Roasted Cherry Stracciatella Ice Cream
This roasted cherry stracciatella ice cream is super creamy, full of flavour & packed full of dark chocolate shards & amaretto soaked cherries. It’s a grown up version of cherry garcia!
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Here in the UK, it’s virtually impossible to get your hands on a tub of Ben & Jerry’s cherry garcia ice cream, so I’ve had to resort to making my own! Now this isn’t an exact cherry garcia replica but it is heavily inspired by it. It’s more of a grown up version!
So there’s a few different components for this ice cream; a roasted cherry custard base, shards of frozen dark chocolate & pieces of amaretto soaked cherries. These all work incredibly well together so you can imagine how good this ice cream tastes. On top of that, it’s rich, creamy, full of flavour & incredibly easy to scoop (like all of my ice cream recipes)!
Oh & by the way, if you’ve never had stracciatella before, you’re missing out! This is an Italian style of ice cream which is made by piping melted chocolate into ice cream as it churns. This creates lots of tiny shards of frozen chocolate that are distributed throughout every scoop!
If you’re looking for more homemade ice creams to try then check out our ever growing collection of ice cream recipes! Or if there’s a flavour that you’d like to see on the blog, drop us a comment at the bottom of this post…
What You’ll Need
- Cherries – You’ll need sweet cherries for this ice cream. It’s best to use fresh cherries that have been picked in peak cherry season.
- Chocolate – I find that dark chocolate works best with ice cream but feel free to use milk chocolate if you’d prefer. A good quality chocolate makes all the difference when making stracciatella ice cream!
- Amaretto – We’re adding amaretto soaked cherries into our ice cream. Soaking the cherries in alcohol stops them from freezing solid & using amaretto (I use Disaronno) works really well with the cherries.
- Vanilla – The custard ice cream base is flavoured with vanilla as well as cherries. You can either use half a vanilla pod or a couple of teaspoons of good quality vanilla paste.
- Balsamic Vinegar – Adding a splash of balsamic vinegar to the cherries before roasting them adds some acidity which cuts through the sweetness & gives the fruit a more balanced flavour.
- Milk & Cream – We’re using whole milk & double cream for the ice cream custard base. These have the ideal fat content for a creamy, easy to scoop ice cream.
- Sugar – You’ll need caster sugar for the ice cream base, the roasted cherries & amaretto soaked cherry pieces. You’ll also need a small amount of honey for the roasted cherries.
- Glucose Syrup – Adding glucose to ice cream adds sweetness & makes it easier to scoop. You can get glucose syrup in most supermarkets.
- Milk Powder – Skimmed milk powder is used to make ice cream smoother & creamier. I like to use Marvel milk powder but any brand should work.
- Egg Yolks – This is a custard based ice cream, so you’ll need egg yolks.
- Sea Salt – Added to the custard base & roasted cherries, for add extra flavour.
How To Make Roasted Cherry Stracciatella Ice Cream
There’s 3 different components to make for this ice cream; a roasted cherry puree, a vanilla egg custard base & some amaretto soaked cherries. The cherry puree & custard are mixed together & churned in an ice cream machine then we add in a drizzle of dark chocolate and the amaretto cherries!
Roasted Cherry Puree
The first step, is to roast some cherries then make a puree with them. We’ll be mixing this into the custard base just before churning the ice cream.
To make the roasted cherry puree, we add pitted cherries into a mixing bowl with caster sugar, honey, balsamic vinegar & a pinch of sea salt. We mix everything together, tip the cherries out onto a baking tray then roast at 180°c/356°f for 40-45 minutes until the fruit is soft and the juices have turned thick & jammy. Make sure to stir the fruit regularly to stop them catching on the tray!
Once our cherries are cooked, we add them into a blender along with some double cream then blend to make a smooth puree. This then gets chilled in the fridge until we churn the ice cream the following day.
Vanilla Custard Base
Next, we have the vanilla custard base. This is the same style of ice cream base that I use for pretty much all of my ice cream recipes, as I find that it gives the creamiest, richest flavour!
To make a custard ice cream base, we warm milk in a pan, with sugar, vanilla, glucose syrup, milk powder & pinch of sea salt. Once steaming hot, we add in eggs (tempering then first with a splash of the hot milk) then cook out until the custard reaches a temperature of 82°c/180°f.
Once cooked, we remove the vanilla pod (if using) then stir double cream into the custard. To finish, we give the custard a quick blitz with a stick blender then pass it into a container through a sieve. The custard then needs to cool down before being chilled in the fridge overnight.
Amaretto Soaked Cherries
Like with cherry garcia ice cream, this one contains pieces of fresh cherries! To prevent the cherry pieces from freezing solid, we need to soak them in alcohol & sugar before adding them into the ice cream. In this case we’re using amaretto but vodka will work as well. The flavour of amaretto works really well with the cherries & chocolate.
To make our amaretto soaked cherries, we cut pitted cherries into small pieces then add into a bowl with sugar & amaretto, stir to combine then leave to soak in the fridge overnight.
Churning
The next day, we add the cold cherry puree into the custard, whisk to combine then pass through a sieve, into a jug (this ensures that the ice cream is as smooth as possible). Then we pour the cherry custard into an ice cream machine and start churning.
Stracciatella & Mix Ins
Whilst our ice cream is churning, we need to prepare the mix ins. To do this, we need to strain the cherry pieces through a sieve, discarding the liquid (we just want the cherries!) then leave them to drain whilst the ice cream churns. Next, we need to melt the chocolate then place it into a piping bag. You can melt the chocolate over a bain marie or in a microwave.
Once our ice cream has reached the consistency of soft scoop (the temperature of the ice cream will be around -5°c/23°f), we turn it into stracciatella by piping the chocolate in, in a thin stream whilst the ice cream is still churning. Once all the chocolate’s been added, we turn for another 30 seconds then fold the cherry pieces in with a spatula.
Freezing
Now that our ice cream has churned, we need to transfer it into a 1 litre tub then leave it in the freezer for at least 4 hours so that it can set.
Serving Suggestions
This roasted cherry stracciatella is great on its’ own but also goes especially with chocolate desserts like fondants, brownies & cakes. Chocolate & cherry is a classic combination so it’s what I’d serve this ice cream with! It would also go really well in an ice cream sundae…
Tips & Tricks
- Chill the custard base, cherry puree & amaretto soaked cherries in the fridge overnight, to develop the flavours & to ensure that everything is cold when we churn the ice cream.
- Use a good quality chocolate for the stracciatella, for the best flavour!
- It’s best to make this ice cream in peak cherry season, when the fruit is at its’ best. I wouldn’t recommend using frozen cherries, as they tend to contain more moisture.
- Roast the cherries until they turn soft & jammy. This intensifies the flavour of the cherries and removes a lot of the moisture, which prevents the ice cream from becoming icy.
- Weigh all of the ingredients out accurately. Ice cream making is a science so it’s important that everything is weighed out properly.
- Set your freezer to 18°c/-1°f for the best set. This makes the ice cream easier to scoop.
- Dip your scoop in warm water for easier scooping!
Frequently Asked Questions
Although you can use pretty much any type of cherry for ice cream, I find that sweet cherries are best. Sweet cherries have a sweet flavour (hence the name!) so you won’t need to add lots of extra sugar to your ice cream base. Too much sugar in ice cream lowers the melting point, meaning that it melts quicker & sets softer.
Yes, for the best results you’ll need to use an ice cream machine to make homemade cherry ice cream. These can be picked up online for various price points but the investment is worth it! If you’re looking for an ice cream machine, check out my Cuisinart ice cream maker review. This the machine that I use!
Homemade cherry ice cream will keep in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
Stracciatella ice cream is an Italian ice cream that has chocolate piped into it as it churns, which creates lots of tiny shards of frozen chocolate. Stracciatella ice cream tends to be made with dark chocolate but can also be made with milk & white chocolate as well.
The key to prevent fruit flavoured ice creams from turning icy, is to reduce the amount of water in the fruit as much as possible. Using this is done by either roasting the fruit in the oven or by cooking it on the stove like a jam.
Equipment Used
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- Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker Review
- Ice Cream Machine
- Thermapen Food Probe
- The Ice Cream Tubs That I Use
- Ice Cream Scoop
- Cherry Pitter
More Dessert Recipes To Try
- Turkish Delight Stracciatella Ice Cream
- Dark Chocolate Mousse
- Classic Cherry Pie
- Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta With Poached Rhubarb
- Banana Sticky Toffee Pudding With Miso Caramel
- Individual Tiramisu
Watch How To Make This Recipe
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Roasted Cherry Stracciatella Ice Cream
Equipment
- Ice Cream Machine
- Blender
- Digital Food Probe
- Saucepan
- Baking Tray
- 1 Litre Container
Ingredients
Roasted Cherries
- 400 g Sweet Cherries (Pitted Weight – See Notes)
- 40 g Caster Sugar
- 15 g Honey
- 10 g Balsamic Vinegar
- A Pinch Of Sea Salt
- 150 g Double Cream
Custard
- 250 g Whole Milk
- 60 g Caster Sugar
- 60 g Skimmed Milk Powder
- 40 g Glucose Syrup
- ½ A Vanilla Pod (Or 2 tsp Vanilla Paste)
- ¼ tsp Sea Salt
- 65 g Egg Yolks
- 170 g Double Cream
Cherry Pieces
- 150 g Sweet Cherries (Pitted Weight)
- 50 g Caster Sugar
- 40 g Amaretto (See Notes)
Stracciatella
- 60 g Dark Chocolate (72% Is Best!)
Instructions
Roasted Cherries
- Preheat an oven to 180°c/160°c fan (356°f/320f).
- Place the pitted cherries into a mixing bowl with the caster sugar, honey, balsamic vinegar & salt. Mix to combine then transfer to a baking tray.Keep the cherries whole!
- Roast the cherries in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, until the fruit is soft and the juices have reduced into a thick, jammy syrup. Make sure to stir the cherries every 10 minutes or so, to stop them from catching on the tray.
- Once the cherries have cooked, carefully transfer them to a blender then add in the cream & blend into a smooth puree.Don't let the cherries cool for too long on the tray, as the juices will start to set!
- Transfer the puree to a container, cover then chill in the fridge overnight.
Custard
- Place the milk, 30g of the sugar, milk powder, glucose, vanilla & salt into a saucepan. Whisk to combine then set over a low heat and leave to get steaming hot. Stir the milk regularly with a spatula.Don't let the milk boil!
- Whilst the cream is heating up, place the yolks & remaining sugar into a mixing bowl then whisk to combine.
- Once the milk is steaming hot, pour half of it into the yolks, whisking as you do so. Pour the now tempered yolks into the pan of milk.
- Cook the custard over a low heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon & has reached a temperature of 82°c/180°f.You'll need a digital food probe for this.
- Once cooked, take the custard off the heat & stir in the double cream. If you've used a vanilla pod, take this out of the custard at this point. Give the custard a quick blitz with a stick blender then pass into a container, through a sieve.
- Let the custard cool, stirring occasionally then place a piece of baking paper (or clingfilm) onto the custard’s surface & refrigerate overnight.This stops a skin forming on top of the custard.
Cherry Pieces
- Cut the cherries into small pieces (around 5mm) then add into a small bowl with the sugar & amaretto. Stir to combine then leave to soak in the fridge overnight.
Churning
- Add the cherry puree into the custard then whisk to combine. Pass the cherry custard through a sieve into a jug then pour into in an ice cream machine & start churning.
- Next, pass the soaked cherries through a sieve then leave to drain whilst you churn the ice cream. The liquid can be discarded, we just need the cherries!
- Whilst the ice cream is churning, roughly chop the dark chocolate & place into a heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water then heat until just melted. Transfer the melted chocolate into a piping bag (cut a small hole in the end just before piping).You could also melt the chocolate in a microwave.
- When the ice cream has reached soft serve consistency (the temperature of the ice cream will be around -5°c/23°f), slowly pipe the chocolate directly into the ice cream, whilst it is still churning. The chocolate will freeze into shards as it mixes through the ice cream.
- Once all of the chocolate has been piped in, continue churning for another 30 seconds then add in the cherry pieces & use a spatula to fold them through the ice cream by hand.
- Transfer the ice cream to a 1 litre tub then leave to set in the freezer for at least 4 hours before serving.
