This cherry ice cream is easy to make and packed with wonderfully bright cherry flavor. It uses a simple no churn method that results in a wonderful balance of sweetness, creaminess and fruitiness. In other words, definitely one to add to your list for cherry season.
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One of these days, an ice cream maker is definitely on my list to get. However being in a temporary kitchen, it hasn’t made the list of things to get. Plus, we have become pretty big fans of the no churn method using sweetened condensed milk and cream, as we used in favorites like roasted strawberry ice cream.
When we went cherry picking, it didn't take much to decide to make a cherry version.
An easy no churn ice cream method
In case you are not aware of it, there’s an easy no churn ice cream method that uses sweetened condensed milk and cream. It helps get bast some of the typical challenges you might have without an ice cream maker to help things along.
When you make ice cream in general, you are looking to get a balance of fat and sugar along with some air in the mixture to get the right texture and flavor. One challenge you have with no churn ice creams is keeping everything distributed in the mixture as it freezes.
The sweetened condensed milk means the sugar is already well mixed in. Beating the cream then adds the air that stays pretty well distributed when you fold it into the condensed milk. You can then add various flavors to this mixture as your creativity takes you.
Flavors we've made and loved include pumpkin ice cream, nectarine ice cream and roasted strawberry ice cream.
Tips for this cherry ice cream
For this cherry version, you simply pit and blend up some cherries and fold that puree in as you fold the rest together. You can use either fresh or frozen cherries, as you have available, just make sure they are pitted. Most varieties of cherry will work, just be aware sour cherries may be pretty tart.
You do have one extra step and that’s to give it a little stir part way through freezing. The reason for this is that the cherries are generally a bit heavier and tend to sink to the bottom a little.
You may get lucky and not need to if your blender is very good and you get less ‘bits’ or with blended frozen cherries that will probably hold more evenly. You’ll be able to tell when you pour the mixture into your container for freezing if it seems more creamy and less fruity on the top that the bottom.
If you do need to stir, it’s as simple as remembering and giving everything a slight mix when it’s partly frozen. Don’t stir too much or you will lose all of the air and it may become too hard.
This ice cream has a pretty high quantity of fruit in it as we really love having lots of fruit flavor in there. We were lucky enough to go cherry picking and this was the perfect way to use some of our haul. The bright, juicy cherry flavor really comes through alongside the smooth, sweet creaminess of the base.
We instantly loved the flavor and texture of this cherry ice cream and the no churn method makes it so easy. It’s packed with bright, fruity flavor and is a true taste of summer. So add it to your list for a summer treat.
Try these other desserts perfect for summer:
- Strawberry mousse
- Mango paletas (ice pops)
- Grilled peaches with mascarpone
- No churn raspberry chocolate chip ice cream
- Mango passion fruit Eton mess
- Plus get more dessert recipes in the archives
Cherry ice cream (no churn)
Ingredients
- 8 oz cherries
- ⅔ cup heavy cream double cream
- ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Pit the cherries and discard the stones. Blend the pitted cherries in a food processor or blender until relatively smooth (smaller chunks are fine).
- Separately, whip the cream until it forms medium-firm peaks.
- Carefully fold the cherry puree and sweetened condensed milk into the cream so that it is combined (no white streaks) but without loosing too much air.
- Pour the mixture into a plastic container or loaf tin, cover and transfer to the freezer. Leave to freeze for around an hour, then stir the mixture with a fork to mix through any chunks of cherry that may have fallen to the bottom (but without stirring so much you loose the air).
- Re-cover and freeze for a further 3 hours, minimum, for soft-serve or ideally overnight.
Video
Nutrition
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Shashi says
I absolutely love a no churn ice cream and I can use up some of the extra cherries I have lying around with this recipe!
Caroline's Cooking says
Sounds perfect! And yes, ideal for cherry season.
Ned says
This was everything I love about summer! Cherry ice cream was awesome. We even put it in cones for our kids. I would bet that we will make this again before school is back in. 🙂
Caroline's Cooking says
Glad to hear you enjoyed (and hope you make again - I know we will!)
Michelle says
Love no-churn ice cream, this cherry version is incredible! Can't wait for cherry season to kick in to have some again!
Caroline's Cooking says
I agree, no churn ice creams are both easy and tasty and this cherry version was a favorite here - enjoy when your cherries arrive!
Beth says
Oh wow! This ice cream is perfect for summer! My son is definitely going to love this treat! So delicious and yummy!
Caroline's Cooking says
Thanks, yes a great summer flavor, we look forward to having it again when it warms up!
Katherine says
I love a good no-churn ice cream! And I love cherries. This is a winner!
Caroline's Cooking says
Perfect! It works so well as an ice cream flavor.