This super creamy homemade black cherry ice cream recipe has a lovely color and delicious flavors. It needs just three ingredients of cherries, condensed milk, and cream. Like other ice cream recipes on the blog, this is also made without an ice cream maker.
This no-churn ice cream doesn’t develop icicles that are common in homemade ice cream, Yum! I was very skeptical about trying cherry Ice cream because I felt cherry has a mild flavor that will get overpowered by cream. But I'm glad I tried it and it tastes very good.
 This black cherry ice cream makes a very exciting dessert after dinner on a hot summer day, full of antioxidants. Find more benefits of black cherry here.
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What makes this the best recipe?
For this recipe, we use whipped cream that has high-fat content, condensed milk which again has low water content attained by reducing milk to almost â…“, and concentrated cherry pulp.
Because the water content is low and fat content is high, the crystals do not develop upon freezing and you get super smooth no-churn black cherry ice cream without a machine. If you like a slight tinge of tartness add little lemon juice too.
If you like homemade ice creams you must try Mango Ice Cream, Peach Ice Cream, Strawberry Ice Cream, and Orange Ice Cream.
Ingredients
Cherries: As cherry is the main ingredient, I can’t insist more that get the best cherries for ice cream or consider waiting until you get sweet, dark, and delicious cherries. You can also make a small batch of cherry jam with cherries.
Cream: Use full-fat heavy cream for this recipe. Use it chilled do so that doubles very well in volume and gets stiff peaks.
Condensed milk: You can use homemade condensed milk as well.
How to make it?
- Wash and pit the fruit with the cherry pitter. If you do not have it then simply chop it in half to remove the pit.
- Transfer pitted cherries to a food processor and blend until smooth. Make sure skin is fully blended. Cook the blended cherries on medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Keep simmering the puree on low heat until slightly thickened. Set it aside and let it cool. Transfer puree to a bowl which will let the puree cool quickly.
- Take chilled heavy cream in a large bowl.
- Whip it with a beater until you see stiff peaks. That is when you remove the whisk, the cream holds its shape and doesn't melt in smoothness.
- Add cooked cherry puree and condensed milk. Mix with the help of a spatula, and keep stirring until puree is evenly mixed. Do a taste test and add one extra tablespoon of lemon juice if you like it sour. (At this stage, after mixing you have lovely color. But color depends on the variety of cherries used.)
- Transfer ice cream to a container, preferably with a lid. Then cover it with butter paper or cling wrap. It should touch the surface of ice cream. This doesn't allow icicles to form on the surface.
- Freeze the homemade ice cream for at least 6 hours. Remove the ice cream 10 minutes before serving so it is scoopable and then scoop it into the ice cream cups. Serve immediately, Enjoy!
Expert Tip
Although most recipes suggest adding fresh cherries directly to cream. Black Cherries tend to freeze hard in ice cream. To make this ice cream serve with extra fresh cherries for the best experience. Alternately you can just cook the cherries without cutting them in half and add them to ice cream without blending.
- Select your fruit carefully! Fully ripened sweet black cherries that have dark skin and reddish flesh are best for any cherry recipe. So you might need to adjust this recipe according to the cherries you have in hand. If your fruit is naturally very sweet, consider reducing condensed milk in the recipe by 2-3 tablespoons.
- The color of ice cream also depends on the color of fruit skin and flesh and ranges from pink to light purple.
- Take your ice cream out of the freeze 10-15 minutes before serving so ice cream is easily scoopable.
Check the thick drips and creaminess in the picture.
Variations
- Chunky cherry ice cream: If you wish to make chunky cherry ice cream. Skip the step of blending the cherry and cooking it. Follow the rest of the steps as it is.
- Swirl Ice cream: To make a swirl, mix half of the blended cherries paste to the cream-condensed milk base. Then transfer the base to the container. Pour the remaining cherry paste on the base and make a swirl with a stick.
- For Chocolate cherry ice cream, after filling the container with ice cream sprinkle a small semi-sweet chocolate chip on the surface and freeze. Do not mix as chocolate chips tend to sink at the bottom.
- For Vanilla cherry ice cream, mix vanilla essence in the cream-condensed milk base. Pour half of the mixture into the container and dot with dollops of half of the cherry paste. Make a swirl with a stick. Repeat the process again with the remaining base and cherry. Then freeze.
FAQ
Yes, frozen and pitted cherries are great to start and help reduce the pitting effort. Just cook the cherries to burn excess juices and follow the rest of the recipe as it is.
Hungry For Ice creams? Check these.
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📖 Recipe
Black Cherry Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cup (500 g) fresh cherries, pitted
- 2 cups heavy cream, whipping cram pr doubl
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1-2 tablespoon lemon juice, optional
Instructions
- Blend pitted cherries until smooth. (Pro Tip: Skip blending for chunky cherry ice cream.)
- Take cherries in a pan and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat until soft. Keep stirring frequently.
- Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Let it cool completely.
- Take chilled whipping cream in a large bowl. Whip it until you see stiff peaks.
- Add cooked cherry puree, condensed milk, and lemon juice. Mix with the help of a spatula.
- Transfer ice cream to a 1.5-liter container. Then cover it with butter paper or cling wrap. It should touch the surface of ice cream.
- Chill for at least six hours in the freezer. Remove the ice cream 10 minutes before serving. Scoop and serve immediately.
Notes
- Cherries: Fully ripened sweet black cherries that have dark skin and reddish flesh are best for any cherry recipe If your fruit is naturally very sweet, consider reducing condensed milk in the recipe by 2-3 tablespoons.Â
- The color of ice cream also depends on the color of fruit skin and flesh and ranges from pink to light purple.
- Use full-fat heavy cream:Â Use chilled cream that doubles very well in volume and gets stiff peaks.
- Lemon: Skip lemon juice for sweeter and less tarty ice cream.
- Take your ice cream out of the freeze 15 minutes before serving so ice cream is easily scoopable.
Linda T. says
Can you use Black Cherry Jam?
Thanks!
Mariam Sodawater says
Hi Linda, black cherry jam can do as well. Just use less condensed milk. Because the jam will have loads of added sugar. Consider using ¾ cup of condensed milk and adjust after tasting. Another tip is the jam can be thick and might be difficult to mix with cream. So mix little milk in it to loosen it into a sauce like consistency.