until completely smooth.  Transfer melted chocolate to a small ziploc bag and keep warm.  [Want a shortcut? Break up chocolate into small pieces and place in a ziploc bag. Microwave at 30 second intervals until the chocolate is melted.]

When the ice cream begins to pull away from the sides of the canister, cut a small hole in the corner of the chocolate bag and slowly drizzle a small stream of warm chocolate into the churning ice cream.  If the ice cream isn’t moving well, the chocolate may be getting caught on the dasher, so move the ice cream away from the dasher using a spoon.*  Complete churning and transfer to a freezer-safe container. Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

*Tip: If you have trouble with the drizzle method, you can also alternate layers of drizzled chocolate with finished ice cream as you scoop it into a container (do not stir).

Now onto the giveaway. You have the chance to win your very own copy of Scoop Adventures: The Best Ice Cream of the 50 States. Just enter the handy-dandy rafflecopter below. Enter to win today through July 16. Good luck! Giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents. Winner must be 18 years of age. a Rafflecopter giveaway