Lifestyle
Fresh cherries and dark chocolate ice-cream cake
Creamy vanilla ice-cream, decadent chocolate chunks, and sweet cherries come together to make the perfect summer treat.
This fresh cherries and dark chocolate ice-cream cake is the perfect dessert to impress without the stress. Just a little prep, some time in the freezer, and you’ve got a stunning dessert ready to slice and serve. Recipe compliments of Juicy Delcious.
Serves: 8 | Cooking time: 30min | Freezing time: 8 hours
Ingredients
- 100g dark chocolate, melted
- 360g fresh cherries, de-stalked
- 30ml (2 Tbsp) castor sugar
- 30ml (2 Tbsp) water
- 5ml (1 tsp) cornflour
- 10ml (2 tsp) fresh lemon juice
- 300g condensed milk
- 200g plain smooth cottage cheese
- 5ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract
- 360ml whipping cream, chilled
- Extra fresh cherries, to decorate
Method
- Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
- Pour the chocolate onto the tray and spread into a thin rectangle (roughly 24cm x 34cm). Cover with another sheet of baking paper and smooth the top gently with your hands.
- Roll the paper up while the chocolate is still soft and secure each side with a clothes peg.
- Refrigerate for at least one hour.
Tip: For the best results roll the paper around a cardboard tube, such as the inner tube from a roll of foil or baking paper. Unroll the paper; as you do this, the chocolate will break into shards. Place the tray back in the fridge while you prepare the ice-cream.
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
- Line another baking tray with baking paper.
- Toss the cherries in 1 tablespoon of sugar and arrange in an even layer on the tray.
- Roast for 15 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes then remove the pips.
- Place the water, cornflour, lemon juice and remaining sugar in a saucepan and stir together.
- Tip the cherries and their juices into the pot.
- Place over a medium heat, stir well and bring to the boil.
- Lower the heat and allow to simmer gently for 8-10 minutes, stirring regularly, until the syrup has thickened.
- Remove from the heat and cool for a few minutes. Use a stick blender or food processor to process until smooth.
- Set aside to cool completely.
- Whisk the condensed milk, cottage cheese and vanilla together until combined and smooth.
- Whip the cream until stiff.
- Add a third of the condensed milk mixture to the cream and fold in.
- Add the remaining condensed milk mixture and cool cherry sauce.
- Crumble in two thirds of the chocolate shards and fold in.
- Store the remaining chocolate shards in an airtight container in the fridge for decorating.
- Pour the mixture into the loaf tin.
- Cover and freeze for 8 hours or overnight until solid.
- Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving time.
- Turn out onto a serving plate, top with fresh cherries and the remaining chocolate shards.
- Slice and serve.
