Cherry Ice Cream with Chocolate
·Prep the cherries and add sugar
Wash and pit all the cherries. Set half aside and tip the other half into a stainless steel pot, then sprinkle over two tablespoons of sugar, ideally cane sugar.
Stew and blend
Turn the heat up to full, keeping an eye on the pot and stirring. The cherries will start releasing their juice, softening and filling the kitchen with their aroma. Cook until soft, then blend with a hand blender.
Add the alcohol
Add the remaining half of the cherries along with the alcohol – rum or cherry liqueur. We used a wonderful rum in which morello cherries had been macerated. Delicious! Stew again until the added cherries have softened. Let the mixture cool completely.
Melt the chocolate into the cream
Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan. Take it off the heat and break the chocolate into it. Stir until smooth and let it cool as well.
Stir in the mascarpone and sugar
Whisk the cream and mascarpone together by hand. Sweeten with a little sugar, but don't overdo it, since the cherries and chocolate will already add plenty of sweetness.
Freezer or ice cream maker
Pour the cream and mascarpone mixture into an ice cream maker and let it churn. If you don't have an ice cream maker, put it in the freezer and stir as often as possible.
Fold in and chill to finish
Once the ice cream is ready, add the chilled cherries and mix in very gently. Pour the cooled chocolate over the top and fold it in lightly with a large spoon so it streaks through the ice cream. Put the finished ice cream back in the freezer for another two hours to firm up.