Colorado sour cherry ice cream is inspired by the vibrant red sour cherries grown on the western slopes of Colorado, this flavor packs a punch with elements of tart, sweet and tangy. Sweet Action creates ice creams made with fresh and seasonal ingredients, so the owners only feature this gem of a flavor on their menu when cherries are at their peak season. Lucky for you, they have chosen to share their recipe so you can make this ice cream whenever cherries are in season near your home.
Combine cherries with ¾ cup (150g) of the sugar and lemon juice. Allow the cherries to macerate in the refrigerator for approximately 6 hours, stirring every hour. Purée the macerated cherries in a blender. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the cherry skins; reserve the juice. Reserve 2 tablespoons (30g) of the cherry skins and discard the remaining skins.
Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside. Combine the remaining 1/2 cup (100g) sugar with the heavy cream and whole milk and place over medium heat. Bring the milk mixture to a low boil. Cook until the sugar dissolves, 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, transfer to a medium bowl and set in the ice water bath to cool, 20 minutes, whisking occasionally. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.
When you are ready to churn, combine the reserved sour cherry juice and the milk mixture in an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When churning is near completion, add the reserved cherry skins (adjust based on personal preference). Complete churning, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
Notes
Note: If you cannot find sour or tart cherries, you may substitute sweet cherries. To prepare the cherries, pit and halve before macerating. Add ½ teaspoon citric acid during maceration. The ice cream will not taste exactly the same, but it will still be tart and delicious. (This is what I did as there were no sour cherries to be had here. I did find a can of sour cherries after the fact, and I used them in a variation I'll be sharing later)