Sunday, July 31, 2011

Roasted Sour Cherry-Goat Cheese Ice Cream

My dad tells me this is the last day of National Ice Cream Month, and what better way to celebrate it than with this ice cream!  This is possibly the most insane ice cream I have ever eaten (as in the most insanely good ice cream).  It tastes a little like cherry cheesecake, except a million times better.  Our whole family gives this ice cream an A+, and although it has quite a few steps, none of them are particularly difficult.  The ice cream base is super creamy - probably the creamiest home-made ice cream I've tasted - and has a subtle tang from the goat cheese.   The rich ice cream is perfectly offset by a tart sauce of whole sour cherries and their juices, roasted with sugar until they're nicely tender but still retain the perfect sour punch.  It's a must-make if you can get your hands on some sour cherries - this ice cream and cherry pie are tied for my favorite way to enjoy this delicious fruit.


Roasted Sour Cherry-Goat Cheese Ice Cream (from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home)
Makes about 2 pints

Roasted Cherries
2 cups pitted sour cherries
2/3 cup white sugar
2 tsp cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Combine all ingredients in a 9-inch square pan.  Roast for about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until the juice is thickened and bubbling.  Let cool and then chill in the fridge until completely cold.

Ice Cream
2 cups whole milk
1 T plus 1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup (4 ounces) fresh, creamy goat cheese
3 T (1-1/2 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1-1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
Roasted Cherries (see above)

1. Mix 2 T milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl; set aside.
2. Whisk together the goat cheese, cream cheese, and salt in a medium bowl until smooth; set aside.
3. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.
4. Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Keep at a rolling boil for 4 minutes.  Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry from step 1.
5. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.  Remove from heat.
6. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the goat cheese mixture until it is smooth.  Pour into a 1-gallon Ziplock freezer bag, seal well, and submerge in the ice bath.  Add more ice as necessary until the mixture is cold, about 30 minutes.
7. Pour the ice cream base through a fine-mesh strainer, and then spin until thick and creamy.  Pack in a storage container, alternating with layers of cherries and ending with a spoonful of cherries.  Don't mix the cherries in.
8. Press some parchment or wax paper against the surface of the ice cream and seal with a lid.  Freeze at least 4 hours before serving.

7 comments:

  1. Yum. Where did you get the sour cherries?

    ReplyDelete
  2. @ Laurel - I'm visiting my folks in Ohio, and a local orchard here gets them from Michigan every summer. I have seen them (for exorbitant prices) at Berkeley Bowl a few times this summer though.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yeah, I can never justify the BerBo prices for sour cherries. I keep hoping to go cherry-picking in Brentwood during the season and just not getting around to it. Maybe next year.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I bet the goat cheese really made this ice cream taste amazing! It looks so delicious. Can't wait to try it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hehe this is the second cherry recipe I've seen today! Great because I happen to love cherries. I can't wait for cherry season here, this looks fantastic and I especially like sour cherries but I find them hard to get here.

    ReplyDelete
  6. It looks delicious and so refreshing!

    ReplyDelete