no-churn black forest ice cream

No need for a cumbersome ice cream maker here. You can make this awesome No-Churn Black Forest Ice Cream in a snap. All you need is your mixer and a chilled loaf pan.

I have vivid memories of my young children requesting Black Forest Cake for special occasions. My no-frills take on that was a chocolate bundt cake sliced into three layers, filled with whipped cream and cherry topping in between. This takes a bit more effort than that …but not much.

Before making your actual No-Churn Black Forest Ice Cream, you need to make the cherry sauce.

• Fresh or frozen pitted cherries – Pitted. Fresh or frozen cherries can be used.
• Granulated sugar – When possible, I prefer to use organic granulated sugar. It’s less processed than conventional refined sugar, retaining some of the molasses, which contains vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Additionally, organic sugar is produced without synthetic pesticides or herbicides.
• Water – Room temperature filtered or bottled water.
• Arrowroot starch – Arrowroot starch, also known as arrowroot flour or arrowroot powder, is a fine, white powder extracted from the root of the arrowroot plant . It’s a versatile ingredient used as a thickening agent in cooking and as a gluten-free flour alternative. Organic cornstarch can be used as an alternative. 

If you have an abundance of fresh cherries on hand, definitely use them. They do make the sauce that much more juicy. This handy cherry pitter tool makes fast work of removing those pesky pits.

For this presentation, I used frozen pitted cherries. A real time-saver and the sauce turns out to be really good. Great option for when those fresh gems aren’t available.

• Chop the cherries into quarters.
• Place them all in a medium sized pot.
• Add the sugar and 2 tablespoons water.
• Bring to a boil over medium high heat.
  
• Reduce to a simmer over medium heat.
• Cook stirring regularly until the cherries break down and release their juices.  
• The juices should start to reduce as the cherries become quite soft and easily mashed with the back of a fork.
  

• In a small cup, blend the arrowroot starch with a teaspoon of water to create a slurry.
• Add this to the cherries and stir through.
• Increase the heat to medium high.
• Stirring constantly, cook until the juices start to bubble and are thickening up slightly.
• Remove from the heat and let cool completely.
  
• Transfer to a container to store in the fridge until needed.
• It will continue to thicken up as it cools.
• This can be done ahead of time.

The remaining ingredients for your No-Churn Black Forest Ice Cream…

• Dark chocolate – You could use semisweet chocolate but the bittersweet version offers a nice contrast to the sweetness of the ice cream. Try to choose a brand that is non-GMO that would not contain bio-engineered ingredients.
• Sweetened condensed milk – Sweetened condensed milk is a thick, sweet dairy product made by removing water from cow’s milk and adding sugar. The process concentrates the milk and adds sweetness, resulting in a rich, creamy, and caramelized flavor.
• Pure vanilla extract – Best to use pure vanilla extract. Made from only natural vanilla beans, water and alcohol, pure vanilla extract provides a richer, deeper flavor profile with additional aromatic notes that the artificial version lacks.
• Kosher salt – If need be, table salt can be used with caution. Table salt is finer and more dense than kosher salt, so a teaspoon of table salt will contain more actual salt than a teaspoon of kosher salt. When substituting, use about two-thirds the amount of table salt specified in a recipe using kosher salt. 
• Mascarpone cheese – At room temperature. A soft, fresh, and creamy Italian cheese made from heavy cream rather than milk. It’s known for its rich, slightly sweet flavor and high fat content.
• Whipping cream – Or heavy cream.You can use either heavy cream or whipping cream, but keep in mind that heavy cream has a slightly higher fat content.
• Prepared cherry sauce – Must be completely cooled.

• Before working on the cream mixture, place a standard loaf pan in the freezer to chill.
• Finely chop the chocolate; place it in a bowl set to the side.

• Combine the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and salt in a large bowl.
  
• Place the mascarpone cheese into another large bowl or into the bowl of your stand mixer.
• Using the whisk attachment, whisk the cheese until smooth and creamy.
• While set on medium speed, add the whipping cream.
• Whip the two together, while gradually increasing the speed until set on high.
• Whip until stiff peaks are achieved.

• Using a silicone spatula, spoon about a third of the whipped cream into the milk and vanilla mixture.
• Gently fold until combined.
• Add another third and continue until everything is combined.
• Be gentle so as not to deflate too much of the whipped cream.
• Fold in the chopped chocolate.
  

• Pull out the chilled loaf pan.
• Remove the cherry sauce from the fridge.

• Spoon a third of the whipped cream mixture into the loaf pan.
• Spread it out evenly.
• Spoon a third of the cherry mixture over the cream.
• Use a skewer to swirl it gently throughout.
• Do not overwork it or you will turn the ice cream totally pink.
• Repeat for two more layers.
  

• Cover with plastic wrap then foil for an airtight fit.
• Chill in the freezer for 8 hours or overnight.
  

When ready to enjoy your No-Churn Black Forest Ice Cream, remove the pan from the freezer about ten minutes before scooping.

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