Whiskey then wine? Feeling fine...

🍒Cherry Cherry Boom Boom

If you don't know that the title and caption of this post are both Lady Gaga references just GTFO. How does this relate to this new ice cream concoction you ask? It doesn't. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm just a fan of Ms. Germanotta. Now onto the 'scream.

This summer flavor idea is the brainchild of my inner alcoholic and my admiration for all things ganache. It's got the whiskey. It's got the cherries. It's got the chocolate ganache. Also, depending on how you make this, you can make it ultra alcoholic (for the truly brave and 18+ only). That being said, if your friends are asking "brah, why don't you bring me a batch?", you can tell them to fuck off (kindly) since this doesn't travel well due to the high alcoholic content (at least in the Summertime). You could also cook out the alcohol if you want, but that's no fun, and I would likely never invite you to my barbeque if you're about that life. If you are about that life, I bet you probably cry after watching "This Is Us" too?

Oh, and yes, its technically not summer anymore, but we're rebels. We don't follow anyone's rules. Not even our own.

Skip the next section if you have little to no interest in how to make this Chocolate Cherry Whiskey Ganache:

The chocolate base:
- 2 cups of heavy cream
- 1 cup of whole milk
- 3/4 cup of sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon(-ish) vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (from a 16oz bag)
- 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
The cherry whiskey swagu:
- 2 cups of black cherries (pitted and roughly chopped)
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 1/2 cup of whiskey (Here I used Monkey Shoulder, but recommend a sweeter Whiskey)
The drunk uncle of all ganaches
- the rest of that 16oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2-ish cup of whiskey

1. Get that ganache-a-ganachin'- Start with a double-boiler, or if you're cheap like me, put a pyrex bowl over a pot of water and heat to boil. Pop in half the whiskey and the bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips into the double boiler(except for 1/4 cup which we'll use for the base later on). Cook and stir until the whiskey and chocolate are melted nicely together. You may have to add some more whiskey here to thin out the mixture if its too thick. Also, this should go without saying but don't set yourself on fire when adding the whiskey. Once well mixed, remove the double-boiler (or pyrex bowl) and set aside for the ganache mixture to chill.
2. Cherries are better with whiskey - In a small pan, toss the black cherries and remaining whiskey together and heat on low for 5 minutes. While stirring add the 1/2 cup of sugar into the mix. Continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes until the cherries soften and the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and set aside to chill.
3. All the chocolate - In a medium pot, combine whole milk, sugar, salt, and cocoa powder. Heat on medium for about 5-10 minutes. Beat egg yolks in a small bowl. SLOWLY, add about half of the cocoa-milk mixture into the bowl of eggs while stirring. If you want to cheat a little and ensure you don't get any egg bits in your final product, you can add a bit of heavy cream to the yolks to help offset the temperature. Once well combined, pour the mixture back into the pot. Continue to stir over medium heat while adding the rest of the heavy cream. Cook for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened. If you cook too long, you'll end up with egg bits in your final product and you'll feel egg-stremely embarrassed.
4. Tell that b to chill - Once your batch has thickened, transfer to an ice bath or let it chill on the counter. Transfer to a fridge to cool it down 5-6 hours, or overnight.
5. All I do is churn - Throw your churnin' boots on and throw the newly cooled batch into your ice cream maker. Churn for 10-15 minute or so before adding your whiskey ganache into the mix (a little bit at a time and slowly). This will make sure the ganache gets folded in, instead of mixed in. Churn for an additional 5 minutes and you're donezo.

Serve with a heap of whip cream, maybe some additional maraschino cherries, you know if you're feeling fancy.