Cherry Ripple Almond Crunch Ice Cream Food

CHERRY ALMOND ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Place cherries, sugar and water in top of double boiler.
• Cook over med heat for around ten minutes, allowing the fruit to soften and sugar to dissolve.
• Take out 1/2 of the cherries and drain juices back into pan.
• Puree the rest of the mixture.
• Roughly chop the 1/2 cup of cherries and mix back into puree.
• Chill thoroughly.
• Add half and half and egg to a blender and blend till smooth.
• Whisk in chilled cherry mixture.
• Add heavy cream and almond extract.
• Blend well, and chill.
• Transfer mixture to ice cream maker and freeze according to your machine's instructions.
• Add almonds, if desired, near end of cycle, when the ice cream is thick enough to prevent all the almonds to sink to the bottom of the mix.

CHERRY RIPPLE & ALMOND CRUNCH ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Remove the stalks and stones from 300g cherries (some garlic crushers have a cherry pitter on the handle, but if not, simply use a knife), then roughly chop. Put into a medium pan, add 85g caster sugar, then cook very gently for 10 mins until the sugar melts. Turn up the heat a little, then simmer for 15 mins until softened and surrounded by a syrupy sauce. Cool completely.
• Meanwhile, put the cream, icing sugar and Disaronno into a large bowl. Whip the cream until it just holds its shape. Fold in the custard, then churn in an ice-cream machine until very thick.
• For the almond crunch, lightly oil a baking sheet. Put 2 tbsp caster sugar into a non-stick pan, then gently heat until the sugar melts. Swirl or stir the sugar a few times if it melts unevenly, then bubble for 30 secs or until the sugar turns to amber caramel. Stir in the nuts, then pour onto the sheet. Cool completely until brittle. Snap into chunks, then put into a food bag and crush with a rolling pin.
• Spoon the soft ice cream into a freezer-proof container, then spoon over ribbons of the syrupy cherries and scatter with the crunchy nut caramel. Ripple through a few times with a knife. Freeze for at least 6 hrs, or ideally overnight. Serve with the whole cherries and almond biscotti.

CHERRY CREAM CRUNCH

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375. In large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, dash salt, butter and vanilla; mix at low speed until crumbly. Stir in coconut, oats, and walnuts.
• Press 2 1/2 cups of crumb mixture into bottom of ungreased 12 x 8 inch baking dish or 13 x 9 inch pan; reserve remaining crumb micture for topping. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes or until light golden brown.
• In medium bowl, combine all filling ingredients except fruit pie filling. Stir until mixture thickens. Spread evenly over crust. Carefully spoon fruit pie filling evenly over lemon filling mixture. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over filling. Bake at 375 for an additional 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool; refrigerate 2 to 3 hours before serving. Store in refrigerator.

TOASTED ALMOND AND CANDIED CHERRY ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Warm the milk, sugar, salt, and 1 cup (250 ml) of the cream in a medium saucepan. Finely chop 1 cup (135 g) of the almonds and add them to the warm milk. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Strain the almond-infused milk into a separate medium saucepan. Press with a spatula or squeeze with your hands to extract as much flavor from the almonds as possible. Discard the almonds.
• Rewarm the almond-infused milk. Pour the remaining 1 cup (250 ml) cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
• Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Stir in the almond extract and stir until cool over an ice bath.
• Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. During the last few minutes of churning, add the remaining 1 cup (135 g) chopped almonds. When you remove the ice cream from the machine, fold in the chopped cherries.
• Perfect Pairings
• Try layering this ice cream with Fudge Ripple (page 210) for Almond, Cherry, and Chocolate Ice Cream, or add Dark Chocolate Truffles (page 211) or Stracciatella (page 210) instead.