Fudge-Swirled Red Wine & Black Cherry Ice Cream

The words “record-breaking” used to illicit thoughts of Rapunzel-esc hair, giant rubber band balls, and jump-roping contests, but no such awe or excitement has been present this week when the record-breaking heat is the topic of everyone’s conversation.

I react to extreme heat much like some people respond to frigid winters. The angel of death is essentially waiting on my doorstep, hibernation is not optional, and I will cancel activities in order to avoid opening the front door.

Sure, I have had to become a bit more resourceful now that I am a dog mom to a furry baby who requires time out of doors, but thankfully, she has also learned to despise the humidity and blazing sun rays almost as much as her mother.

Wow. I have been talking about weather for a really long time.

Before my introduction takes over the entire post, let me say that when it is 100 degrees with a heat index of 150, there are very few things that you can do outside of laying very still in the darkest room of your house, but one of those things is making ice cream.

It offers respite from heat stroke in a creamy, sweet-tooth-satisfying format - making it one of the best parts of being alive.

It is rare to find something in this world that can bring joy faster than homemade ice cream. Add plump black cherries, fudgey chocolate swirls, and red wine and we are basically making magic.

In order to incorporate the flavor of red wine into our ice cream without diluting the custard, we are going to reduce it to a thick syrup that can easily be mixed into our ice cream base.

The “fudge” is equally simple, being a combination of dark chocolate and heavy cream that are heated until smooth and stir-able. Adding cream to the chocolate not only adds richness, but also helps to keep the chocolate soft after the ice cream is frozen. While the ice cream churns, the faux fudge is added, one spoonful at a time, creating thin ribbons of rich, dark chocolate.

This form of edible magic just happens to be best enjoyed in the comfort of your favorite pajamas.

I want to open an ice cream truck now and serve only this flavor. It’s just that good.

Sincerely,

Pedantic Foodie

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Fudge-Swirled Red Wine & Black Cherry Ice Cream

makes three pints

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk

• 1 1/2 cups + 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream, divided use

• 8 large egg yolks

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon

• 1 1/2 cups black cherries, pitted and halves

• 3/4 cup dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Combine whole milk, 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, and sugar in a 3-quart saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the milk is steaming and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs yolks until thick and pale yellow in color.

While continuing to whisk, ladle half of the steaming milk mixture into the thickened egg yolks. Return the tempered eggs to the saucepan and place over medium heat.

Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is steaming and has thickened slightly. Do not boil.

Remove from heat and allow to cool while you prepare the wine.

Place wine in a small saucepan and bring to a heavy simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer steadily for approximately 10 minutes; until the wine has thickened and reduced by half.

Stir the reduced wine and pitted cherries into the ice cream base.

Cover with plastic and chill for 6 hours, or overnight.

Just before churning the ice cream, prepare the fudge. Combine dark chocolate and 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream in a small, glass dish and microwave for thirty seconds. Stir well, until very smooth. Set aside to cool while you churn the ice cream.

When the ice cream base has thoroughly chilled, pour the ice cream into an ice cream maker and churn according to your manufacturer’s instructions.

When the ice cream has almost finished churning, use a teaspoon to drop small portions of the prepared, cooled fudge into the churning ice cream. This will create thin ribbons of chocolate throughout the ice cream.

Transfer the soft ice cream to an airtight container and freeze until solid; approximately 6-8 hours.

Enjoy!

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