Juicy Roasted Cherries and Dark Chocolate Chunks make this extra-creamy ice cream the ultimate sweet indulgence! Plus, it only takes a few minutes to throw all the ingredients together. Easy AND delicious!
5 ounces coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate (I used 70%)
roasted and cooled cherries (see above)
Instructions
Roasted Cherries:
Preheat oven to 425ºF.
Toss cherries with 2 tablespoons sugar in an 8" square baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, tossing every 5 minutes. Cherries should have released a lot of their juices.
Cool for about 10 minutes, and then transfer to an airtight container. Mix in vodka, cover, and chill in fridge thoroughly before using, preferably overnight. Meanwhile, prepare ice cream base, which will also be refrigerated overnight.
Ice Cream
Combine cream cheese, heavy cream, sour cream, sugar, lemon juice, and salt in a blender and blend together until completely smooth. Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate until well-chilled, again preferably overnight.
Before churning, whisk mixture lightly to loosen and smooth out. Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Gradually pour in the chopped chocolate after the ice cream has thickened, during the last few minutes of churning. The ice cream may get too thick for the machine before all of the chocolate has been added; if this happens, transfer the ice cream to storage container and fold in remaining chocolate.
Once the ice cream has been removed from the machine and transferred to container of choice, add the cherry mixture and gently mix in with a spoon just enough to swirl throughout the ice cream without mixing in completely.
Place a layer of plastic wrap directly over the surface of the ice cream before covering container with a tight layer of plastic wrap or an airtight lid. I also like to keep my container in a plastic bag (preferably airtight) to further assure that the ice cream remains as creamy as possible in the freezer. Freeze until firm before serving.