Cranberry swirl cheese ice cream, and Eastleigh Fresh cheese to the left

Cranberry swirl cheese ice cream marries an iconic wild edible with a Massachusetts farm fresh cheese. This very special holiday season indulgence makes an amazing Thanksgiving dessert.

The cranberry sauce is flavored with apple cider, and lightly spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. You can forage for wild cranberries, or substitute with cultivated cranberries from the grocery store.

Cranberries and cheese getting ready to become ice cream!

For the cheese I use Nobscott Artisan’s delightfully smooth, spreadable, and out-of-this-world-delicious “Eastleigh Fresh“. It’s made from the milk of Eastleigh Farm’s grass grazing Jersey cows. Jersey milk is higher in solids than milk from any other breed, and therefore most efficient for cheese production. The cheese is sold at the Eastleigh Farm Store in Framingham, MA, and at a variety of Massachusetts farmers markets and farm stands – See the list here.

Jersey heifers at a Massachusetts farm

If this cheese is not a local product for you, feel free to substitute with another fresh (un-aged) cheese. A smooth, spreadable cheese will impart the smoothest texture to the ice cream, but don’t rule out crumbly fresh cheeses. I once made this ice cream with a rather crumbly goat cheese, and while the texture was less than perfect, the flavor was to die for. So feel free to experiment!

Wild cranberry sauce

• 12 oz. fresh wild cranberries (you can substitute with fresh or frozen cultivated cranberries)
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 6 tbsp sugar (and more to taste, if needed)
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp cloves
• 1/8 tsp allspice

1. Add all ingredients to a 3 quart saucepan and heat, stirring frequently, over medium-high heat, until it reaches a simmer.
2. Reduce heat and continue to simmer, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Berries will burst and sauce will thicken.
3. After it has thickened (it should take 6-8 minutes), remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes. Add up to an additional 1/4 cup of sugar, to taste.
4. Puree sauce.
5. Strain through fine mesh strainer to remove seeds. Push as much pulp as possible through the strainer with the back of a spoon.
6. Discard seeds, and cool sauce completely in refrigerator. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Yield is about 1 and 1/4 cups. You will need at least 3/4 cups for the ice cream swirl, maybe more, depending on personal preference.

Cheese ice cream

• 3 whole, large eggs
• 5 oz. fresh (un-aged), soft cheese (I used Nobscott Artison’s “Eastleigh Fresh” cheese, plain – see above)
• 1 and 3/4 cups heavy cream
• 3/4 cups low fat milk
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp corn syrup

1. Whisk eggs in medium bowl until yolks and whites are well blended. Set aside.
2. In a small mixing bowl, warm cheese slightly in microwave, and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
3. Add cream, milk, sugar, and corn syrup to a 4 qt saucepan, and heat over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until it just reaches a simmer.
4. Remove from heat, and temper eggs by slowly drizzling about 1 and 1/2 cups of the hot cream mixture into the eggs, as you whisk the eggs vigorously.
5. While whisking the hot cream mixture remaining in the saucepan, carefully pour the tempered egg/cream mixture into the saucepan.
6. Heat over medium-low, stirring constantly (preferably with a heat proof rubber spatula, but a spoon will do), until the mixture thickens and reaches a temperature of about 170 degrees F. Be sure to scrape all portions of the bottom of the pan as you stir. It should take about 7-14 minutes for mixture to thicken and reach 170F. Mixture should be noticeably thicker than raw milk/cream.
7. Remove from heat, and gradually whisk about a cup of the hot custard into the softened cheese.
8. Add the cheese/custard mix back into the 4 qt pan containing the rest of the custard.
9. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl.
10. Refrigerate immediately, or pre-cool in a cold water bath for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
11. Cool completely in refrigerator, at least 4 hours, preferably over night.

Combine sauce and ice cream to make cranberry swirl cheese ice cream

Makes about 1 quart

1. Churn ice cream base in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions.
2. As you transfer ice cream into freezer storage container, alternate layers of ice cream with spoonfulls of cranberry sauce. Working quickly, spread sauce thinly when you spoon it in, without stirring it into the ice cream.
3. Store in freezer until ready to eat.
   

   Cranberry swirl cheese ice cream

Shared on: HomeAcre Harvest Hop, From the Farm Blog Hop #56, Backyard Farming Connection Hop #55, Creative Home and Garden Hop #16, Show and Share Wednesday #62, Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits #73, Showcase Your Talent Thursday #86, Farmgirl Friday Hop #134, Homestead Barn Hop #136, Tuesdays with a Twist #33, Sweet Wednesday Link Party #12, Weekend re-Treat #44, Weekly Creative #37, Blog Strut #20, Show Stopper Saturday