Cherry Crisp Ice Cream {No Churn}

Spring is here my friends!  Spring is here!  We’ve had some gloriously warm and sunny days, and I must admit, with that comes some serious spring fever for me.  I’ve collected all of our lawn furniture out of hiding, we’ve given the dog a spring haircut, and yesterday I vacuumed and cleaned 6 months of hockey season out of my van (unfortunately, with two athletic boys playing for various teams that smell never truly leaves the van, ugh).  Oh, I do know that Mother Nature isn’t done with us yet, and next week I could be shoveling again.

But for now, I’m delusional enough to think spring has arrived and with that comes ice cream!

We aren’t fair weather ice cream eaters actually.  The kids enjoy it so much that I have to hide tubs of ice cream in the deep freeze all year-long.  Sometimes I think I’ve done a great hiding job, only to find the tub completely empty with a spoon inside (yes still in the freezer as if it hasn’t been touched).  When I stomp upstairs, with my “are you kidding me?!” rant, no one says a word.  I know exactly who the culprit is, a tall and lean teenage boy with super blue eyes and a killer smile.  I’ve yet to catch him doing this, but I know it’s him.   And he knows I know it’s him. It’s just a vicious ice cream hiding circle around here.

I do have an ice cream maker, but I love no churn ice cream, simply because it’s fast and pretty easy.   I can toss in whatever fruit or goodies I might have on hand and throw it in the freezer for a few hours.  Usually, when I whip up a batch I spread it in a loaf pan and freeze it that way.  I find it’s an ideal size, and just enough for a family dinner with a little bit left over.

This has to be one of my favourite combinations.  I love dark sweet cherries and cherry crisp is a top pick dessert wise for me.  I can whip up this ice cream in minutes and add the components of one of my most loved desserts to the ice cream without actually having to make it.  My secret?  To get morsels of a sweet oat-y topping, that won’t go mushy in the ice cream, I add some granola cereal to the mixture.  Genius right?  I still get the oat clusters, and almonds that I would add to my cherry crisp anyway, without all of the work!   It’s also a breeze to change the flavor by switching up the ingredients, like sautéed apples, or wild blueberries.

For now, I guess we’ll keep doing the ice cream hiding dance around here.  I know that soon there will be a time where I’ll look back on these antics and wish for a teenager to be stealing sweet things from me again.

Happy spring friends,

Renee

Cherry Crisp Ice Cream

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 300 ml size
• 1 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1 3/4 cups dark sweet cherries, cut in half
• 3/4 cup granola cereal, I used Harvest Crunch

1.  Whip up the cream until soft peaks form.  Add in the sweetened condensed milk and almond extract and mix well.  Stir in the cherries and granola.
2. Spread mixture into a loaf pan or freezer safe container.  Cover and freeze until firm 4-6 hours.