If I could recreate the solar system, each planet would become humongous balls of ice cream that continually orbit my wide-open mouth. Ben and Jerry could bring along their entire crew of misfits to inhabit the new celestial orbs. Though, first, Chubby Hubby must stop eating Magic Brownies or extreme Chocolate Therapy will be in order. Chunky Monkey can no longer play with Cake Batter and Brownie Batter, while trying to find Berried Treasure. Neapolitan Dynamite may not complete his Mission to Marzipan. And, last but not least, cheeky Cherry Garcia will have to master – the Karamel Sutra – another time.
Oh, what a wonderful new solar system it would be.
Until that day transpires, I will wait patiently. I will not be tempted by this small army of misfits, lined up ever so neatly and orderly, each with their own colorful personality, vying for attention to be rescued from behind the oppressive cold doors of the supermarket freezer, as I tiptoe along the isle whistling nervously, pretending to need another bag of frozen peas, and doing everything in my power to ignore them. Just when I thought I was in the clear, I see Cherry Garcia nudging forward, thus suddenly appearing in my peripheral vision.
That’s it. Game over. I’ve cracked. On this day, however….I surprise myself. I reach in deep and rev up my willpower to its final gear, and escape back home.
Hours later, still vehemently on my mind, I wave the white flag of delicious defeat and give in to my favorite misfit of them all. Without missing a beat, I commence the making of Homemade Cherry Garcia Ice Cream. Funny how the rationalization kicks in and metastasizes so quickly: Cherries are good for you. Dark chocolate is good for you. Milk is good for you. I hear this over and over again in my head as I shave more chocolate and coddle the custard. Before I know it, a small army of cones filled with out-of-this-world ice cream, orbits my salivating mouth.
Homemade Cherry Garcia Ice Cream
Tweaked from Ben and Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream and Dessert Book, by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, with Nancy J. Stevens, yields one heavenly quart
Feel free to use a little less sugar if you like things not too sweet, like I do. I also used 1% milk to counter the badness of the heavy cream (plus, I had a full quart I needed to use up), but if you wanna be wild and crazy, go with whole milk.
Oh – almost forgot, Ben and Jerry wrote this book in the 80′s, so beware that the egg recipes use raw eggs. Simply cook them by making a custard as shown below.
Music Pairing: Sugar Magnolia, Grateful Dead
Ingredients
- 1/4 overflowing cup shaved dark chocolate
- 1/4 overflowing cup fresh Bing cherries, pitted and quartered
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 cups heavy or whipping cream
- 1 cup milk
- pinch of salt
Method
Place the shaved chocolate flakes and the cherries in separate bowls. Cover and refrigerate.
Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and gradually add some of the warmed milk, stirring constantly as you pour. Pour the warmed mixture back into the saucepan.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula. Strain the custard into the heavy cream and stir.
Chill thoroughly, and transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer’s instructions (about 20-25 minutes). After the ice cream stiffens (about 2 minutes before it is done), add the chocolate and the cherries, then continue freezing until the ice cream is ready. Freeze at least 2 hours (I like to leave it overnight) before serving.
oh yum! This is one of my favourite ice creams – actually I go for the frozen yogurt variety for the lower guilt factor. But this, this looks better than anything B&J have made. And that is saying something.
yum, yum, yum
xo
i’ve tried that trick time and time again, but find when i get the frozen yogurt, i end up eating much, much more of it. :)
This is definitely my guilty pleasure!
don’t feel guilty…do what i do, tell yourself how much you deserve it!
YUM! that looks delicious!
That picture is lovely!
I didn’t know about the ben and jerry book, I need to get it now :)
Great shot!! Love the flavours.
You’ve just got me craving Ben & Jerrys something fierce, haha. Oh, and I do have some cherries that really need eating up… why am I so easy to manipulate?
Don’t know how you do it but your pictures are always amazing!
This looks delicious. What kind of ice cream machine do you have?
hi tien – i have a cuisinart: http://kissmyspatula.com/2009/06/08/fresh-pineapple-sorbet/. it’s my steadfast summertime friend.
Beautiful pic! I’m sure the ice cream tastes great too!
You and I must be food blogger sisters…I’ve been dreaming of making a Cherry Garcia-like ice cream lately. I’m thinking chocolate Cherry Garcia. Because if chocolate is good for you, more chocolate is even better for you, right? I didn’t know about this book…must get it!
absolutely! the more, the better when it comes to chocolate…especially dark, healthy, good-for-you chocolate. :)
Hi. I recently made a version of this at home too. I was wondering. Did you find that the cherries got icy if you put them in the freezer raw? If not how did you overcome that? I had to amend my recipe to use slightly poached cherries (in brandy) to keep them soft. Thanks GREG
hi greg – hmmm, now that you mention it, i did notice the cherries were a tiny bit on the icy side, but maybe it didn’t bother me too much since i sliced the cherries into quarters instead of halves. i’ve read that cooking the cherries in sugar syrup first may do the trick, but to be honest, for me, the simpler the better!
I want to be a part of that solar system! This looks delicious!
What a well-written, entertaining post. Oh yeah, and the ice cream sounds incredibly tasty!
I’ve been holding off for so long in getting an ice cream maker, and posts like this are not helping! :) Looks divine!
hi cate – go for it! you’ll end up using it more than you think. it sits happily on my counter all summer long.
Don’t hold off!! I bought one this Christmas for my mom and it is totally worth it!! =P
OMG…you are killing us with this one. we are crazy about Cherry Garcia…we will make this asap. thanks, s
i am THE luckiest guy in the world.
Your ice cream cones look great! And, cherry garcia is my favorite Ben and Jerry’s flavor. Delicious.
you and me both, lisa! though chunky monkey comes in at a close second for me.
Love this! :) I wonder if you can make it without an ice cream maker.
hi raluca – though i’ve never tried it, here is a bag method: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/tips-techniques/how-to-make-ice-cream-without-an-ice-cream-maker-026055. let me know how it turns out of you end up giving it a shot!
That looks and sounds delicious. I have the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream book, but have never made anything from it.
Have you tried the Ben and Jerry’s Creme Brulee ice cream?
hi aja, no i haven’t, though it sounds fantastic.
This reminds me of cherry pitter that I just saw: http://www.amazon.com/Talisman-Designs-Cherry-Chomper-Pitter/dp/B001Q9EK1Y. So cute!
hi erin – i just saw that exact cherry pitter a few weeks ago at a kitchen supply store in seattle and restrained myself from buying it. so damn cute!
But it is true – Chocolate IS good for you! Lovely post.
Your ice cream looks delicious! :) So pretty!
I JUST finished having a cone of Mission to Marzipan. :) My all time favorite was Festivus, though…which is sadly in the B & J’s graveyard. ;(
Cherry Garcia is my all time FAVORITE ice cream! when I found the fro-yo version, yum, even better.
And then I started to make my own ice cream… Cherry Garcia is still my favorite, but mine is much better than theirs :)
Thanks for this recipe, brings a smile to my face, and a run to the freezer for a bowl of homemade ice cream :)
I love looking at your photos, you should consider a career in food photography. Ben and Jerry’s ice cream is one of my favorite ice creams out there.
I love your new and improved Universe. Provided, of course, that I play a major role in the consumption of the revolving treats…….lovely ice cream cones! :)
gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!!
Great post! Looks super delicious! AND, it’s a great excuse to eat some ice cream (that and because it’s blazing outside). :)
Oh yummy! I need to get the ice cream maker attachment for my Kitchenaid.
I LOVE the color and presentation – this recipe sounds amazing!
Now that’s inspirational! :)
Awesome stuff, I have to try this. I don’t really understand all the raw egg paranoia, though. I’ve never gotten sick from eating soft-cooked eggs—not to mention that I used to drink protein shakes made of raw eggs and half-and-half (Rocky Balboa style) on an almost daily basis.
Nice! I hope you are planning to enter this into the ice cream social! http://savorthethyme.blogspot.com/2009/07/national-ice-cream-month-ice-cream.html
LOVE your blog! And this recipe too!
Such a great idea. I could indulge in this solar system idea of yours… perhaps we should contact a good astronomer for their thoughts??
I see a planetary blog update in your future.
[...] Homemade Cherry Garcia Ice Cream at Kiss My [...]
What a lovely ice cream!
So delicious looking!
Yum!
That looks fabulous….oh how I need an ice cream maker!
Yum, it looks fantastic!
I’m visiting Vermont for work in a few weeks and we’re going to the Ben and Jerry’s factory – I’m beyond excited!
Wow this is just gorgeous! Now I wish I had some cherries left over since I bought an ice cream maker…nice post…Like your blog too…found you via lisaiscooking…
How about Creme Brulee ice cream, like Ben & Jerry’s? (homemade of course)
Is it possible to leave the eggs out altogether? I’ve seen lots of ice cream recipes that don’t use eggs and am just curious is they are needed.
Any idea how one might convert this to the frozen yogurt version? Looks wonderful by the way, and is my favorite favor!
Just finished making my first batch! It’s sooooo good! And I love that it uses whole eggs. I doubled the amount of cherries though.. I think I’ll add even more next time (it still didn’t seem like enough for me). But this recipe is a gem :) Thanks for sharing <3