Egg yolks, sometimes you just end up with them. If you ventured in to the world of the pannacotta recipe then you would have 2 left over. 2 egg yolks, such a hard number to work with, not enough for a decent creme anglaise, a small batch of fresh pasta, the bin perhaps .

Don’t let them go to waste. 2 egg yolks is all you need to make a beautiful homemade ice cream. Some recipes require 4 yolks for ice cream, for me I always find there is a distinct eggy flavour that stands out. 2 egg yolks however always seems to create a balanced flavour that allows me to build on. It always has an artisan feel about it. It also gives you the ability to create flavour combinations that you never get in the shops.

This is one of my favourites. I only make it in summer when the cherries are in high season, full of flavour and at a good price. Chocolate and cherry have always been great friends, and add in some vanilla bean and you have a flavour combo to swoon for. Sadly our cherry season is coming to an end here in Australia, but you still have a few weeks to whip up a batch (or 2). If your in the northern hemisphere, your cherries are almost on their way, so keep this recipe in mind when you see the dark beauties at the markets or supermarkets.

I make the custard the day before I churn. The colder the mix, the better the ice cream machine works. If you don’t have an ice cream machine there are instructions for hand beating.

Cherry and Choc Chip Ice cream

2 cups of pitted and halved cherries (about 400g cherries)

250ml milk

1 Vanilla bean split and scrapped

2 Egg Yolks

120g Caster sugar

300ml Thickened Cream

70g dark chocolate shaved off a block or chopped finely

Place the milk and vanilla bean into a saucepan over low heat. Heat the milk until just below boiling. Leave to infuse for 20minutes.

Once infused, discard vanilla pod. Place back onto low heat and bring back to below boiling.

Meanwhile, in a bowl whisk the egg yolk and sugar until pale and combined.

Add a little of the hot milk to the egg mix and whisk to bring the eggs up to temperature.

Add the eggs into the milk mix and whisk over a low heat until the custard thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon or reaches 84C (if you have a thermometer). Allow to cool to room temp.

In a blender liquidise the cherries until a puree is reached. Strain through a sieve.

Add the cherry puree to the custard and stir to combine. Chill for 4 hours or overnight.

Churn cold custard following your ice cream machine instructions. Adding the chocolate chips half way.

or

Place in a container in the freezer and using a hand mixer beat the custard for 5 minutes every hour for 5 hours. adding the chocolate chips after 2 hours.

Notes: For some serious indulgence, try adding a tablespoon or 2 of cherry liqueur to custard before churning.