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.

Read: “Capture Bing cherries’ spectacular flavor in a glorious ice cream (sugar cone and bare feet, optional!)”

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 g Bing cherries, including their stems

1/3 cup plus 1 heaping teaspoon / 82 g sugar

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon / 250 ml cream

1/2 cup / 118 ml whole milk

2 fresh bay leaves (optional)

1/8 teaspoon salt

Scant 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. with a rack in the middle of the oven, and line a rimmed baking sheet with a baking mat. Remove the stems from the cherries, but do not pit them yet. Place them in a medium bowl, along with the sugar, and toss to combine. Pour the cherries and sugar onto the lined baking sheet. Make sure the sugar is on top of the cherries as much as possible, rather than sitting on the baking mat (though some on the mat is fine). Place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cherries cool enough to handle.

2. Pour the cream and milk into a medium saucepan with the bay leaves (if using). When the cherries are cool enough to handle, using disposable gloves, squeeze the pits out of the cherries, placing the pits in the saucepan with the cream and milk, and the rest of the cherry into the bowl of a food processor. Use a rubber spatula to scrape any remaining juices from the baking mat into the food processor with the cherries. You’ll process them momentarily. (Alternatively, you can place the cherries and juices into a medium saucepan, where you’ll soon pulse them with an immersion blender; just be careful of splattering cherry juice.)

3. Bring the cream and pit mixture to a bare simmer over medium heat, then remove from the heat and cover. Let the mixture infuse for 20 minutes.

4. While the cream is infusing, pulse the cherries until they are nearly puréed but still have some small pieces of cherry for texture. Make sure there are no large pieces, which will become icy when frozen. Pour the cherries into a medium saucepan. Stir in the salt, black pepper and lemon juice, bring to a simmer over medium heat and let the mixture cook 15 or 16 minutes, stirring frequently, until it is thickened and reduced a bit. Remove from heat.

5. Strain the cream mixture into the cherry mixture, discarding the pits and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Taste it, and see what you think: If the cherries were bursting with flavor, it should be great; if not, you may want to add another squeeze of lemon or more black pepper. Transfer it to a heat-proof bowl, let cool, then cover with plastic film and place in the refrigerator to chill thoroughly. (Note: if you want to chill it more quickly, place the bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice water, and stir till it cools, then refrigerate until it is thoroughly chilled.) Freeze in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.