Triple Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream

I remember back in May how excited I was for summer and all the plans I had for farmer's markets, barbecues, fresh seafood, ice cold beverages and ice cream. There were so many recipes and dinners hosted in my brain space that now I'm wondering 'where did the time go?!'. Now, I'm thinking about sweaters and boots and apple cider. After such a harsh winter, I was so ready for summer and have been enjoying it quite a bit, but now I'm getting excited for fall and winter again. Most people have a favorite season and I thought I did too but if you love all of the seasons, does that mean you just love life? Is that how that works? Too many deep questions, not enough ice cream.

Looks can be deceiving, this is bittersweet!

Well, it's August (whaaaat??) and I did a pretty good job of keeping to my summer resolutions, or at least some of them, the important ones. Whenever I gear up to visit my mom, I come equipped with laundry, magazines and ice cream recipes. I always leave with clean clothes, ice cream and a box full of new kitchen props. Her kitchen is way fancier than mine and she has all the gadgets like an ice cream maker attachment for her KitchenAid (which I also don't have). And thus, I came armed with a chocolate ice cream recipe. A decadent chocolate ice cream recipe and lust for cherries.

Anyone else play Hi-Ho Cherry-O as a kid?

Equipment that will make this process much easier: an ice cream maker and a cherry pitter. The cherry pitter is like a cherry guillatine, even if the process is more like a firing squad. A press is used to punch the cherry pit out, leaving just the fruit to be consumed immediately or added to chocolate ice cream for cherry chocolate bliss.

Just ignore the Cheez-Its...

This is a multi-step recipe. It involves heating your cream, cocoa powder, espresso, sugar and salt in a saucepan before adding cornstarch, more cream, and bittersweet chocolate. We're up to two different chocolates so where's the third to make it triple? A little bit of chocolate liquor makes this a triple crown dessert. Personally, I can't taste it but you can skip it if you want to or you're serving to children.

The cherry guts and pitless cherries

The whole mixture is chilled in the fridge, thoroughly chilled. This was my downfall. I thought it was chilled enough but I would recommend refrigerating overnight just to be safe. Once the mixture is cold, it is added to the ice cream maker. At this point, I stirred in the pitted cherries. In theory, the mixture should congeal into ice cream and be served immediately.

However, in my experience, I had some trouble with the ice creaming part so froze the pseudo-soupy chocolate ice cream until it was solid. It was still scoopable and delicious, just required some extra time to thaw. It's really hard to mess up chocolate!

Who do I think I am, a blogger??

Another bonus to cooking in my mom's kitchen is I can use her fancy camera and have fancy photos, complete with antique ice cream scoops. Maybe I got carried away....

Shut the front door, this ice cream was amazing

 Recipe
adapted from Food52

• 3 cups of half-and-half, divided
• 1 cup of sugar
• 3/4 cups Dutch cocoa powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
• 3 Tablespoons corn starch
• 6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 3 Tablespoons chocolate liqueur (optional)
• Cherries (optional)

1. Combine 1.5 cups of half and half, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder and salt into a pan. 
2. Heat and mix until the liquid is warmed. 
3. Meanwhile, mix the remaining half and half and corn starch together. Pour into the pan with the chocolate mixture.
4. Allow the mixture to heat until it comes to a soft boil. Stir in the chopped chocolate and liqueur. 
5. Once the chopped chocolate is melted, place wax paper against the mixture. The paper should be as flush to the mixture as possible so a skin doesn't form on the chocolate.
6. Allow the mixture to chill thoroughly in the fridge, preferable overnight.
7. Once the mixture is chilled, add to your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer instructions.
8. While the ice cream is churning, add the cherries or raspberries or chocolate chips or anything else your heart desires (or nothing).
9. Serve and consumer immediately! 

Action shot, taken by my handy sous chef/chocolate chopper