Dark chocolate and sweet macerated cherries complement each other in this creamy, no-churn ice cream for a luscious summer dessert.

With just a few ingredients and no special equipment, you can have a freezer packed with varieties of ice cream to suit every taste. You start with a bottle of cream and a can of sweetened condensed milk, then the sky is the limit for flavour variations! Parties, barbecues, unexpected guests – dessert is always covered.

Makes about 2.5 litres/quarts
Active: 20 minutes
Resting fruit: at least 1 hour
Freezing: 6 hours or overnight

Ingredients

500g (about 1 pound) sweet cherries
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
200g (7oz) good-quality dark chocolate (I used 72%)
500ml (2 cups) whole cream
1 x 397g (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk, chilled
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Halve and pit the cherries, place in a medium, heavy-based saucepan and sprinkle with the sugar. Place over medium heat and stir gently for about 5 minutes, just until the fruit starts to soften. Remove from heat, cover and set aside for at least an hour.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave (on low, stirring frequently), then set aside to cool to room temperature.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream on medium-high speed until thick and fluffy, but not to the texture of whipped cream, about 3 minutes on medium. Be careful not to overbeat, otherwise it will have a buttery mouthfeel instead of being creamy.

Add the sweetened condensed milk, cooled melted chocolate and vanilla extract and beat just until soft peaks form when the whisk is lifted, 2 – 3 minutes. It should have a thick, mousse-like consistency.

Stir the cherries along with any liquid in the bowl into the mixture.

Pour mixture into a container, seal tightly and freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight.