Low Carb Cherry Stracciatella Ice Cream (Cherry Chip)

In Italian, the word stracciatella literally means, “rags or shards.” Stracciatella is made by drizzling a fine stream of chocolate into cold, churning ice cream. The chocolate thread instantly solidifies and, as it continues to be churned, breaks into flakes of melt-in-your-mouth, rich chocolate. This isn’t like any ordinary chocolate chip ice cream; it is luxurious! Normally, Stracciatella Gelato is vanilla-based. I wanted to take advantage of the gorgeous, ripe cherries available right now, so I made mine cherry-based instead. Because cherries are higher carb than berries, I take advantage of a high quality cherry extract to enhance the cherry flavor, so only a few chopped cherries are needed as a final mix-in. (I recommend Olive Nation brand, which can be purchased online.) This beautiful, delicately pink ice cream, laced with bits of cherry and sumptuous chocolate is quickly becoming a summer favorite at my house!

Low Carb Cherry Stracciatella Ice Cream (Cherry Chip)

Makes 8 servings

Cherry Ice Cream Base:

1 cup whole milk* (see note)

3 tablespoons erythritol-based sweetener (I used LaKanto Monkfruit sweetener)

6 tablespoons allulose

A pinch of salt

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cherry extract (I recommend Olive Nation brand)

1 drop of red food coloring (optional)

10 sweet, dark cherries (fresh or thawed from frozen), pitted and chopped

Chocolate Stracciatella:

2 tablespoons refined coconut oil, melted

3 squares of Lily’s sugar free dark chocolate bar, chopped (about 1 tablespoon)

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

6-8 drops stevia or monkfruit extract, or to taste

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole milk, sweeteners and salt. Whisk until the sweeteners are dissolved. Add the heavy cream, extracts and food coloring, if using. Cover and refrigerate a minimum of 2 hours, or overnight. Whisk mixture together again just before churning. 

2. Pit and chop the cherries, or pulse in a food processor, to desired consistency. Place the chopped cherries and any accumulated juices into an airtight container and refrigerate until called for in the churning process.

3. When the ice cream base is almost ready to churn, make the Chocolate Stracciatella by melting the coconut oil in a glass or microwave-safe measuring cup. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Add the cocoa powder, vanilla extract and stevia or monkfruit extract. Stir until completely smooth. Taste and adjust sweetening as desired; set aside to cool a bit before proceeding. Just prior to churning the ice cream, whisk and, only if necessary, microwave for a few seconds. You want the chocolate in a liquid state, but not too warm, so it will solidify quickly and create a flaked effect when added to the cold ice cream at the end of the churning process.

4. Follow the directions for your ice cream maker. Pour the chilled ice cream base into your ice cream maker and churn until thickened and beginning to set. Add the chopped cherries and any accumulated juices and continue churning until quite cold, very thick and nearly set. Slowly drizzle the Chocolate Stracciatella, as the ice cream is churning, 1 teaspoon at a time, waiting for the previous teaspoon of chocolate to solidify and move on before adding the next teaspoon.

5. Spoon the ice cream into an airtight container and place in the freezer for a minimum of 3-4 hours or more before serving.

*Note about milk: I recommend the brand Fairlife Whole Milk because it has less sugar, is lactose free and has half the carbs of regular milk. If using regular whole milk, add 1.5 g carb per serving.

Nutritional Information per serving (1/2 cup): 257 calories, 4.6 g carbohydrate (0.8 g dietary fiber, 2 g sugar, 0.6 g sugar alcohols), 27.1 g total fat (16.4 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 83 mg cholesterol, 49 mg sodium, 53.6 mg calcium, 21 mg potassium, 257 IU Vit A, 1 mg Vit C, 2.1 g protein. Net carbs per serving: 3.2 grams

Recipe and Photos by Kathy Sheehan, copyright 2021

All rights reserved. Please do not duplicate without the author’s permission.