One of my favorite memories is our summer vacations at the beach. After a long, hot day in the sun we would head to our favorite gelato shop. It was the one run by Italians and it was magical. I would stand in line scanning all of the flavors and imagine them melting on my tongue. Should I get chocolate, or, tiramisu? And what in the world was stracciatella? I would almost pick stracciatella, mainly because the name was so interesting to me. But, then I would think “what’s so special about chocolate chip ice cream?”
Until one day I tasted it. Deep, dark chocolate flecks instantly melted on my tongue as the rich, creamy vanilla ice cream coated it and lingered for a moment. It was simple, but it was glorious.
I like to add roasted cherries to my stracciatella to add another level of flavor. The cherries and chocolate compliment each other perfectly. And the creamy ice cream cuts through the slight sour, bitterness of the cherries and chocolate.
Xocolatl makes an incredible single origin Madagascar chocolate bar that is full of bright, red berry flavor. It is my favorite chocolate to swirl into Roasted Cherry Stracciatella. If you can’t get your hands on Xocolatl, buy the very best single origin chocolate you can find.
Roasted Cherry Stracciatella Ice Cream
- 1/2 cup coconut milk powder
- 1/2 cup cane sugar
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 3 3/4 cup coconut cream (reserve 1/4 cup for the slurry)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp plus 2 tsp tapioca flour
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
Directions:
- Mix the tapioca starch with 1/4 cup of the coconut cream to make a slurry. Set aside.
- In a 4 quart saucepan whisk the sugar, sea salt, and coconut milk powder together to break up any clumps.
- Add the remaining 3 1/2 cups of the liquid coconut cream and cook over medium heat. Bring the coconut cream to a low boil. Boil for 4 minutes. (Whisk frequently to prevent scorching.)
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the tapioca slurry. Return to the heat and stir constantly until it thickens like pudding (about one minute).
- Remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract and almond extract.
- Strain the ice cream mixture through a fine mesh strainer and place a piece of parchment paper directly onto the ice cream base. Cool to room temperature.
- Place in the refrigerator until cold, about 4 hours or up to overnight.
- Pour the ice cream base into an ice cream maker.
- Churn in an ice cream maker until the ice cream reaches soft serve consistency. (This usually takes about 20-25 minutes.)
- During the last two minutes of churning, drizzle in the magic shell (recipe below).
- In a freezer safe container, layer the ice cream and roasted cherry sauce (recipe below).
- Place a piece of parchment paper directly onto the ice cream. Cover and freeze for 4 hours or overnight.
- Allow to soften about 5-10 minutes before scooping. Scoop. Serve. Enjoy!
Magic Shell:
- 1/2 cup (90 grams) dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
Directions for Magic Shell:
- Put the dark chocolate and coconut oil in a Mason jar.
- Microwave in 20 second increments and stir until smooth.
Roasted Cherry Sauce:
- 10 oz. (2 cups) frozen cherries, pitted
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp tapioca flour
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
Directions:
- Place all the ingredients in an 8×8 baking dish and mix everything together.
- Bake at 400F for 30-45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.
- The cherry sauce is done once it bubbles up all the way. Keep an eye on it so that it doesn’t burn.
- Allow the cherry sauce to cool before layering it in the ice cream.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator.