Tart Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Over the weekend I told my bf that when I eat an early dinner I sometimes get disappointed that it means I can’t eat dinner later. BUT that night the joke was on me because we had late night pizza and this second dinner was actually the first time I cared at all about pineapple on pizza, so there ya go. A 2-part story that has nothing to do with this ice cream other than that that was one of the best days ever.

Not only because of the 2-dinner thing and macaron brunch appetizer, but because I found some pink cones AND tasted this ice cream and basically just really loved it. You see it’s tart from the Michigan cherries (a total freezer section miracle) and goat cheese. The graham cracker crust swirled in makes it taste JUST like cheesecake. Do yourself a favor and go to Kroger and get colorful cones and scoop this up for your Valentine.

Tart Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream (makes 1 hefty quart)
Recipe adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home

Ingredients:

tart cherry compote –

• 2 cups pitted tart cherries (fresh or frozen)
• 1/2 cup sugar

graham cracker crust –

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 20 squares)
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 3 T granulated sugar
• pinch of  salt

goat cheese ice cream –

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 T + 1 t cornstarch
• 1/2 cup (about 4 oz.) fresh goat cheese
• 1 1/2 oz (3 T) cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 t fine sea salt
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup

Directions:

1. Make compote. Heat sugar and cherries in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Mash gently with the back of a spoon. Stir to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Cover and chill until time to use.
2. Make crust. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Stir the butter and sugar into the graham crackers until all of the crumbs are coated. Press onto a parchment lined baking sheet into a single layer about 1/4 inch thick. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely before crumbling. Once cooled, crumble and place in a zip top bag in the freezer.
3. Make ice cream. Mix about 2 tablespoons of milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to create a smooth slurry. In a large bowl, whisk the goat cheese, cream cheese, and salt together.
4. Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
5. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture until smooth. Whisk in half of the cherry compote. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill over night.
6. Churn, baby churn. Churn your ice cream according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Once churned layer in an air-tight container with the remaining compote and crust. Freeze overnight. Scoop and serve!

Yay! Click HERE for a printable pdf of the recipe above.

FriDAZE // Party Cone // Pre-brunch Snack-a-Palooza