Roasted cherry ice cream. Plus booze. Plus chocolate. Plus yum!
Recently, I learned a valuable lesson about instructions and how you should read them. And then proceed to follow them. True story: Cuisinart sent me their Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Ice Cream Maker, which I’ve been doting on for the past week.
I have made homemade ice cream several times in the past, but for some reason, receiving this new maker-o-delicious-things got me so in a huff that not only did I bypass the instructions, but I un-learned how to make ice cream entirely.
Lemme elaborate.
There I was, all hot to trot about making roasted cherry ice cream…over-thinking each and every step so that the whole thing would come together into an explosion of magical boozy cherry bliss (plus the chocolate), and I got so caught up in the recipe for the ice cream base, plus the booze/cherry roast (plus the chocolate), that I put all the common sense on hold and tossed every single component to the recipe into the ice cream maker…roasted cherries and all (plus the chocolate).
So…if you’ve ever made ice cream, you’re well aware that you make the base in the ice cream maker and mix the goodies in by hand once the ice cream has finished churning. Because ice cream makers don’t like solid objects. Nope. They certainly don’t. What happens when you put allllll the goodies in the ice cream maker is a whole lot of womp wooooomp. What you end up with is an upset kitchen appliance and no ice cream. An edible slush, maybe. But none of the ice cream.
But because I was deeply confident in the explosion of magical boozy cherry bliss, I let my tarnished ego breathe for a day or two and then started again. Rinse. Churn. Repeat.
The second time around, I had the whit to follow proper protocol and what came out was worthy.
The only thing better than the fact that there are roasted cherries studded all up in this ice cream, is that the cherries are roasted in booze. Did you know liquor helps keep fruit soft when it’s frozen? True story. Adding liquor to your ice cream base also helps keep the ice cream soft.
As strange as it may sound, I used tequila for the booze portion of the ice cream, because it’s what I had on-hand. I thought the tequila worked very nicely, but you can also use bourbon or brandy. Or anything, really.
I made this ice cream vegan by using two cans of full-fat coconut milk (no egg yolks required!!). Aside from liquor, fat also helps keep ice cream soft and un-ice crystal-y. The first time I made this recipe (as in that time I put all the solid objects in the ice cream maker), I used one can of full-fat coconut milk and one can of lite coconut milk. No dice. It did not a good ice cream (slush) make. I 100% recommend using full-fat coconut milk, lest you end up with a less than stellar ice cream. Ain’t nobody got time for less than stellar.
Now it’s time to booze.
Recipe inspired by Bojon Gourmet’s Roasted Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream.
Boozy Roasted Cherry Dark Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream (vegan)
Ingredients
Boozy Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice Cream Base:
- 2 (15-ounce) cans full-fat coconut milk*
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons tequila or bourbon
- 1 whole vanilla bean scraped, or 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 ounces to 4 dark chocolate coarsely chopped***
Bourbon Roasted Cherries:
- 2 cups fresh cherries pitted and chopped
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 3 tablespoons tequila divided, or bourbon
Instructions
Roast the Cherries
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Lay the pitted and chopped cherries in a small baking dish and sprinkle with coconut sugar and one tablespoon of the tequila. Roast in the oven and stir every 5 minutes for 15 minutes, until juices are seeping out. Keep an eye on the cherries for the last 5 minutes so that they don’t burn. When they have finished roasting, allow them to cool for a few minutes. Transfer them to a small bowl or jar, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of tequila, and place in the refrigerator to chill completely.
Make the Ice Cream Base:
- Add the coconut milk, coconut oil, agave nectar, vanilla bean paste, and salt to a blender. Blend until well-combined. (Note: you want the coconut oil and coconut milk to be in liquid form, so If they are at all solid or chunky, heat them in a saucepan just until the clumps melt. Immediately remove from heat and refrigerate until completely cold.)
- Follow the instructions for your specific ice cream maker (mine requires I freeze the bowl overnight before I use it). Pour the coconut ice cream base into the maker’s bowl and turn it on. Pour the tequila into the ice cream maker once the liquid is very cold. Allow ice cream to churn until very thick. Mine took about 40 minutes.
Finish the ice cream:
- Once the ice cream base is thick, Pour it in a baking pan or freezer-safe container. Stir in the cherries and chocolate. Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- When ready to serve, allow the ice cream to thaw at least 10 minutes before trying to scoop it. Since it’s made with coconut milk, it needs a little more time to thaw.
- Serve in abundance and enjoy!
This looks incredible! My favorite kind of ice cream is chocolate peanut butter. I’d love to find a vegan option for that!
Double Chocolate Chunk!
I keep seeing ice-cream recipes and desperately wanting to make them before realizing (duh) that I don’t have an ice cream maker!! SAVE ME FROM THIS VICIOUS CYCLE
Oh and my favorite ice cream is literally anything with DARK chocolate, preferably mixed with some kind of heavenly fruit and/or caramel swirl
ANYTHING w/ crunchies and chocolate or caramel. I so hope we win! Our ice cream maker (new) just bit the dust.
This looks so good! I am all about the cherries right now! My favorite kind of ice cream is chocolate chip peanut butter!
Gahhh, this looks so good! I don’t really discriminate when it comes to ice creams, but black cherry has been a stand out since I was little (and boozy cherries just make it all the bettet). The fact that you keep tequila on hand tells me a lot about you, and I love it.
I have used a Cuisinart ice cream maker for years. My husband knows that the day this one dies, I am running out and buying another one. Of course, if I win one, that would solve all marital discussions over the issue now, wouldn’t it? 🙂
As I was reading through your post, I was a bit worried that this recipe was going to use dairy, but no! Coconut milk! Yay! Thanks. I’m inspired.
I love mint chip ice cream – seriously divine! This cherry ice cream with booze has piqued my interest. I have pined over an ice cream maker for years and this summer I seriously feel like I just need to take the plunge.
i have been trying to not buy an icecream maker but with all these deliciousness, its HARD.
My favorite kind of ice cream is coconut milk-based Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream.
This is the most amazing ice cream I have ever made!! Every time I make it it gets great reveiws even from the skeptics who like to stick with basic flavors:) Thank you very much for your most amazing blog, recipes, and ideas!
My favorite flavor is pistachio, but really, who can say no to ice cream anyway?
This sounds so great!! Do you think it’d work with other summer stone fruits (peaches :D)? Coconut milk ice cream is the bomb. Can’t wait to try this! Also, thanks for the alcohol-in-ice-cream tip. Breakthrough!
Ohhhhh heeeeeck yes, it would work with peaches!! You know what else I’ve done is pureed peaches with the coconut milk to make a smooth, instead of chunky, consistency. Whoooa nelly, is that good!
I just made something like this too! I also have made that mistake of adding things into the maker, whomp whomp!
Oh my gosh, I’m so glad I’m not the only one!!! 😀
Hells bells and cockershells, I want this ice cream. Like, for breakfast today. I mean, I’m already wearing my fat pants, due to overeating shredded pork tacos last night. I need to stop this eating thing. I mean, I need to be ready to over indulge when you visit in September. 😀
LOL I have that I-need-to-quit-eating feeling pretty much on a daily basis. Let’s make ice cream while I’m there! And let’s put booze in it!
Yes! And you will discover that all of my yoga pants are actually used as fat pants and not a bit of yoga-ing.
I keep telling my husband I NEED an ice cream maker and he insists that I would never use it…. I’m going to start showing him amazing ice cream recipes until he caves- starting with this one… who can argue with boozey ice cream!??