Decadent Frozen Treats – Cherry Frozen Custard

This Cherry frozen custard (or call it ice cream ) is indeed one of the most decadent frozen desserts. It is rich , sweet and melts in the mouth – quite literally. Bits of fresh cherries sprinkled throughout provide a welcome contrast both visually and texturally.

The ice cream machine sees the light of the day quite a bit during these sweltering summer months. Gelato, sorbet and slushies and pretty much anything chilled is welcome in summer. Among these frozen custard is something that we love even in the dead of winter – because … Well I am not going to divulge the reason here – taste it and figure out for yourselves .

Frozen custard is one of the best melt in the mouth soft serves that you can make at home. It is simply irresistible right out of the ice cream maker. Over here the day time temperatures in summer makes it melt as soon as it is out of the machine. We are ok with it and try to polish it off as fast as we can !

  This  was  made on a  HOT  day   and  just  been  in the   freezer  for  30  minutes .  Still easily   scoop-able  and   delicious  as a  soft  serve.

Home made soft serve differs a little from what you get from the machines in the soft serve joints. The commercial machines are designed to keep the contents colder and to have more air incorporated into the mix. Often times there are gelling agents, stabilizers and emulsifiers added to the mix to help it retain the extra air. All these help the soft serve to be , no surprises here , soft and airy !

Home made versions on the other hand are more dense , but deliciously so. Honestly I prefer the texture and taste of the home made version. If you are not into soft serves and freeze it right off the machine for a few hours to firm up.

Doesn’t  it  look  gorgeous!

These  pictures  are  from the last time I made frozen custard.  It was quite unplanned. My son’s science class was making quick freeze ice cream (with liquid nitrogen) and the maraschino cherries  were  intended  as  topping. Have you read – If you give a mouse a cookie ?   Well long story short if  you  give kids   cherries ,  you may end   up   giving  them  more..

The recipe is quite simple . It is my standard frozen custard base to which I added the cherries.  I had  fresh   summer  cherries   and  that is  my  preferred  choice  here.   If  all you have  are  frozen,  by all means  use  them.

We have a couple of options here – one is to cook the cherries down to a syrup and mix into the custard mix or chop them up and add for a nice textural contrast. The first one will give you a light pink dessert while the second one will be off white with red dots. I love to see the tiny specks of red in the beige background. So you can guess what I picked .

Here are a few things to keep in mind

• Keep everything cold before adding to the ice cream maker. Chill the custard – chill the cherries , chill the bowls used etc..
• Remember ice is lighter than water. In other words the custard expands to take up more space as it freezes. So make sure that your machine can handle the full quantity – do not fill more than manufacturer’s suggested amounts.

Few Variations
– Pit and smash the cherries with 2 tbsp of sugar or honey and chill before adding  to the  mix.
– Cook down the cherries with 4 tbsp water and 2 Tbsp sugar . Mash and strain into a thick syrup. Chill  and drizzle  the syrup  just   as  the  churning  cycle  comes  to an  end.

The  custard  is   slowly beginning  to  freeze   when  I added  the  fresh  cherries.   There  was  about 2  inches  of  room   in the   ice  cream  maker for  the  mix  to  expand  at  this  time.   By the   time it  was  frozen  the  mix  had  reached the  brim.

No ice cream maker ?
For  this  recipe  I would  recommend  using   the  ice  cream  maker, but   quite   similar  results  can  be  acheived  without  one. It  takes a  little  longer  though.  Here is how

1. Freeze the custard for an hour to 2 or until the mix is beginning to freeze but not a yet hard.
2. Transfer to a chilled blender bowl and blend for 1 to 2 minutes . The time really depends on your blender. What we are looking for is to break up the ice crystals and to get some air into the mix. The mix should look like it has slightly increased in volume , and it should still be very cold (hence the chilled blender bowl).
3. Transfer back to the freezer container and  freeze  as  in  step 1.
4.  For  best  results   repeat  step 2   and  3  at  least  once after 1 more  time.
5. The  cherries  are  to  be mixed  into the mix just  before  the  final  freeze.
6.  Freeze until solid ( about 3 hours).

Here is  the  recipe  for   Cherry  Frozen Custard .

Cherry Frozen Custard

By Syama

A decadent  frozen dessert  made  with   eggs,  cream , sugar  and  cherries.  It melts  in the  mouth  to  reveal  its  luscious  creamy texture  and  tastes  absolutely  divine. The base  recipe for  custard  can be  used  to make  other  flavored  versions  as  well. 

4.50 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 8 Servings

Calories 267 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 Cup Heavy Cream
• 1 Cup Whole Milk
• 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 6 Egg Yolks
• 2 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 Pinch Salt
• 1 Cup Cherries Pitted and Chopped Fresh or Frozen

Instructions

 

• Beat the egg yolks in a heatproof bowl and set aside.
• Take the milk, cream, sugar and salt in a medium sauce pan. Heat over medium heat and stirring continuously until the sugar dissolved. Keep stirring until the mix very hot but not yet boiling.
• Turn the heat to low. Take the milk and pour a little into the egg yolk mix in a thin stream while whisking the yolks continuously. After pouring about 1 cup of the milk return the remaining milk to the stove.
• Keep the heat low and pour the egg yolk mix into the pan in a thin stream while whisking the milk in the pan. Stir, and keep cooking over low to medium low heat until the custard thickens a little. Keep stirring to prevent it from sticking to the pan. Turn off the heat and as the custard thicken and begins to coat the back of the spoon. Mix in the vanilla.
• Transfer the custard to a bowl set in water bath. Whisk the mix and let it cool - about 15 minutes. Alternately you could place a piece of parchment paper on top of the custard and let it cool for a few hours in the fridge.
• Pit and chop the cherries into quarters or eights.
• Transfer the chilled custard to the ice cream maker (follow manufacturer’s instructions) and process. When the mix begins to firm up add the chopped cherries, slowly. Continue churning till set.
• Serve immediately as soft serve or freeze in an airtight freezer container for 2 to 4 hours for a firmer version.

Notes

• Fresh or frozen cherries can be used in this recipe.
• Refer to the blog if you want to make it without an ice cream maker.
• The  total  time  is  calculated  assuming  that  the  custard is chilled in  water bath  and  made   into a  soft  serve  in the  ice  cream  maker.
• The  nutrition  value  is  calculated   based  on 8 servings or about 1/2 C custard.

 

Nutrition label  for  informational purposes only .  Actual values  will vary depending  on the  products  used and  serving size. 

Nutrition

Calories: 267kcal

Important: Nutrition Values are estimates. Actuals vary based on ingredients and serving size.

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