Black Forest Ice Cream

Black Forest Ice Cream combines the flavors of cherry, chocolate, and almond into an irresistible, indulgent scoop of ice cream. This churned ice cream is creamy, smooth, and has a perfect variety of textures and flavors in each bite.

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I’m declaring Black Forest ice cream the flavor of the season. It’s an absolute delight for chocolate cherry lovers, with a hint of almond thrown in.

Imagine a rich, creamy ice cream infused with the flavors of the famous Black Forest cake. The ice cream is studded with bits of dark chocolate and chunks of cherries, and is suffused with a lovely pink color from the cherry sauce. The flavors are balanced and full, with every bite a burst of indulgence.

Ingredients

For the Cherries:

• 1/3 cup (66 grams) sugar — Any granulated sugar will work nicely
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons kirsch — Kirsch is a cherry and almond flavored brandy. It adds a lovely flavor, but is optional. I recommend skipping if you’re serving the ice cream to children.
• 10 oz. (about 2 cups) chopped cherries — These can be fresh or frozen! I used frozen because the season is so short for fresh cherries and I couldn’t find any.
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

For the Chocolate:

• 1 cup chopped dark chocolate or dark chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil –This should not be fractionated coconut oil, but the kind that hardens when cold.
  
• Brownies, chopped into small, bite-sized pieces — Brownie is optional, but adds a lovely texture to the ice cream.

For the Ice Cream Custard:

• 1 cup (8 oz.) whole milk, divided
• 2 cups (16 oz.) whipping cream, divided
• 3/4 cup (150 g) sugar — any white, granulated sugar works well here
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Equipment

• Medium and small pots — preferably with heavy bottoms to prevent scorching.
• Rubber spatulas & mixing spoons
• Wire whisk
• Fine Mesh Sieve
• Bowl for Chilling the Custard
• A small heat-proof bowl
• Ice Cream Maker –this is a specialty piece of equipment that you’ll need for churning the ice cream. There are several different types, with various price points. If you don’t already own one, see the section below for an overview of the three most common types.

The most affordable is a bucket style ice cream maker. The custard is placed in a cylindrical container, which has a paddle inside that stirs the ice cream as it turns. You have to keep ice around the sides, topped with rock salt to lower the melting point of the ice.

These are affordable, efficient little machines that require a bit more attention during churning.

A Freezer Bowl Ice Maker is another common style. It’s a bit more expensive, but it’s low maintenance and last forever. I’ve used this model for nearly ten years, and it still works perfectly!

With this type of ice cream machine, the bowl is frozen for several hours before churning the ice cream. Once it’s ready, set the bowl in the machine and pour in the custard. Turn it on et voila! You’ll have ice cream in about half an hour.

The simplest machine (and the most expensive option) is this one that requires no pre-freezing or ice. You just pour the custard into the machine, turn it on, and it makes the ice cream for you. Nothing could be easier!

How to Make Black Forest Ice Cream

There are a lot of steps, but they’re all fairly simple, and worth it! I promise.

For the Cherries:

Chop the cherries into small pieces (about 5-6 per cherry), place them in a small pan, and sprinkle them with sugar.

If they are fresh cherries, set them aside for about 30 minutes to allow the sugar to make them soft and juicy. This step is called maceration, and will help the cherries not scorch when you’re cooking them. Frozen cherries will naturally become juicy as they thaw.

Add the kirsch if using. Cook the cherries over medium low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the juices have reduced and thickened.

Stir in the almond and vanilla extracts and set it aside to cool. Refrigerate the cherries in a covered container until ready to use.

Making the Custard:

Prepare by setting out a bowl with a fine mesh sieve on the top.

After separating the egg yolks and whites, place the yolks in a small bowl. Add a few tablespoons of the milk and whisk until the mixture is smooth. This prevents yolks from drying and thickening while you heat the cream.

In a medium pot, combine the whipping cream and the rest of the milk. Stir in the sugar and salt and heat the mixture over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the milk and cream are steaming and the sugar is dissolved. Take the pot off the burner.

Once the cream is hot, use a ladle to slowly pour some of it into the egg yolks. Whisk the entire time to slowly heat the yolks up. Continue stirring more hot cream into the eggs until they are warmed through. This step is called tempering, and helps prevent bits of cooked eggs in your ice cream.

Pour the cream and egg yolk mixture back into the pot with the milk and cream. Cook the custard over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk in a circular and figure 8 pattern.

As it cooks, the custard will thicken. Continue stirring until there are slow, thick bubbles on top. Once you see these, cook and stir for 1 more minute, then remove the custard from the heat. It should be thick enough to stick to a spoon and leave a trail when you run your finger across it.

Stir in the 1 tablespoon vanilla and 2 teaspoons almond extract. Pour the custard into the sieve with a bowl underneath to remove any escaped bits of cooked egg. Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the custard to prevent it from drying out and forming a skin.

Refrigerate the custard for 4-6 hours, or until it’s cooled through. It’s now ready to churn.

For the Chocolate:

In a small heat proof bowl, combine the chocolate and the coconut oil. Heat it over a pan of steaming water or in the microwave until melted, stirring every few seconds to keep the chocolate from scorching.

Set it aside to cool, but don’t let it harden again.

Churning and Freezing the Ice Cream

Set up your ice cream maker and pour the custard in. Allow it to churn until the ice cream is thick but not quite soft serve ice cream consistency.

Drizzle the chocolate into the ice cream, while stirring if possible. Once all of the chocolate is in, add the cherries, juice and all, and continue churning until they are completely mixed in.

Remove the ice cream from the machine and scoop it into containers. Cover it with an air-tight lid and place it in the freezer immediately.

It will take about 8 hours to harden, but I like to leave mine at least overnight to let it reach a firm scooping consistency.

Black forest ice cream can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 month in an air-tight container.

Recipe Tips & FAQs

• When it’s finished, the custard may be fairly yellow from the egg yolks.
• When adding the chocolate, you can drizzle melted chocolate into the recipe, as described in the recipe, or you can simply chop your chocolate and add the chunks in during the last couple minutes of churning.
• If you wish, you can fold in bits of chopped up brownies after the ice cream has been churned.

Other Ice Cream Recipes You May Enjoy:

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