Almost Almond Amaretto

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 cups heavy cream (single)
1 cup whole almonds, toast and coarsely chopped **
5 large egg yolks
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 cup candied cherries (glacé cherries)**

Warm the milk, sugar, salt, and 1 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan. Finely chop the toasted almonds and add them to the warm milk mixture. Cover, remove from heat and let steep at room temp for 1 hr.

Strain the almond infused milk into a separate medium saucepan. Press the almonds through sieve to extract as much flavor as possible. Save these almonds.

Rewarm the almond milk. Pour the remaining 1 cup of cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Slowly temper the egg yolks with the warmed almond mild, then add tempered eggs back into saucepan.

Stir the almond-egg mixture constantly until it coats the back of a spoon. Pour custard through sieve into remaining cream, add almond extract and cool. Chill in refrigerator until ready to churn. Add saved almonds to ice cream mixer in the last few minutes of churning, stir in chopped cherries. Freeze hard.

This recipe calls for you to use a new chopped cup of almonds, but I don't think you really need it. I would also cut down cherries and almonds to 1/2 cup each. Too much "stuff" in this ice cream, but great flavor.

David Lebovitz