Ingredients

• ½ cup shaved chocolate (any high quality chocolate with around 60% cocoa)
• ½ cup fresh Bing cherries, halved and pitted
• ½ cup high quality cherry jam
• 1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
• ¾ cup (150 g) sugar
• 2 cups (5oo ml) heavy cream
• Pinch of salt
• 1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
• 6 large egg yolks
• ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Vanilla Ice Cream Base

1. Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup (250 ml) of the cream, and salt in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warm milk and add the bean as well. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. 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.
3. 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. Put the vanilla bean into the custard, add the vanilla extract, and stir until cool over an ice bath.
4. Let chill in the refrigerator over night.

Prepare Just Before Churning

1. Shave or cut into small chucks the chocolate.
2. Half and pit the cherries.

Churn Your Ice Cream

1. Transfer mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer’s instructions.
2. After the ice cream stiffens (about 2 minutes before it’s done), add the shaved chocolate, the fresh cherries and cherry jam.
3. Continue freezing until the ice cream is ready.
4. Serve soft, or freeze for 6-8 hours for hard ice cream.