Cherry Chocolate ice-cream with Cherry Heering

Cherry Heering flavoured Cherry Chocolate ice-cream served with a few drops of Kirsberry and one of our own dark cherries, straight form the tree.
Photo © J E Nilsson for CMC 2010

Having concentrated all my efforts on work during the week, come weekend, all I like to do is indulge in some food fantasies turned reality. This weekend’s indulgence project is homemade cherry chocolate ice-cream with skuggmoreller cherries from our garden and a touch of Cherry Heering.

Cherry Heering is a Danish cherry liqueur invented in the late 1700s or the early 1800s. What I appreciate about this liqueur is its rich flavour of black cherries that pours out in a luscious deep red colour into the glass. It isn’t overly sweet, so you can go ahead and add sugar to the ice-cream base when making this cherry chocolate ice-cream at home.

When last we visited one of the Swedish System Bolaget wine and spirits liquor stores it appeared as if Cherry Heering, which also happens to be a key ingredient in the Singapore Sling, will no longer be available in Sweden!

I believe for ice-cream purposes, most anything with a good dark cherry flavour could be used as a substitute. There is another Danish classic desert wine called Kirsberry that I’m pouring a few drops of, over the ice cream in the picture above, that might do just fine. In that case however I am more concerned about our Singapore Slings.

Cherry picking, Sweden.

Cherry picking in the garden – a bowl full of skuggmoreller!

Here’s what you’ll need for this cherry chocolate ice-cream:

Ingredients

500 ml heavy cream
500 ml whole milk
130 g white sugar (increase or decrease the amount according to taste)
250 g skuggmoreller cherries, with juice
6 egg yolks
30 ml Cherry Heering
80 g Valrhona cocoa powder

Method

In a heavy pot, stir in the cream, milk, cocoa powder, sugar, and the juice from the cherries over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat. Place the egg yolks into a large bowl, then temper the egg yolks with the hot cream, making sure that no clumps form from the egg yolks overcooking. Add the yolks to the remaining hot cream and put it back on the heat again. Stir till the mixture thickens and coats the back of a metal spoon. Pour the mixture into a container, cover, and refrigerate for about 4-6 hours. Refrigerating overnight is fine too. Chop the cherries then stir into the cold custard along with the Cherry Heering. Pour into ice cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions.

Enjoy!

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