Cherry Ripple Ice Cream

Can you resist giant baskets of cherries at the farmers' market? If so, you are a stronger person than me. I bring home as many as I can carry and mostly eat them fresh, as I prefer raw cherries to cooked, unless they are sour cherries. That's a whole other story for next year, as I missed them at the market this summer. Anyway, to use up some cherries, I made this ice cream and it was a big hit. And it was much better than the photo indicates, trust me!

Cherry Ripple Ice Cream

Adapted from delicious. magazine, July 2011

Makes about 2 litres/quarts

500 ml/2 cups milk (I used 2%)

6 large egg yolks

375 g sugar

450 g/1 pound cherries, pitted and quartered

30 ml/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

500 ml/2 cups whipping cream

almond extract to taste, I used a scant ½ teaspoon

1. Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Meanwhile, beat the yolks and 200 g sugar together until pale and fluffy, a few minutes. Gradually stir in the milk, then return the mixture to the saucepan and stir constantly over medium-low heat until it thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Pour into a bowl, cool, cover and chill thoroughly, preferably overnight.
2. Combine the cherries, lemon juice and remaining sugar in a saucepan over low heat and let the sugar dissolve to make a syrup. Simmer for 25 minutes, or until the cherries are very tender. Scoop them out and boil the cherry liquid for a few minutes to thicken and reduce it. Add the cherries back in and chill. It should be thick and jammy.
3. Add the cream to the ice cream base along with the almond extract. Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker. Once ready, transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container. Dollop the cherries on top and swirl in with a spoon or spatula. You can decide how much rippling you want. I didn't swirl too much, as it was so hot the day I made this that it was melting incredibly quickly. Place in the freezer for a few hours to firm up.