black cherry and marrons glacés ice-cream

it had to happen.

for the whole duration of my short holiday, it kept raining on and off. not much else to do but go on a cooking spree ofcourse.

we did go to Maastricht in The Netherlands for a day-trip, and there we found a beautiful little ice-cream parlor serving the most incredible flavored ice-creams we had ever tasted.

here s Sam who couldn t wipe the smile off his face with his gelato di fragole e limone.

the next day, i just couldn t help myself. i had to make some of my own ice-cream again. a few years ago, i had received an ice-cream maker for my birthday from Sam s mom. and every summer i had made different flavored ice-creams, pretty classical ones like vanilla and chocolate and mocha, as well as green tea and black sesame flavored ones.

but this time i wanted to make something just a little bit different. i had bought a packet of marrons glacés (candied chestnuts) in Cassel, France, and i also had a few black cherries left in the fridge.

so i chopped up a few marrons. and lightly simmered a few pitted cherries. made a vanilla flavored ice-cream base. mixed and churned. and it turned out beautifully.

BLACK CHERRY AND MARRONS GLACÉS ICE-CREAM:

INGREDIENTS:
(for about 500ml)

FOR THE VANILLA BASE:

125 ml milk, preferably full-fat
tiny pinch of salt
75 gr fine white caster sugar
1 vanilla bean
3 egg-yolks
250 ml cream

TO ADD:
3 or 4 marrons glacés, chopped
10 black cherries, halved and pitted

METHOD:
1. heat the milk, the sugar, the vanilla bean (halved lengthways), the pinch of salt, until the sugar has dissolved.
2. cover and leave to infuse for about an hour.
3. beat the egg-yolks, re-heat the milk slightly and add slowly to the yolks.
4. return to the saucepan, and over a low heat, keep stirring until you get a slightly thick custard.
5. cool and add to the cream.
6. leave to cool completely, preferably overnight in the fridge.
7. meanwhile, heat the cherry halves in a little bit of water and sugar until softened. leave to cool.
8. strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve and pour into your ice-cream maker and churn according to machine instructions.
9. halfway through churning, add the chopped marrons and the cherries.
10. churn until ready, put into a plastic container, cover and freeze completely.
11. to serve, take the ice-cream out of the freezer and let it soften slightly so it can be easily scooped.

should you not have an ice-cream maker, pour the mixture into a plastic container and freeze. every two hours, beat the mixture and also add the marrons and cherries halfway through. then mix again until completely frozen.

again, a little bit different, but nice anyway.