This balsamic cherry goat cheese ice cream has a delightful tang specked with pieces of balsamic cherries through out.
Cherry season arrived mid May in San Diego. It was nice to see these red jewels appearing at the farmers markets. In the kitchen they go into cakes, salad, and many other dishes. Inspired by a fig goat cheese crumble ice cream that I shared previously, I decided to experiment with cherries. After a few attempts, I love how this balsamic cherry goat cheese ice cream turned out. The ice cream had a delightful tang specked with pieces of balsamic cherries through out.
Ingredient Notes
- Cherry: look for nice, plump, firm cherry that's not overripe and not underripe. My favorite varieties are Bings, Chelan, and Lapins.
- Goat cheese: pick quality goat cheese that is creamy with tangy flavor. The distinctive taste of goat cheese lends an incredible flavor to the ice cream custard. Some of my favorite brands are Montcherve and Cypress Grove.
- Balsamic vinegar: is a dark, concentrated and intensely flavored vinegar originating from from Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy. You can read more about balsamic vinegar here. Look for a quality balsamic vinegar.
How to Make the Cherry Compote
The compote has only 4 ingredients and takes less than 20 minutes to make. Just dump the pitted cherries, sugar, water, and balsamic vinegar in a pan and let the heat do its magic. After a short time on the stove, the heat turns the mixture into a sweet and tangy compote that’s more delicious than you can imagine.
Tips for Making Ice Cream
When making the custard, keep the heat low and gentle otherwise you’ll end up with scrambled egg. Pay attention to the consistency as the base cooks and goes from liquid to a thin soup like texture. You can test for readiness by dipping a spatula into the base, running your finger across the spatula to see if the path created by your finger holds for a few seconds. If the base doesn’t start running down the spatula, the custard is ready. I always strain my base to remove any solids. The goat cheese is whisked into the custard and refrigerated overnight for the flavor the develop.
How Long to Freeze Ice Cream For
Churn the ice cream until you get a soft serve consistency. Fold in the cherry compote and transfer the mixture to a container. Freeze the ice cream for a minimum of 4 hours.
The ice cream was creamy with the perfect tang from the goat cheese. We enjoyed it with the balsamic cherry compote which took it to the next level. This balsamic cherry goat cheese ice cream is the perfect treat to take you from spring until summer.
For more ice cream inspiration, check these recipes: fig goat cheese crumble ice cream, mulberry crumble ice cream, and roasted strawberry balsamic ice cream.
Balsamic Cherry Goat Cheese Ice Cream
Ingredients
Balsamic Cherry Compote
- 4 cups cherries, pitted
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, more if you like
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¼ cup sugar
Ice Cream
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sugar
- 4 large egg yolks
- 4 ounces plain goat cheese
- ¾ cup cherry compote
Instructions
Balsamic Cherry Compote
- In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water and bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
- Add the balsamic vinegar and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the cherries and let them simmer just until they are slightly soft, about 10 minutes.
- Transfer the compote to a sterilized glass jar and let it cool to room temperature. The compote will keep in the fridge for about 7 days.
Ice Cream
- In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the yolks just to break them up and whisk in ¼ cup sugar. Set aside.
- In a heavy non-reactive saucepan, combine cream, milk, salt and ¼ cup sugar.
- Put the pan over medium heat and let the mixture boil gently to bubbling just around the edges (gentle simmer). Reduce the heat to low.
- Carefully measure out ½ cup of hot cream mixture. Whisk in the hot cream mixture while whisking the eggs constantly. Continue tempering the eggs by adding another ½ cup of hot cream to the bowl with the yolks.
- Pour the cream-egg mixture back to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until it is thickened and coats the back of a spatula, about 12-15 minutes.
- Strain the base through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean container.
- Add goat cheese and whisk until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziplock freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in an ice bath until cold, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate the ice cream base for at least 2 hours or overnight. I like to refrigerate the base overnight for the most flavor.
- Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister of your ice cream machine and follow the manufacturer’s instructions until you get soft serve consistency. Fold in cherry compote.
- Spin for another 5 minutes until creamy. Pack the ice cream into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.
- When ready to serve, scoop ice cream into bowls. Top with extra compote.
Lauren
So good with the cherries!