Bing Cherry Ice Cream with Black Pepper and Bay Leaf
This recipe, whose technique was inspired by a recipe in Serious Eats by Stella Parks, captures the pure flavor of Bing cherries, and even intensifies it, by roasting them. It also makes pitting them easier and quicker (working quickly, it took us 10 minutes to pit 2 pounds). Optional fresh bay leaves and a lightly spicy note of freshly ground black pepper add savory interest. We think it’s pretty dreamy, and no custard-making required. If you want to serve something alongside, almond wafers go well.
The recipe goes easy on the sugar, to let the bright cherry flavor shine. We feel it’s sweet enough, but if you like things sweeter, you can add two or three extra tablespoons of sugar in step 4, when you simmer the puréed cherries.
Disposable food-prep gloves are handy to pit the roasted cherries.
Makes about 1 1/3 quarts.
Ingredients
2 pounds (907 grams) Bing cherries, including their stems
1/3 cup plus 1 heaping teaspoon (82 grams) sugar
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon (250 ml) cream