Ball Park Cherry Berry Ice Cream
Submitted by drjesus
Cherry berry ice cream churned with strawberries, dark sweet cherries, and a rich half-and-half base. Old-school ballpark flavor with a velvety texture and big fruit chunks in every scoop.
YIELD
16 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
5 minREADY
4½ hrsCherry berry ice cream is the kind of homemade frozen treat that puts cheap grocery store pints to shame. Ripe strawberries get cooked down with sugar and unflavored gelatin first, which is the secret to a scoopable, slightly chewy texture instead of icy crystals. Then it all goes into the ice cream maker with chopped dark sweet cherries, half-and-half, heavy cream, and vanilla.
The gelatin trick comes from old-school American freezer cookbooks and it genuinely matters. Without it, homemade fruit ice creams turn rock-hard and grainy after a night in the freezer. With it, you get a soft-serve scoop even straight from a deep freeze.
Use fully thawed strawberries so their juices melt into the syrup, and chop the cherries chunky so you actually bite into fruit. This pairs beautifully with shortbread cookies or a warm slice of pound cake.
Pro Tips
- Cool the strawberry-gelatin mixture completely before combining with cream, otherwise the dairy will start to break.
- Chill the cream base in the fridge for an hour before churning. A cold base freezes faster and traps less ice.
- Pack finished ice cream into a shallow container with parchment pressed onto the surface to prevent freezer burn.
- Pit fresh cherries if you can get them in season. The flavor jump over canned is huge.
Variations
- Swap dark sweet cherries for sour cherries and bump sugar by ¼ cup for a tart twist.
- Add a splash of kirsch or amaretto after churning for a grown-up version.
- Fold in dark chocolate chunks during the last minute of churning for a Black Forest spin.
Ingredients
Directions
In a small saucepan combine unflavored gelatin and sugar. Add water and strawberries. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture just comes to a boil. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, chop cherries.
In a 3 quart or larger ice cream freezer combine half and half, whipping cream, vanilla, strawberry mixture and cherries. Freeze according to manufacturer’s direction or place in freezer containers and freeze at least 4 hours.
Makes about 3 quarts.
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