For Christmas last year, Chris bought me an ice cream maker and Jenis Splendid Ice Creams at Home.  Best.Gift.Ever.  I spent months stocking our fridge with every ice cream imaginable.  There was so much ice cream this winter!   Then, I took a little break.  Ice Cream overload.  Now, with it being so hot during the day, I pulled the ice cream maker out of hiding and put it to work.  So good.  So fresh.  So delicious.  I’ll never buy ice cream again!

I wish I had a finished product photo… but we ate it.

The Milkiest Chocolate Ice Cream in the World, with Cherries

Makes 1 Quart

Ice Cream

1 Cup Whole Milk

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1 cup evaporated milk

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Sugar-Plumped Cherries

1 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon water

1/2 cup sugar

Make the Cherries – Put the cherries in a heatproof bowl. Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Pour the syrup over the fruit and let cool to room temperature.  Refrigerate until chilled. The fruit will keep for up to one month in the refrigerator.

Prep -  Mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.  Chop the cholate and put it in a medium bowl.  Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

Cook – Combine the remaining milk, the cream, evaporated milk, sugar and corn syrup in a 4-quart sauce pan, and bring to a rolling boil over medium high heat. Add the cocoa, whisking until it is incorporated, and continue boiling for four minutes.  Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry.  Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.  Remove from heat.

Chill – Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the chocolate.  Add the salt and whisk until the chocolate is melted and incorporated.  Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath.  Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.

Freeze – Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy.  Pack the ice cream into a storage container, adding the drained cherries in layers and seal with an airtight lid.  Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

Note – I buy my storage containers at Surfas.  This recipe fills two of the pint sized containers.