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Cherry Almond Chip Ice Cream

By Morgan Bolling

Published on June 22, 2025

Time

1 hour, plus 10 hours cooling and chilling

Yield

Serves 8 to 10 (Makes about 1 quart)

Cherry Almond Chip Ice Cream

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk 6 large egg yolks 6 tablespoons (2⅔ ounces/76 grams) sugar ¼ cup light corn syrup ¼ teaspoon table salt ¾ cup cherry preserves, divided¼ teaspoon almond extract 1¼ cups heavy cream 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Before You Begin

To speed up the chilling of the custard in step 3, if preferred, fill a slightly larger bowl with ice and set the bowl with the custard over the ice; refrigerate the nested bowls until the custard registers about 40 degrees, 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. If using a canister-style ice cream maker, be sure to freeze the empty canister for at least 24 hours and preferably 48 hours before churning. If using a self-refrigerating ice cream maker, prechill the canister by running the machine for 5 to 10 minutes before pouring in the custard.

Instructions

  1. Heat 1 cup whole milk in large saucepan over medium heat until just simmering. While milk heats, whisk 6 large egg yolks6 tablespoons (2⅔ ounces/76 grams) sugar¼ cup light corn syrup, and ¼ teaspoon table salt together in large bowl. Whisking constantly, very slowly add hot milk to yolk mixture until fully incorporated (taking care not to add milk too quickly to avoid curdling eggs), about 1 minute; transfer mixture to now-empty saucepan.
  2. Cook yolk mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly and scraping corners of saucepan with silicone spatula, until mixture thickens and registers 180 degrees in multiple places, 3 to 5 minutes. Strain custard through fine-mesh strainer set over clean large bowl. Off heat, whisk in ½ cup cherry preserves and ¼ teaspoon almond extract
  3. Let custard cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate until custard registers about 40 degrees, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
  4. Place 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan in freezer. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip 1¼ cups heavy cream on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until just shy of soft peaks, 1 to 3 minutes. Whisk whipped cream into chilled custard.
  5. Transfer ice cream base to ice cream maker and churn until mixture resembles thick soft-serve ice cream, 25 to 30 minutes. 
  6. Transfer ice cream to prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle 2 ounces finely chopped bittersweet chocolate and dollop remaining ¼ cup cherry preserves over top, then swirl into ice cream with tines of fork. Press plastic wrap flush against surface of ice cream. Freeze until firm, at least 6 hours. Serve. 
Cherry Almond Chip Ice Cream
Photography by Steve Klise. Styling by Elle Simone Scott.

Cherry Almond Chip Ice Cream

Headshot of Morgan Bolling
By Morgan Bolling

Published on June 22, 2025

Save

Time

1 hour, plus 10 hours cooling and chilling

Yield

Serves 8 to 10 (Makes about 1 quart)

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk
6 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons (2⅔ ounces/76 grams) sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
¼ teaspoon table salt
¾ cup cherry preserves, divided
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1¼ cups heavy cream
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk
6 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons (2⅔ ounces/76 grams) sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
¼ teaspoon table salt
¾ cup cherry preserves, divided
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1¼ cups heavy cream
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk
6 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons (2⅔ ounces/76 grams) sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
¼ teaspoon table salt
¾ cup cherry preserves, divided
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1¼ cups heavy cream
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Why This Recipe Works

We wanted a French-style (egg custard–based) ice cream that would be failproof for someone new to making homemade ice cream. To get there, we started by tempering egg yolks with hot milk. This allowed the eggs to gently thicken the custard rather than curdle in it. We added corn syrup to keep the ice cream soft and scoopable after freezing. And we whipped some heavy cream until just shy of soft peaks and folded that into the chilled custard mixture before churning. This added extra air, which gave the ice cream a lighter feel and helped prevent ice crystals while freezing. For a version with cherry chip flavor, we added cherry preserves into the base along with almond extract, which enhanced the cherry flavor. We also folded in some ribbons of cherry preserves and finely chopped chocolate before freezing. 

Before You Begin

To speed up the chilling of the custard in step 3, if preferred, fill a slightly larger bowl with ice and set the bowl with the custard over the ice; refrigerate the nested bowls until the custard registers about 40 degrees, 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. If using a canister-style ice cream maker, be sure to freeze the empty canister for at least 24 hours and preferably 48 hours before churning. If using a self-refrigerating ice cream maker, prechill the canister by running the machine for 5 to 10 minutes before pouring in the custard.

Instructions

  1. Heat 1 cup whole milk in large saucepan over medium heat until just simmering. While milk heats, whisk 6 large egg yolks6 tablespoons (2⅔ ounces/76 grams) sugar¼ cup light corn syrup, and ¼ teaspoon table salt together in large bowl. Whisking constantly, very slowly add hot milk to yolk mixture until fully incorporated (taking care not to add milk too quickly to avoid curdling eggs), about 1 minute; transfer mixture to now-empty saucepan.
  2. Cook yolk mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly and scraping corners of saucepan with silicone spatula, until mixture thickens and registers 180 degrees in multiple places, 3 to 5 minutes. Strain custard through fine-mesh strainer set over clean large bowl. Off heat, whisk in ½ cup cherry preserves and ¼ teaspoon almond extract
  3. Let custard cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate until custard registers about 40 degrees, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
  4. Place 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan in freezer. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip 1¼ cups heavy cream on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until just shy of soft peaks, 1 to 3 minutes. Whisk whipped cream into chilled custard.
  5. Transfer ice cream base to ice cream maker and churn until mixture resembles thick soft-serve ice cream, 25 to 30 minutes. 
  6. Transfer ice cream to prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle 2 ounces finely chopped bittersweet chocolate and dollop remaining ¼ cup cherry preserves over top, then swirl into ice cream with tines of fork. Press plastic wrap flush against surface of ice cream. Freeze until firm, at least 6 hours. Serve. 

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