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Irresistible Fresh Cherry-Dark Chocolate Ice Cream


***I hope that you are all having an absolutely wonderful weekend, and Happy Memorial Day to all my readers here in the USA.  So far, we're having a terrific holiday weekend, because my little sisters came to visit us - Suzanne and Maranne (they're twins!).

They are AWESOME, and we had such a great time.  We spent a lot of time in the kitchen while they were in town, so get ready for some great posts coming up soon...One of which I am super excited about.  Guess what...We filmed the first ever instructional cooking video to be shared here on Sugar & Spice by Celeste!  I think you'll find the video funny and informative, so stay tuned for that.

First up, I'm excited to share with you a recipe we created for Fresh Cherry-Dark Chocolate Ice Cream.  I found a gorgeous bag of red cherries at my local grocer, and I simply could not resist buying them.  I didn't really have a specific plan in mind for them at the time, but I figured I'd come up with something fun.  So when my sisters got the urge to put the ice cream maker to work last night, this is what we came up with.

I've always adored chocolate covered cherries, so the flavor combo was a no-brainer.   Chocolate and cherries go together like rock and roll, shake and bake, salt and pepper...Well, you get the idea!  :)


I think you'll really love this fresh fruit infused ice cream - Especially on a hot summer day!


Bon Appetit!*** 

Ingredients: 
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Seeds from 1 vanilla bean
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 oz. Ghiradelli 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1  1/2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and chopped into small pieces

Directions:
Combine all ingredients, except for the chocolate and cherries, and stir until the sugar is dissolved.  Pour mixture into the bowl of your ice cream maker, and freeze according to the unit's instructions.

About 3/4 into the freezing process, add the chocolate and cherry pieces.  Continue to freeze until it has increased by 1/2 to 3/4 the original volume, and has reached a soft serve consistency (It will not freeze hard in the machine).

Next, spoon the mixture back into a lidded container and harden in the freezer for at least 1 hour before serving.

Enjoy!

Comments

Kitty said…
Oh my my! This sounds absolutely GORGEOUS!
I'm going to save this until I can get ahold of an ice cream freezer, then, freeze it in little blocks in an ice cream tray for special treats for ME!
Oh, yeah, and for my children... :)

Kind regards, Kitty
I just got the ice cream maker attachment for my stand mixer yesterday... I think I'm going to try this first! Thanks for sharing!

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