Sour Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream

I love cherries, especially the tart kind, but my birch pollen sensitivity causes me to have a mild allergic reaction when I eat these fruits raw. I can work around this issue by cooking the offending element, which includes pretty much all stone fruits. Happily, popping peaches, apricots, etc., in the microwave for a minute or so seems to kill whatever it is that my body thinks is an allergen. I can also eat dried, frozen, or canned stone fruits, so I don't really feel at all deprived.

When I found that Oregon Fruit Products sold red tart cherries in jars, packed only in tart cherry juice, I was elated. Tart cherries are available for such a short time in the summer, and sometimes I miss that window. Jarred cherries, however, are around all the time, so I can have them whenever I want. I've always been a fan of Oregon's products. I'm pretty sure that the very first blackberries I ever ate came from a can. Now there's usually a can of berries in the pantry for those times I have a need for instant fruit and am too lazy to walk to the grocery store (which is often).

Oregon Fruit Products was kind enough to send me a few jars of their tart cherries to try. Now what to do with them besides eating them directly from the jar? Pies and tarts seem the obvious choice, but why not ice cream? When I was a kid, one of my favorite ice creams was a certain name brand's cherry vanilla, back in the good old days when they advertised that their ice creams had no artificial ingredients. It had a strong vanilla flavor, punctuated by sweet fruit. My cherry vanilla ice cream is completely different than theirs. Not only is it made with ingredients that are more likely to be found in a home pantry than a chemical lab, the cherry flavor is the star. I wanted to taste the vanilla too, which is why the recipe calls for a whole tablespoon of extract. If you feel that's too much, by all means cut back. You just won't taste it as much.

The Oregon Red Tart Cherries are quite tart, as they are packed with no added sweetener, so I warmed them up with a bit of sugar before adding them to the ice cream. The tart cherry juice left over went directly into my gullet. Did you know that antioxidant-rich tart cherry juice is helpful in fighting inflammation and pain for people with osteoarthritis?

Tart Cherry Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

For the cherries:
1 13-ounce jar of Oregon Red Tart Cherries, well drained (drink the juice!)
1/2 cup granulated sugar

For the ice cream:
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons softened cream cheese
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

To make the cherries: Cut the drained cherries into quarters and place them and the sugar in a sauce pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar begins to bubble, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and refrigerate until completely cold.

To make the ice cream: Mix 2 tablespoons of the whole milk with the cornstarch to make a slurry. In a separate bowl, whisk the cream cheese and salt together until smooth. Prepare a shallow ice bath: in a large bowl or baking pan, place an inch or two of cold water and several ice cubes. Set aside.

Cook the remaining milk, cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a large saucepan until it comes to a rolling boil, Boil for 4 minutes, watching carefully so it doesn't boil over (stir when it starts to expand), remove from heat, and slowly whisk in the slurry. Bring back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Blend a few tablespoons of hot milk mixture into the cream cheese to loosen it, then pour the cream cheese mixture into the pan of milk. Whisk well until smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Pour into a container with a tight-fitting lid and place the container into the ice bath until cool. Refrigerate until completely cold.

To finish: Freeze ice cream according to manufacturers instructions. Once ice cream is mostly done, add the cherry mixture a little at a time until it is completely incorporated.

Scoop ice cream into a lidded container. Press a piece of wax paper onto the surface of the ice cream. Seal container and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Summer Fruit Bread Pudding

Ok, maybe not the best photo in the world, but it gives you an idea of how big this recipe is. Great for a summertime party!

There's a small (very small) farmers' market very close to work (across the street!) and I'm fortunate to be able to get luscious peaches for much of the summer, and sour cherries in their very short season. Sometimes I get a bit carried away and buy cherries and peaches and nectarines and other stuff that we simply can't eat fast enough. After all, there's only two of us. And once in a while, those extra peaches get squishy and the cherries threaten to get moldy, so I have to do something with them, and quick.

Bread pudding is a good solution to the problem. We always have bread and eggs, and there's usually a can of sweetened condensed milk in the cupboard. Mix it all up, add fruit, bake (I know - it's hot, sorry) and eat with some vanilla ice cream or custard or heavy cream poured on top, or as is. Bread pudding makes a great breakfast, snack, or dessert. If you can't eat it fast enough, you can cut it into serving pieces, wrap well in foil, and put them in a plastic bag in the freezer.

Summer Fruit Bread Pudding

4 eggs
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch salt
About 1/2 pound stale white bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 5 cups)
2 peaches, peeled and cut into about 1" pieces
1 cup sour cherries, pitted and halved
1 teaspoon softened butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat the eggs, milks, vanilla, and seasonings together in a large bowl. Add the bread and toss to combine. Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for half an hour or so, so the bread can soak up the milk.

Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish (or a bundt pan) and pour the bread pudding mixture in. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake for 45 minutes and uncover. Continue baking until the pudding rises and is firm in the center and golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes.

Let cool slightly before serving.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Sour Cherry Spoon Fruit

After I made that cherry pie, I knew I had to get more sour cherries while they were in season. I snagged the last quart at the local farmers' market and waited until the weekend to do something with the tiny red beauties. Originally, I figured a quart would be enough to make a clafouti and a bit of jam or preserves, but because I waited a few days to pit the late-season cherries, some of them had started to rot. I ended up with a scant three cups of pitted cherries and gave Mr Minx the choice of using them in either the clafouti or the jam. He figured the latter would be more versatile, and so did I.

I didn't want to make a full-on jam. It was too hot to boil anything for 40 minutes, so I cooked the mixture for about half that, only until the cherries were nice and tender. I then took a stick blender and gave it a whiz, breaking down the fruit into a very chunky puree. Technically not a puree.

The result was thick enough to spread on toast, and that's good enough for us.

Sour Cherry Spoon Fruit

3 cups pitted sour cherries
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Pinch salt

Bring all ingredients to a boil over high heat. Turn back heat a little and cook at a rapid simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and whiz with a stick blender until the fruit is mostly broken down/the liquid is less liquid-y looking. Pour into a jar with a lid.

Keep refrigerated. Makes about 1 pint. Eat within 1 week.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Sour Cherry Tart

My brother purchased two pies, one cherry and one apple, to serve as dessert on the 4th of July. While the cherry pie was tasty, it had an edge of artificiality, despite coming from a local bakery. The glaze was just too gloppy and red, as if the filling had originated in a can. I was pretty sure I could do a better job baking a cherry pie myself.

Just days later, kismet revealed quarts of gorgeous sour cherries at the farmers' market. I snapped one up and immediately began searching for pie recipes online. Smitten Kitchen's crumb-topped pie appealed, because it didn't require a top crust. (While I normally don't mind admitting to using store-bought crusts, I thought a home-made cherry pie deserved a home-made crust. I just didn't want to make two of them. Or, heaven forbid, a lattice.)  In another stroke of luck, I received an e-mail from Saveur magazine, touting their new brown butter blackberry tart recipe. The crust recipe seemed easy and didn't require any rolling out, so I resolved to use it. I ignored the fact that the shell was intended to be used for an unbaked pie.

While the crust recipe seemed pretty simple to begin with, I simplified it even further. The original recipe called for butter, water, oil, and sugar to be placed in a heatproof bowl and baked for 20 minutes until the butter began to brown. Why not put them in a saucepan and cook for fewer minutes?

I made the rest of the pie (filling and crumb topping) pretty much according to the original recipe. Because the crust was intended for use with a non-baked (pre-cooked), custard-type filling, the texture is pretty different from that of a regular pie crust. No matter, the combination of brown butter flavored crust + lightly sweet cherries was pretty swell. And the crust held up well enough for me to take the tart out of the tart pan without it falling apart.

Mmm...cherry pie. It was lovely, and much better than the gloppy bakery pie.

Sour Cherry Tart (adapted from Saveur and Smitten Kitchen)

For the crust:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon sugar
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup flour

For the almond crumble:
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the sour cherry filling:
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 1/4 pounds fresh sour cherries, pitted, or 2 pounds frozen sour cherries, partially thawed

Make the crust: Heat oven to 400°. Stir butter, water, oil, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until butter begins to brown, 5-8 minutes. Stir in flour until dough comes together. Press dough into bottom and up sides of 9" tart pan with removable bottom. Prick dough all over with a fork. Bake for 10-12 minutes until browned; let cool.

Make the crumble: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until everything is coated with the butter.

Make the cherry filling: In a large bowl, mix the cherries with the sugar, cornstarch, and kosher salt.

To assemble the pie:  Reduce oven heat to 350°F. Pour the cherries into the pie shell. Sprinkle the crumble over the cherries. Place the pie plate on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 50 minutes, or until the juices are bubbling and thick. Remove to a rack to cool to room temperature before serving.

Posted on Minxeats.com.