2cupspitted fresh or frozen (not thawed) red or black cherries
⅔cupgranulated sugar
2teaspoonscornstarch
Crisp Streusel
½pound(2 sticks) buttercut into ½ inch cubes and chilled
1 ½cupsall-purpose flour
⅛teaspoonground cinnamon
¾cuppacked light brown sugar
½teaspoonsalt
1 ½cupsold-fashioned oats
Ice Cream Base
2cupswhole milk
1tablespooncornstarch
1teaspooncornstarch
1 ½ouncescream cheesesoftened
⅛teaspoonfine sea salt
1 ¼cupsheavy cream
⅔cupgranulated sugar
2tablespoonslight corn syrup
1vanilla beansplit, seeds scraped out, seeds and bean reserved
Instructions
Roasted Cherries
Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Combine the cherries, sugar, and cornstarch in a 9-inch square baking dish, tossing to mix.
Roast for 30-45 minutes until the juices are thickened and bubbly, stirring every 15 minutes. Let cool completely, then chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Crisp Streusel
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Put all the ingredients except the oats in a large bowl and blend by rubbing the dry ingredients into the butter with your fingertips. Work quickly so the butter doesn’t melt.
When the mixture looks like coarse sand, add the oats and mix well.
Spread out on an ungreased baking sheet. Break up any large clumps into crumbs about ¼ to ½ inch in size. Bake 30-35 minutes, until toasted and browned, stirring occasionally to prevent burning and to turn over the unbaked portions.
Let cool completely, then freeze until ready to use. The streusel can be frozen for up to 1 month.
Ice Cream Base
Mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth.
In a medium bowl, whisk the cream cheese and salt until smooth.
Fill a large bowl with lots of ice and water.
In a 4-quart saucepan, combine the remaining milk, heavy cream, sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla seeds and bean. Bring to a roiling boil over medium-high heat and allow to boil for 4 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture.
Return the pan to the heat and bring back to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth.
Pour the mixture into a 1 gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as needed, until cold, about 30 minutes.
Remove the vanilla bean. Pour the ice cream base into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. The ice cream is done when it is thick and creamy and the machine is no longer freezing it (about 25 minutes).
Pack the ice cream into a storage container, layering in pockets of roasted cherry and streusel. Press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface of the ice cream and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.