Sour Cherry Gelato - Pink Saturday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It's next to impossible to have a celebration without cake and ice cream. The blog, How Sweet the Sound, the sponsor of Pink Saturday, is celebrating its second anniversary today and I thought I'd bring ice cream to the party. Actually, I decided to make a sour cherry gelato for the occasion. Gelato is Italy's lower fat version of ice cream. Because it is lower in butterfat, it does not freeze as firmly as ice cream and melts more quickly on the tongue. It also has a creamier taste because no air is added to it as it's made. I love to add a sour cherry puree to gelato to offset the sweetness of its creamy base. It is really simple to do and can even be made without an ice cream machine if you have time and patience. If you don't have a machine and would like to make ice cream or gelato, I suggest you read David Lebovitz's instructions on How to Make Ice Cream Without a Machine. If you'd like to make my version of sour cherry gelato, here's the recipe.

Sour Cherry Gelato...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 pound pitted fresh or frozen sour cherries
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon kirsch liqueur

Directions:
1) Place uncooked cherries in a heavy pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until reduced to about 1-1/2 cups. Puree cherries in a blender or food processor.
2) Heat milk and cream in a heavy saucepan until small bubbles form around edge of pan.
3) In bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg yolks. Slowly add sugar and continue beating until light and thick and mixture forms a ribbon when dropped from a spoon. Add milk mixture to eggs slowly, then add cherry mixture. Place over low heat and stir constantly until mixture thickens and coats a spoon. Watch carefully. If mixture overheats it will curdle.
4) Strain through a sieve into a bowl and cool in ice water bath about 15 minutes. Pour into a covered container and refrigerate two to three or until chilled. Add kirsch. Pour into an ice cream machine and follow manufacturer's directions. Yield: 1 quart.

You might also like these recipes:
Peppermint Ice Cream - One Perfect Bite
Rhubarb and Raspberry Gelato - One Perfect Bite
Cranberry Chambord Sorbet - One Perfect Bite