The ice cream shop in my hometown sets right on the corner of our historic, picturesque town square. They’ve served frozen treats for as long as I can remember and I still go back for my favorite, Cherry Amaretto Ice Cream. Although I scope out the full ice cream selection at each visit, and sometimes even taste another flavor or two, I always walk away with this delightful mix of smooth almond cream and sweet, chopped cherries. And I’m never disappointed.

But my hometown is a couple of hours away, so I developed my own Cherry Amaretto Ice Cream recipe. And it transports me to the little ice cream shop on the city square with every bite.

Ingredients

• Cherries – Make sure to choose sweet, fresh cherries rather than sour for this recipe. Fresh sweet cherries are readily available in grocery stores in the US, including the Southeast, by July each summer. However, the fresh cherries in areas that grow cherries, like Michigan, are especially mouth-watering! Don’t miss an opportunity to nab a big bag of these if you’re in the area!
• Amaretto Liqueur– Not only does amaretto bring a delightful almond flavor, but alcohol lowers the freezing point of ice cream (slightly). This supports scoop-ability of the ice cream after it’s fully frozen. Soaking the chopped cherries in Amaretto promotes a lower freezing point of the cherries as well. And don’t worry. Amaretto is low in alcohol, so the ice cream should not taste boozy. It just adds some sweetness, smooth almond flavor, and scoop-ability.
• Cream – This recipe requires a little more cream and less milk than some ice cream recipes. A little extra cream offsets the zero fat of the amaretto, so the final ice cream retains a robust, creamy consistency. Also, ensuring the correct balance of fat prevents ice cream that freezes into a hard brick and needs to be pre-thawed before serving.
• Sugar – Well, its dessert, so we crave a little sweetness. And in addition to cream and amaretto, sugar helps to keep the homemade ice cream soft enough to scoop.
• Egg Yolks – Just another way to ensure a smooth, creamy texture that is delightfully scoopable when frozen.
• Almond Extract – This adds a little extra boost of that almond flavor that makes this treat exquisite.

Helpful Tips

• Cherries are wonderful in almost every way – except for their pits. The pit removal process can be tedious and result in some seriously stained fingernails (and countertops, and dishtowels, etc. etc). So be careful. Also, consider using a cherry pitting tool so you can have all of the delicious, nutritious cherries you’d like without all the hassle.
• Make sure to follow the instructions carefully and add the amaretto and almond extract after cooking and cooling the custard mixture. Cooking the amaretto and extract will cause the alcohol to evaporate. The benefit of lowering the freezing point of your ice cream will also… evaporate.
• Be very careful when heating the custard mixture. The goal is to heat it enough to kill any bacteria from the raw egg yolks, but not so much as to curdle the eggs. A temperature of 165F is perfect. The easiest and most precise way to achieve the correct temperature is a kitchen thermometer.
• The recipe can be easily doubled for larger ice cream makers.

And if you’re looking for other homemade ice cream recipes, check out Honey Ice Cream. It’s cool, silky-smooth texture and robust honey flavor will transport you to summer no matter the season!