Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Why hello lovely! And what may I ask brings you ’round these parts today…? Is it because you were just pining for some of my good natured wit & charm…??? :p

LOL Just kidding!!! I am of course fully aware that you are here for one purpose, and one purpose only; This Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream situation – amiright?  Because well, Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream… ‘nough said.

I’m so stoked to be partnering with my fav grocery store Meridian Meats , where I got all the fresh cherries & other goods to make to share this recipe with you guys; And I gotta tell you; this one is pretty much the bees knees.

So here’s the deal people – and I know I say this all the time – but this Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream is the shiz. Scratch that – it’s not just “the shiz”, it’s this shiznit. Yup, I wen’t there. I mean just look at those swirls of sweet cherry compote & chunks of graham cracker crumble…. It was almost too beautiful to eat. Almost…

Seriously though, words can’t even convey my feelings for this ice cream. It’s actually out of this world & I’m pretty much obsessed. But to give you an idea of just how obsessed I am, let me paint you a little picture. So picture this ice cream photo shoot; and when I say “photo shoot”, what you should really be picturing is  a 20 minute period where I held a camera in my hand and took the occasional photo, whilst eating allllll of the ice cream that was “too melted to shoot;”  At least that’s what I kept saying to myself  to justify all of the unnecessary ice cream eating. But that still doesn’t justify the 3 waffle cones I also ate during the “photo shoot” process…..

This is what happens when I’m left alone with ice cream.

The truth is this photo shoot was not one of my best – I think we can all agree on that right? This is going to sound pretty ridiculous, but I didn’t take into account that it’s currently 35C degrees here in Vancouver, and oh yes that’s right – ice cream melts when it’s crazy hot outside….

So yeah – I pretty much fail at ice cream photo shoots under normal circumstances, but this particular occasion was even more crazy town that usual; There was ice cream literally EVERYWHERE. So naturally, rather than getting a damp cloth to clean it up – {like any other sensible human being would do} – I just decided it was a much better idea to just eat my ice cream mess. And by “eat” my ice cream mess, what I really mean is literally lick up all of the melted ice cream…. that’s not weird is it?????

Again, I’m just kidding – I of course know that that is extremely weird, and that more than likely there is actually something seriously wrong with me….

In all honesty, I have to apologize for the photo quality on this post. Believe me when I say, that I had such big hopes & dreams to do the most epic ice cream shoot for you guys to showcase this killer ice cream! But by the time I started to get into the photo groove the ice cream melting situation was already too out of control for me to get many good pictures.

Now I know that we all eat with our eyes, so you will just have to take my word on this one that this Ice Cream is unbelievably delicious, and the perfect treat for a hot summer day!

Just picture this; creamy, cheesecake flavoured ice cream, swirled with juicy cherry compote & chunks of graham cracker crust crumble…. seriously need I say more?

The ice cream itself is oh so creamy, and has that tangy cheesecake flavour that comes from the addition of cream cheese to the ice cream base. The sweet cherry swirl is made with fresh cherries, and the cherry flavour paired with the cheesecake ice cream is nothing short of magic. Oh and those chunks of graham cracker crumble are what dreams are made of.

So yeah… go and make it 😀

Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Things you need… 

Ice Cream
3 cups Whipping Cream (You could also use 1 1/2 cups Whipping Cream and 1 1/2 cups Whole Milk)
2/3 cup Granulated Sugar
6 Egg Yolks
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp orange zest
1 (8oz) package of Cream Cheese, at room temperature

Fresh Cherry Swirl
2 cups fresh cherries
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cornstarch

Graham Cracker Crust
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp butter, melted

How to make…

Cheesecake Ice Cream

In a medium heat-proof glass bowl, beat the package of cream cheese until fluffy and there are no lumps; set aside.

In a medium heat proof glass bowl, whisk together the egg yolks; set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the cream, orange zest and the granulated sugar. Stir the mixture until it just starts to bubble around the edges and then reduce to a medium heat.

Pour 1/4 of the hot cream into the beaten egg mixture, whisking constantly to temper the eggs. Slowly add another 1/4 cup of the hot cream to the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Add the egg mixture into the remaining hot cream in your sauce pan and place over medium heat.

Stir the egg & cream mixture with a heat proof spatula until it starts to thicken – this should take about 10 minutes. To test if your cream is thick enough, run your finger along the back of the spatula – if there is a trail left by your finger, the cream is ready to remove from the heat.

Pour the now custard mixture through a fine mesh strainer into the heat proof bowl with the cream cheese. Using a whisk, beat the mixture until it is smooth. Place the bowl into an ice water bath, stirring occasionally to cool. Once the custard has cooled to room temperature place in the refrigerator to chill over night or for at least 6 hours.

Once the custard has chilled, stir in the vanilla bean paste or vanilla. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and churn according to your manufacturers instructions. I have the Kitchenaid Ice Cream maker attachment and I churned my ice cream for about 25 minutes.

Fresh Cherry Swirl

In a medium sauce pan, combine cherries, orange juice and sugar. Heat over medium-high heat until the cherries begin to break down. Using a potato masher, crush the cherries until they are completely broken down. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Stir the cornstarch with 1 tbsp of cold water and once it is completely incorporated add it to the cherry mixture. Cook the sauce on medium high until it begins to thicken, stirring regularly for about 3-5 minutes. Remove the sauce from heat and stir in vanilla.

Please plastic wrap directly on the surface of the sauce and refrigerate until completely chilled – this should take 1-2 hours.

Tip: I cooked my cherry swirlthe night before along with my ice cream so that it would have lots of time to chill, however if you are making it the same day as your ice cream and you want to hurry the process along, you can place the sauce into a water bath and this should speed up the process significantly.

Graham Cracker Crust

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and mix until crumbly. Press into a 9 inch round cake pan, & place in the oven to bake for about 10 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Once cooled, turn the crust out onto a piece of parchment paper & break apart into chunks. Set aside until ready to assemble your ice cream.

Assembly

Now to assemble this unbelievable ice cream situation!

Pour about 1/3 of the churned ice cream into a loaf pan; using a flat spatula you can create some peaks in your ice cream layer. Pour a layer of the raspberry sauce on top of the ice cream; Next, sprinkle a light layer of graham cracker crust crumbs.

Repeat this process again, pouring another 1/3 of the ice cream, cherry swirl & crumbs.

For the final layers, pour the remaining 1/3 of the ice cream on top and dollop the remaining cherry swirl on top. Finally, sprinkle with crumbs & use a spoon to gently swirl the top; being careful not to mix the sauce into the ice cream as this will take away from the that beautiful swirl.

Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.

Now grab some waffle cones or a bowl or just a spoon and dig in!!!

Happy Ice Cream eating lovelies!

KP xoxo