Bourbon Cherry Pie No Churn Ice Cream

No Churn Ice Cream–i.e. homemade ice cream without one of those newfangled electronic machinery thingies taking up counter and/or cabinet space. Am I the last one to hop on this particular bandwagon? Yup. In an environment where a small pint of Haagen-Dazs can run you approximately $15 (living in Beijing does have its downsides), homemade ice cream is an imperative if you want quality ice cream. I didn’t realize until now, however, how easy the whole ice cream making thing was. No machine required. Just a few simple ingredients, an idea for a flavor, and a freezer needed. I’m now looking back on my life thus far with a deep sense of regret and unfulfilled possibility. To make up for my absence thus far on said bandwagon, I’m going to be making a Bourbon Cherry Pie Ice Cream today. Because 1) this is a follow-up recipe from the Sweet Cherry Hand Pies we posted a couple days ago; and 2) it’s perhaps the most perfect summer 4th of July ice cream flavor ever. It’s like your imaginary 1950s mom’s homemade cherry pie sitting on your Levittown windowsill, along with your crazy, clichéd 1950s emotionally repressed/closet-alcoholic dad’s nightcap thrown right in. And…cue fireworks! (Note on the photo above…yes, the ice cream is melting. Our freezer has been less than a team player lately. So yours will absolutely look much firmer than ours.) But seriously, bourbon, a little extra salt, and cherry pie, all enveloped in a creamy, vegans-be-darned, dairy-filled embrace? One scoop = happy days. If you’re not into boozy ice cream, or you have kids you’d rather not expose to the call of the bottle just yet (they’ll probably think it tastes icky anyway)…you can leave the bourbon out. Then you’d just have Cherry Pie Ice Cream. Which is good enough for me any day.

Recipe Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together the condensed milk, vanilla, bourbon, and salt. In a large, freezer-proof (i.e. not glass) bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream on high until stiff peaks form, about 3-5 minutes. Careful not to overbeat. The cream should still be smooth! With a rubber spatula, gently fold and stir the condensed milk mixture into the whipped cream until very smooth. If you’re in a hot climate, keep the bowl over a bigger bowl filled with ice. Once smooth, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and firm the mixture up in the freezer for about an hour. (So when you fold in the cherry pie, it won’t sink to the bottom). Once the fledgling ice cream is a bit firm, gently fold in the cold cherry pie pieces. Pour into a large loaf pan. I stuck a few cherry pie pieces in the top, so you immediately know what kind of ice cream it is. Freeze for 6 hours, or until firm. Again, our freezer has been on the fritz–less of a freezer and more of a moderate-chiller–so even after 18 hours in there, our ice cream still had kind of a frozen yogurt consistency (we gotta get that thing fixed fast). But if your freezer is fully functional, you should have firm ice cream at 6 hours. Enjoy this one, everybody!