Double Goat Gouda Ice Cream with Cherries, the View From Here

“Check out that view,” I thought.  (Sarcasm dialed up.) 

I was in an IKEA-inspired one-bedroom apartment with a dorm vibe—minus the Budweiser and breezy Bob Marley—and was overlooking the homeless shelter across the street.  Next door was a porn shop.  Florescent lighting cast a sad, stroboscopic glow over the kitchen, which had all the charm of a motor inn kitchenette. 

For $2200 a month all this could be mine.  I was going to need a cocktail.

This has more or less been my experience looking for apartment rentals the past few weeks.  So forgive me if I don’t stay long today.  I’ve been cruising the Internet like an online dater hoping to stumble across someone that doesn’t resemble a rapist.

And the past week has been particularly rough.  Thankfully I’ve had half a quart of this ice cream tucked away in my freezer.  I envisioned a much more charming introduction for it.  At the very least one that didn’t involve porn.

But right now I’m just happy to have the ice cream.  Its slick, creamy consistency has a cheesecake essence—just a bit goaty-er.   The goat’s milk adds tang to balance out the richness that comes with shaving cheese into milk and cream. The plumped up cherries do their part too, chewy and tart with a lingering note of cassis, which I added mostly because the dried cherries I was using were a little sad.

The result is one of the better ice creams I’ve seen in a while.  Wish I could say the same for apartments.  But for now I have good goat ice cream.  Hope scooped, buoyed by sarcasm.

Double Goat Gouda Ice Cream with Cherries

Adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home

ingredients for the base

2 cups goat’s milk

1 tbsp plus 1 tsp cornstarch

1¼ cups heavy cream

2/3 cups sugar

2 tbsp corn syrup

pinch salt

1½ ounces cream cheese, softened

½ cup shredded goat’s milk gouda

ingredients for the boozed-up cherries

¾ cup dried cherries

~½ cup framboise (or another alcohol, Grand Marnier would be nice)

~2 tbsp crème de cassis

Instructions:

Mix about 2 tbsp of the milk with the cornstarch to make a slurry.  In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup, and pinch of salt and bring to a rolling boil over medium heat; boil for 4 minutes. 

Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the cornstarch slurry and then place back on the heat; stir with a rubber spatula until it slightly thickens (a few minutes).  In a small bowl, whisk the cream cheese until smooth.  Once the goat’s milk liquid is thickened, add a little to the cream cheese and whisk to fully incorporate.  Add the cream cheese mixture to the saucepan (off the heat) and whisk in the shredded cheese until smooth.

Strain the goat’s liquid once or twice to remove any bits of cream cheese or gouda that didn’t get fully incorporated; pour the liquid into a metal bowl.  Place the metal bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice and allow the liquid to cool before refrigerating (until fully chilled, ideally overnight).

While the base mixture is cooling, prepare the cherries by placing them in a medium saucepan with the framboise (or other alcohol) and about ¼ cup of water and heat on medium to medium-high heat.  (You may wish to add a pinch of salt here too.) If the liquid dries up, add a bit more water.  Once the cherries have softened, place them in a small container and pour the crème de cassis over them while they’re hot.  The cherries will continue to soak up the booze.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

When the goat mixture is fully chilled, churn it in a frozen ice cream machine base until thick ribbons start to form and it pulls away from the sides of the container.  Pack it in a freezer-safe container with a tight fitting lid.  You’ll want to alternate the cherries and the ice cream, so pack a little ice cream then a layer of cherries and repeat about 2 more times.  Cover the top with parchment paper and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

Makes a three-quarter quart

Notes:

-The cherries were already sweetened in their dried form, so I didn’t add any sugar.  Taste your cherries and adapt as needed. With this sort of thing you can always adjust as you go.

-The goat’s milk is from Oak Knoll Dairy and I used a midrange gouda called Yodeling Goat.  I suspect you could use any type of goat cheese—in fact, a soft goat cheese would be lovely, even more tangy and grassy.  That might be up next.

-If you don’t have goat’s milk you could substitute whole milk for a more mild flavor.  The fat content is similar.  Just don’t use a low fat product or you’ll probably be sad about your ice cream.

-This ice cream keeps very well, we're talking about a month without ice crystals.