Homemade Cherry Ice Cream 2 Ways

Everyone has their vice, right?  Well, ice cream is my kryptonite. It’s been my weakness since I was a kid and remains my favourite treat to this day. And let’s face it, on a warm summer day is there anything better? I think not. Which brings me to this post: homemade ice cream.

There is something so cathartic about making your own food from scratch and ice cream is no exception. You can buy ice cream, but making your own takes it to a whole new level! I love having the creative freedom to add whatever my heart desires and coming up with new combinations. Needless to say, the kids LOVE it, and it’s such a fun way to involve them in the kitchen.

I babysat my niece last weekend and we all made ice cream together (it was on Instagram stories if you happened to follow along), we had so much fun! I felt like it gave me the ‘World’s Best Aunty’ status for the day…I’ll take it! Given that we have a bit of a cherry overload situation on our hands (the best problem to have by the way), we made two variations of cherry ice cream and voted on our favourites. It’s a rough life here in the Okanagan!

Since my niece can’t tolerate dairy, I wanted to make one of them dairy free (let’s face it a tummy ache would pull me out of the ‘great aunt’ category pretty quickly). I’ve made vegan ice cream before, but one thing that I’ve found is that it’s difficult to get the creamy rich texture that you get with traditional ice cream. I decided to sneak in some avocado to add that velvety mouthfeel that you normally get from adding cream and voilà! Bang, nailed it! It was cute catching the kids’ reaction to the whole avocado-in-ice-cream bit. They devoured it after overcoming the initial shock and loved it.

Now, let’s talk ice cream makers. Have you ever tried making homemade ice cream without an ice cream maker? I have. And what you get is an ice-cream-block. Not exactly my idea of how ice cream should be.

I recently got a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker from Best Buy and LOVE it (linked here if you’re looking to purchase one)! I’m not much of a gadget person, ESPECIALLY if it’s complicated. I kind of glaze over with any kitchen tool that requires me to read more than a line or two of directions, my mom brain can only handle so much unnecessary detail! This ice cream maker is a breeze to use with very few moving parts, totally up my alley. You can make frozen yogurt, sorbet, or of course ice cream with it in minutes. Make sure that you freeze the basin of the ice cream maker VERY well before you make your ice cream to get the best results!  I wouldn’t judge you if you end up getting two of the tubs to make more than one batch at a time.

Here are the two ice cream recipes that we whipped up this weekend, the kids (and adults) LOVED both! Have fun and happy summer my friends!

Dark Chocolate Cherry ‘Nice’ Cream (vegan)

This dairy-free vegan ice cream is so rich and creamy that you would never guess that it is dairy free! I love the addition of the avocado, it makes it creamier AND healthier!

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ c. quartered fresh cherries
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/8 tsp. almond extract (optional)
• 1 c. diced ripe avocado
• 1/3 c. cocoa
• 2 cans full-fat coconut milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. instant espresso powder (optional)
• ½ c. maple syrup
• ¼ c. sugar
• 1 c. dark chocolate chips or chunks, melted

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, stir the 2 tablespoons of sugar into the diced cherries along with the almond extract, if using, and set aside.
2. Place the avocado, cocoa, coconut milk, vanilla, espresso powder, maple syrup and sugar in a blender and blend until smooth. While the blender is running, drizzle in the melted chocolate and blend until combined. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and stir in the cherries (including the juice).
3. Refrigerate the mixture until it is very cold (at least 2 hours) and process in the ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.
4. Once done, pour the mixture into a freezer safe container or a loaf pan lined with parchment paper and freeze until firm, approximately 2 hours.

Vanilla Cherry Ice Cream

For those of you wanting the ‘real deal’, this ice cream will do the trick. Dotted with chunks of fresh ripe cherries with an old-fashioned vanilla ice cream base, you simply can’t go wrong. I mean, if you wanted you could add a ½ c. of dark chocolate chunks… just saying!

Ingredients:

• 2 c. diced fresh cherries
• 2/3 c. plus 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 c. cold whipping cream
• 1 c. cold whole milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Combine the diced cherries and the 2 tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl: mix together well and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the cream, milk, vanilla and remaining sugar with a whisk and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the cherries (including the juice) and stir to combine.
3. Process the mixture in the ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.
4. Once done, pour the mixture into a freezer safe container or a loaf pan lined with parchment paper and freeze until firm, approximately 2 hours.

This post was sponsored by Best Buy Canada, all opinions are my own.