Cherry Ripe Icecream

We almost ran out of fuel near Peachester, returning from a late summer weekend at the beach, so stopped at a fruit shop for some fresh lychees as a pick-me-up. They also made gelati in yummy flavours and we needed that - the boys chose Cherry Ripe. There was a lot of discussion on the ingredients, so over the following weekends D experimented with making our own and this is the latest, closest version of deliciousness.

~Cherry Ripe Icecream~

1. Make the cherry swirl :
1 kg frozen pitted cherries, cut in half
1/3 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tab brandy or choice of liqueur
1 teaspoon gelatine
Heat the cherries, sugar, water and brandy until cherries are cooked. strain off the cherries and reduce the liquid by half. Stir through the gelatine to dissolve and set aside to cool in fridge.

2. When the cherry mix is cold, make the icecream.
Beat the following in a mixmaster until smooth and thickened :
600ml cream
1 tin condensed milk
250g cream cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla essence

3. Fold through the icecream mix :
1 cup dessicated coconut
180g packet Cherry Ripe chocolates, cut into small pieces
168g packet Flake chocolate, crumbled (maybe try grated dark chocolate instead)

4. Swirl the cold cherry mix through the icecream mix.

5. Pour into a container and freeze. Drizzle melted dark chocolate over the top and serve.