White Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream

 I love David Lebovitz's ice cream book.  We have a cherry tree in our yard (yay! we thought it was an apple tree; lol.) that is full of cherries right now.  Or, was.  It's winding down now.  But anyway, we picked a bunch of them and I wanted to make ice cream.  In his book, there were many good ideas for using cherries in ice cream recipe, but this one jumped out at me because I love white chocolate.

You make a white chocolate custard base, and then cook cherries in sugar and water until they turn into a candy-like consistency.  Let both cool (I did overnight), and use the drained cherries in the ice cream and the leftover syrup on top.  Very good!  

White Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream
adapted from David Lebovitz

For the candied cherries:

1 pound fresh or frozen cherries, pitted (I measure after pitting)
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

For the white chocolate ice cream:

8 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream

1.  Cherries: (Make the cherries ahead of time.) In a large heavy saucepan, combine the cherries, water, sugar and lemon juice. Heat over medium to medium high heat, until the liquid starts to boil.

2.  Turn down the heat to a low boil and cook, stirring frequently at first and then occasionally, for another 25 to 35 minutes, until the juice reduces to a thin syrupy consistency. Remove from the heat, stir in the almond extract and allow to cool to room temperature.

3.  Set a strainer over a bowl, and drain the cherries for at least 1 hour before folding into churned ice cream.  Overnight is good, too.  Coarsely chop the cherries or you can keep them whole. Reserve the liquid and store the candied cherries and syrup separately in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. To use, fold cherries into ice cream or drizzle the syrup as a topping.

4. Ice Cream Base: Place the chopped white chocolate in a large bowl with a mesh strainer set over top; set aside.

5.  In a medium heavy saucepan, heat the milk, sugar, and salt over medium-low heat until warm. In a separate medium bowl, beat the egg yolks together. Slowly pour the warm milk into the bowl with the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then transfer the mixture back into the saucepan.

6.  Set the saucepan back on the stove and heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly with a heat-proof spatula or whisk, until the mixture thickens slightly. Pour the custard through the strainer over the white chocolate bowl. Stir the strained custard and white chocolate together until the white chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Stir in the cream.  Partially cover the bowl (at first) and chill the ice cream mixture in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, freeze according to your ice cream maker's manufacturer's directions.

7.  As the ice cream comes out of the ice cream maker, place it into a freezer-safe container and fold in the candied cherries.  Cover, and freeze until hardened (or until desired consistency is reached.  My ice cream had a hard time freezing this time around; not sure why.)

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