One of the highlights of our summer is cherries! We can't get enough of them.
Kent is not called the Garden of England for nothing and at this time of year it is at its best with a seemingly perpetual supply of fresh local fruit and veg to be found. Little stalls selling anything from strawberries and potatoes to apples, pears, plums and carrots start appearing at the roadsides, brought fresh from the fields for our enjoyment. But our favourites are definitely the cherries..... and for those we visit the local orchards and buy them fresh from the trees in paper bags...... ready to gorge on, cook with, freeze or preserve for the months ahead. My very favourite orchard is Terry's orchard which is the quaintest and most adorable place to visit..... Tall tall cherry-picking ladders which seem to reach for the sky, and the fattest juiciest cherries in town.
Every year, I make a few jars of candied cherries using this recipe which originated from David Lebovitz. They bring a little of the flavour of summer to dishes when the weather chills and taste amazing swirled into greek yoghurt. They are also perfect in ice cream!
I have also recently been trying to play with various brownie recipes and adding different fruits or sugars or nuts...... consequently we have had brownies coming out of our ears and everyone is feeling a little 'brownied-out'.
With one of our freezers having been out of action for a couple of months, we are also limited by how much we can store, so trying to find quick ways to 'get rid of' the excess is becoming a bit of a sport. Some gets eaten straight away of course and some gets given away, but it is also an opportunity to get extra creative and to find new ways to eat the excess......
And so my Cherry-Chocolate Brownie (no churn) Ice Cream came to be..... and boy, did it go down well in the recent heat-wave.
Beautifully creamy, perfectly pink and dotted with sweet red cherries and chewy bites of brownie. Miss GF was particularly taken by it....... appearing with gluten free cones and those pleading 'puppy dog' eyes asking 'I know I had some after lunch, but can I have some more now?' How could I refuse? I had to agree, it was very very moreish......
You could use any left over brownie for this ice cream, but I used some which was well-laden with nuts and that gave the ice cream extra crunch and interest.
When it comes to photos though....... perhaps the hottest day of the year is not the best time for ice cream pics.....
I am sharing this yummy ice cream with the following linkies :

#TheFoodCalendar with Charlotte's Lively Kitchen - celebrating National Cherry Day
The No Waste Food Challenge with Utterly Scrummy on behalf of Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary.

Free From Fridays with the Free From Farmhouse.

Tasty Tuesdays with Honest Mum
Cook Blog Share with Snap Happy Bakes

Recipe of the Week with A Mummy Too
Cherry-Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream (no churn) - makes 1½ to 2 litres
Ingredients
300g candied cherries (from this recipe)
1 tin (397g) sweetened condensed milk
500 ml double cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 to 4 squares of chocolate brownie - cut into small cubes
1 tin (397g) sweetened condensed milk
500 ml double cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 to 4 squares of chocolate brownie - cut into small cubes
Method
- Mix the condensed milk with the candied cherries in a bowl and place in the fridge to chill.
- Whisk the cream and vanilla extract until it holds its shape in soft peaks.
- When the cherry mixture is chilled, add a spoonful of the whipped cream and stir through to loosen it slightly.
- Fold through the remaining cream lightly and quickly to maintain as much air as possible.
- Place the bowl of ice cream batter in the freezer to begin to freeze. Keep an eye as you don't want it to get too hard, but after a couple of hours (approx) when the mixture has begun to thicken, remove from the freezer and quickly fold through the brownie pieces.
- Transfer the ice cream to airtight containers and return to the freezer until fully firmed and frozen.
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