Cherry ripple ice-cream

Cherry season is something to celebrate every year.

Here's a great way to enjoy them that's perfect for the party season or for summer get-togethers - delicious creamy Cherry Ripple Ice Cream.

I'm going to start by making a cherry puree. You need pitted cherries for this.

I've put on some rubber gloves just to protect my hands from being stained from the juice.

If you've got a cherry pitter at home, you can just place the cherry in and push down. If you don't have a cherry pitter at home, I've got a bit of a hack for you.

So, with a chopstick, you just make a hole in the top, turn the cherry over, find the seed and then it should pop out the bottom.

Now I've pitted all my cherries and I'm going to add them to a pan with some sugar and some water and this is going to make the cherry puree for the ice cream.

I'm just going to cook the cherry mixture for two minutes until the sugar has dissolved.

Now I'm going to turn the heat up and I'm going to cook it for six to eight minutes, and you want to stir it occasionally, just so the cherries don't catch on the bottom and burn.

When the cherries have softened and the liquid has reduced by half and thickened up slightly, turn the heat off and set the mixture aside to cool.

When the cherry mixture's cooled, add it to a food processor and we're going to blend it until it's smooth.

Now I'm going to add some almond essence - almond brings out the flavour of the cherries - and just process it until it's combined.

That's our cherry puree. Now on to the ice cream.

I'm using cream cheese in this recipe. The cream cheese traps the egg into the ice cream, which gives you a smoother texture.

All you have to do is combine the cream cheese, cream and milk into a large saucepan and you're going to stir that over a medium-low heat, and you don't want to bring it to the boil.

We just want to bring it to a simmer so the mixture's smooth and hot. Now that it's come to a simmer, immediately remove it from the heat.

Next, I'm going to use an electric mixer to beat the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until they're pale and thick.

You want the egg mixture to be really thick. This will give the ice cream a smooth, light texture.

You want to be patient 'cause this can take up to eight minutes. Now it's time to add the cream cheese mixture to the eggs.

Now, it's hot, so you want to add it gradually so you don't scramble the eggs.

Now pour the mixture back into a clean saucepan and we're going to cook this for about 8 to 10 minutes until the custard's thickened.

You want to stir constantly to stop the custard from curdling. To test the custard is ready, run your finger along the back of the spoon and if the line stays, then it's ready and you just remove it from the heat and set aside to cool.

Now the mixture's cool, all you have to do is add half the cherry puree and give it a good stir.

Now it's all stirred through, I'm going to pop it in a metal container and cover it with some foil and pop it in the freezer for three hours until firm.

Once the ice cream's firm, I'm going to take a metal spoon, just break it up into chunks so it's easier to put into a food processor.

And now I'm going to process it until the ice cream's smooth. Beautiful.

Now I'm going to start layering the ice cream into the pan. I've got a loaf pan straight from the freezer.

That'll stop the ice cream from melting when it goes in. I'm going to put half the ice cream into the bottom of the pan and I'm going to add some of the cherry puree and this is going to give us the nice ripple through the ice cream.

I like to use a flat-bladed knife to swirl the ice cream. Then just top with the remaining ice cream and just swirl with the remaining puree and then give it another swirl just to get that ripple really happening.

Doing the layering gives a better ripple through the ice cream than if you just put all the cherry puree through all at once.

Now I'm going to cover it with foil and freeze it for three hours until it's firm. Back to the freezer it goes. Now on to the biscuit crumbs.

I'm going to add some biscuits to a bag and just lightly crush them with a rolling pin or you could use a mallet. I'm just going to pop them onto a baking paper-lined tray and pop them in the oven for about five minutes until they're just brown.

The crumbs are toasted and golden brown and we're just going to set them aside to cool.

To serve the ice cream, scoop it into some bowls and sprinkle with some biscuit crumbs.

My favourite - some cherries. This Cherry Ripple Ice Cream is delicious on a hot summer's day. For the full recipe, see the description below.