July 2020 – tastebotanical

Cherry Ice Cream

Home-made Cherry Ice Cream

This easy Cherry Ice Cream recipe uses juicy fresh cherries which are roasted with kirsch for extra flavour. They are then mixed with a creamy custard base to make a deliciously rich ice cream.

This is a great ice cream to make in July and August when fresh cherries are in season and widely available. I particularly like the large, sweet black cherries but you can use any kind of fresh cherry in this recipe. As with every recipe, the tastier the ingredients, the tastier the dish. I would recommend eating one (or maybe more than one) of the cherries that you plan to use in this ice cream to check the flavour.

What makes this ice cream particularly good is that the cherries are roasted, with kirsch, in order to concentrate their flavour. Not only do the cherries taste pretty good, the process produces a delicious alcohol-infused juice which flavours the ice cream. I also love the colour of this ice cream which is a beautiful soft pink if made with black cherries.

If you have a few too many fresh cherries, you may also like my Cherry Tart.

What you need to know about making ice cream with fresh cherries

Although you can make this recipe without an ice cream maker, it is a lot easier if you have one. You can buy a basic ice cream maker fairly cheaply.
It is best to start this recipe the day before you eat it. This will mean that once you have made the basic custard, it will have time to chill down before you put it in the ice cream maker the next day.
You can also make this ice cream well in advance if that is more convenient. I generally make double the quantity and keep it in the freezer where it will last for up to three months.
As with most home-made ice creams, it helps to remove the container from the freezer about ten minutes before serving as this will make it easier to scoop.
You can use any kind of cherries to make this ice cream. However, make sure that they are sweet and full of flavour. The best way to check this is by eating one! The better the flavour of your cherries, the better the flavour of your ice cream.
Roasting the cherries (step 2) makes a huge difference to the taste of the finished ice cream as it intensifies the taste of the cherries. Leaving the stones in when you roast the cherries adds an additional almond flavour to the ice-cream. It is also easier to remove the stones when the cherries have been roasted. It is really important to cover the dish in which you roast the cherries to stop the delicious juices evaporating. These juices are just as important as the flesh of the cherries in bringing flavour to your ice cream.
I generally add a dash of kirsch, a cherry-based spirit, when I roast my cherries. However, if you don’t want to include alcohol, that is fine. Just leave it out – the ice cream will still taste good! Also, if you want to choose a different type of spirit, that is fine too. Good alternatives would be brandy, cherry brandy or port.
This recipe produces a very rich Cherry Ice Cream which means a little goes a long way. Keep the portions small – people can always have seconds.
I think this Cherry Ice Cream is pretty good just served on its own. However, a spoonful of cherry compote would be a good addition. Also, cherry and chocolate is a good flavour combination so a little grated, chunked or curled chocolate – particularly dark chocolate – would be a good addition. Similarly, a scoop of rich chocolate ice cream would go well with this ice cream.

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Other home-made ice cream recipes

I am a great home-made ice cream enthusiast. I make it in the summer, of course, but am happy to eat it in winter too! There are some brilliant, shop-bought ice creams available but it is so easy to make your own. I like to experiment with flavours and some of my other recipes are listed below.

Coffee Ice Cream – quick and easy, store-cupboard recipe using instant coffee which has an amazingly rich coffee flavour
Cranberry Ice Cream – if you have any left-over cranberry sauce, you know what to do with it
Elderflower Ice-cream – easy recipe using elderflower cordial – delicious floral taste of summer!
Lavender Ice-cream – another gorgeous floral ice cream (bit of a theme here at tastebotanical…) made with fresh or dried culinary lavender
Lemon Curd Ice Cream – this tangy, three-ingredient recipe is probably the simplest ice cream recipe you will find
Rose Ice-cream – made with culinary rosewater, this ice cream is the essence of an English summer garden
Strawberry Balsamic Ice-cream – strawberry ice cream given a lift with a dash of balsamic vinegar to bring out the sweetness
Thyme ice-cream with honey and mascarpone – thyme, honey and mascarpone…. in an ice cream – what’s not to like?

Cherry Ice Cream recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 4 reviews

Author: Tastebotanical
Prep Time: 15
Cook Time: 45
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: Serves 6
Category: Ice Cream
Cuisine: English

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Description

This easy and delicious ice cream is made with fresh cherries, roasted with kirsch, mixed into a creamy custard base.

Ingredients

Scale

350 g (12 oz) fresh cherries
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons of kirsch (optional)
4 egg yolks
85 g (3 oz) caster sugar
425 ml (15 fl oz) double cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Instructions

Set your oven to 180 C, 400 F or Gas Mark 4.
Place the fresh cherries in an oven-proof dish. You do not need to remove the stones at this stage. Sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons of sugar and the kirsch you wish to use it.
Cover the oven-proof dish with foil or a lid. Put in the oven for 30 minutes. Then remove from the oven and set aside while the cherries cool sufficiently for them to be handled.
Remove the stones from the cherries and then finely chop the flesh of the cherries.
Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a bowl until the mixture looks paler and resembles a mousse.
Heat the cream to scalding point in a saucepan or in a microwave. Do not allow to boil – it will be the right temperature when you are just about able to bear to dip a finger in it.
Pour the cream into the bowl containing the egg yolks and sugar, whisking all the time.
Transfer the combined mixture into a bowl set over a pan of simmering water or, ideally a double-boiler, as you need to reheat it very gently.
The mixture will gradually thicken until it looks like a custard (which is what it is). Stir regularly to make sure it does not stick while it is thickening.
Remove the thick custard from the heat and transfer into a bowl.
Add the vanilla extract and the chopped cherries and any juice that has accumulated in the oven-proof dish while they were roasting.
Allow to cool to room temperature and then transfer to the fridge to become thoroughly chilled.
When you are ready to make the ice-cream, transfer to your ice-cream maker and use according to your machine’s instructions. If you do not have an ice-cream maker, you can place the mixture in a freezer-proof container, put in the freezer for several hours until half-frozen. Whisk the mixture and then return to the container and replace in the freezer until totally frozen.

This recipe has been shared on #CookBlogShare with Recipes Made Easy and #Fiesta Friday with Fiesta Friday

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Rose Petal Jam

Rose Petal Jam with Fresh Rose Petals

Rose Petal Jam is sweet rose-scented heaven! I love floral flavours, particularly rose. They taste wonderful but there is also something romantic and exotic about edible flowers.

I love travelling and one of my favourite places to visit is Morocco. I have had many trips there over the years and have wonderful culinary and cultural memories! Morocco is known for its wonderful roses and rose petals and rose water are used in both sweet and savoury dishes. The province of Ouarzazate, south-east of Marrakesh, is the centre of rose production. Each year in early May in El Kelaa M’Gouna, a small town in the Moroccan “Valley of Roses” there is a Rose Festival to celebrate the annual harvest.

Making Rose Petal Jam reminds me of Moroccan breakfasts and exploring a different culture. However, it also makes me of my own home. I make it using roses from my garden in Gloucestershire and, sometimes, from wild roses that flower in June and July along my regular dog-walking routes.

What you need to know about Rose Petal Jam

What does it taste like? Well, the quick answer is that it tastes of eating roses! It is a sweet, semi-set jam. The petals are not generally removed, although you can do this if you wish, so it has a bit of texture to it too. The long answer is that it tastes of memories, exotic places and also of home (see above!).
How do I use it? It is pretty versatile. I’ve listed a few of the ways that I use it below to offer some inspiration!
- First off, you can use it, as you would any jam, spread on bread and butter for breakfast or as an afternoon snack.
- It is also great as an accompaniment to cheese. Use it as you would a chutney with hard mild cheese, such as Lancashire or Wensleydale. Drop a spoonful over soft cheese such as ricotta or a good cream cheese. Or drizzle it over fried haloumi.
- It is also good stirred into plain Greek yogurt or with vanilla ice cream.
- If you are making pancakes, a dollop of rose petal jam, and maybe a spoonful of whipped cream, will make them taste sublime.
- It also is a good addition to many plain pudding recipes. Stir it into rice pudding, add it to bread and butter pudding or use a spoonful, together with some whipped cream, to sandwich a pair of meringues.
- It is good as a filling for cakes, particularly Victoria-sandwich style cakes.

How do you make it?

It is really quick and easy to make Rose Petal Jam. It takes only 20 minutes and the list of ingredients is very short.

The time to make this jam is in the summer when the roses, in your garden or in the hedgerows, are in full bloom. Choose new open flowers – rose buds and older roses that are going brown are not as good. It is best to pick them on a sunny day as the flavour will be stronger. Choose fragrant varieties. The stronger the scent of the roses, the stronger the flavour of the resulting jam.
As with all edible flowers, you need to make sure that those that you are gathering have not been treated with any chemicals. Do not ever use roses from a florist as they are very likely to have been chemically treated.
There are two views regarding preparation of rose petals for culinary use.The first is that you should not wash the petals s as this will impact the flavour and you should just shake the flowers and pick through them to remove any insects. The second is that the blooms need to be washed to remove the bugs, and any dirt, regardless of any reduction in flavour. I tend towards the “no-wash” view when making this jam but the choice is yours.
It is vital to add pectin to this jam (step 5) as your jam will not set without it and it does not occur naturally in rose petals!
This jam will keep for around three months. Once you have opened the jar, you should keep it in the refrigerator.

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Other rose-flavoured recipes

I love the flavour of rose and rose geranium. If you are inspired by my Rose Petal Jam, you might like some of my other rose-flavoured recipes.

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index.

Home-made Rose Petal Jam recipe