Make Your Own Cherry Dark Chocolate Ice Cream

This summer has been weirdly mild in Los Angeles. Temperatures usually soar well into the 90s, which typically result in me having mini meltdowns due to my intolerance for heat waves and sweating. Despite the luke warm temperatures, I've used this summer as a good excuse to become an ice cream-making ninja. The past few months, and dozens upon dozens of egg yolks later, I have about 30 batches of ice cream under my belt. At the beginning of summer, I began my ice cream adventures by using cheeses, spices and chocolate as flavorings (good, ripe fruit wasn't in abundance); as the season progressed, I turned to roasting early-summer fruit to bring out its sweetness and flavor. Now, as we find ourselves in late summer, I find no need to roast fruit for ice cream.

August cherries are perfectly ripe (maybe even too ripe for eating) and so very sweet. Cherry and chocolate is not a new or revolutionary flavor combination, but when a good-quality dark chocolate and beautiful cherries are used, the ice cream turns into something so deliciously magical. I'm a big fan of a custard base for ice cream. I love the creaminess egg yolks provide, but when really amazing fruit is handy, I steer clear of the egg yolks and use sweet heavy cream instead. It really does allow the fruit to take center stage.