Cherry chocolate chunk ice cream
A cherry or vanilla ice cream filled with halved cherries and chunks of dark chocolate, fruity with bittersweet bites.
Sometimes found Found in some shops and some grocery freezers. What the badge means
Cherry chocolate chunk is a fruit flavor: cherry or vanilla ice cream with halved cherries and chunks of dark chocolate. You can find it in some shops and some grocery freezers, but not everywhere.
This page covers what it tastes like, how to make cherry chocolate chunk ice cream at home, what to serve with it, how common it is and what the nutrition figures show.
What cherry chocolate chunk tastes like
Cherry chocolate chunk tastes fruity first, then bittersweet when you hit a piece of chocolate. The base is either a cherry ice cream or a plain vanilla one. Into that go halved cherries and chunks of dark chocolate, so every scoop has soft fruit and firm, snappy bites.
The color depends on the base. A vanilla base stays pale, with red cherries and dark chocolate showing through. A cherry base, made with some of the cooked cherries pureed in, turns pink. The Guelph e-Book notes that ice cream color should suggest its flavor, and that many fruit preparations sold to makers already include color. The two main mix-ins are cherries and chocolate chunks.
Where cherry chocolate chunk comes from
The sources we use do not record who first made cherry chocolate chunk or when.
What they do record is how it is made and labeled. The Guelph e-Book says that in factory ice cream, pieces such as fruit and chocolate go in as the ice cream leaves the freezer, about half frozen. Home makers copy that by adding the mix-ins at the end of churning.
Federal rules also touch this flavor. Under 21 CFR 135.110, when cherries are used along with artificial cherry flavor, the artificial flavor counts as the main one if the fruit makes up less than 6% of the finished weight. That affects how a store-bought carton can describe its cherry flavor.
How to make cherry chocolate chunk at home
For how to make cherry chocolate chunk ice cream, start with a Philadelphia base, which uses no eggs. The Base Builder sets up that style and sizes it to your machine. A no-churn base made with condensed milk and whipped cream also works. The Base Builder gives a base formula built on standard food-science ranges, not a tested recipe.
For the flavor, use a vanilla base, or make a cherry base by pureeing part of the cooked cherries into it. Fold the halved cherries and chopped dark chocolate in during the last minute of churning. Factories add pieces like fruit and chocolate as the ice cream leaves the freezer, when about half its water is frozen and it is about as soft as soft serve, the Guelph e-Book says. That is why home cooks add them at the end. The same source says fruit usually goes in at about 15 to 25% by weight.
If you already have a recipe you like, the Recipe Scaler resizes it to your machine and converts cups to grams.
Base formula
Open the Base Builder: Philadelphia (no eggs)
Other styles that suit it: No-churn (condensed milk and whipped cream)
The Base Builder gives a base formula built on standard food-science ranges, not a tested recipe.
What to serve with cherry chocolate chunk
Cherry chocolate chunk works well with toppings that lean into the chocolate or the fruit. Hot fudge doubles down on the dark chocolate and makes it feel like a sundae. Toasted almonds add crunch and a nutty note that suits cherries. Whipped cream softens the bittersweet bites and keeps a scoop light. For a party bowl, set out all three and let people build their own.
- hot fudge
- toasted almonds
- whipped cream
How common cherry chocolate chunk is
We give cherry chocolate chunk a first quarter (half moon) badge, 3 of 5, labeled "Sometimes found": it turns up in some shops and some grocery freezers. The badge says how easy the flavor is to find, not how much people like it.
No survey we use lists cherry chocolate chunk by name. So the badge here is our judgement alone of how easy it is to find, based on where the flavor tends to show up, not on survey numbers.
No survey we use lists this flavor by name, so its badge is our own judgement of how easy it is to find.
- Rare Rare enough that you would most likely make it at home.
- Hard to find Look for it in specialty shops and seasonal runs.
- Sometimes found Found in some shops and some grocery freezers.
- Easy to find Common in most grocery freezers.
- Classic A classic you can buy almost anywhere.
Nutrition, roughly
FoodData Central has no record for cherry chocolate chunk itself, so these figures are for a plain vanilla base, not this flavor. Regular vanilla has 207 kcal per 100 grams, with 11 g fat and 21.2 g sugars. A 1/2 cup (66 g) portion is about 137 kcal. Rich vanilla has 249 kcal per 100 grams. The cherries, chocolate and any sweeteners change these numbers.
Nutrition per 100 grams
| FoodData Central record | Calories | Fat | Saturated fat | Sugars | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ice creams, vanilla FDC 167575 1/2 cup (66 g): about 137 kcal, 7.3 g fat | 207 kcal | 11 g | 6.79 g | 21.2 g | 3.5 g |
| Ice creams, vanilla, rich FDC 167573 | 249 kcal | 16.2 g | 10.30 g | 20.6 g | 3.5 g |
FoodData Central has no record for cherry chocolate chunk itself: these are the figures for a plain vanilla base, regular to rich. Mix-ins and sweeteners change them.
Questions people ask
When do I add the cherries and chocolate?
Fold the halved cherries and chopped dark chocolate in during the last minute of churning. At that point the ice cream is soft but holding its shape, so the pieces stay spread through it instead of sinking.
What base should I use for cherry chocolate chunk?
A Philadelphia base, which has no eggs, is the style we suggest, and the Base Builder sets it up for you. A no-churn base made with condensed milk and whipped cream also works if you have no machine.
How much fruit goes into fruit ice cream?
The Guelph e-Book says fruit usually goes into ice cream at about 15 to 25% by weight. Fruit juice goes into the mix, while fruit pieces are added after freezing.
Who invented cherry chocolate chunk ice cream?
The sources we use do not record who first made cherry chocolate chunk or when. We know how it is made and how common it is, but not its origin.
More flavors to try
-
Fruit
Cherry ice cream
Sweet-tart pink ice cream with chopped cherries throughout
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Fruit
Peach ice cream
Sweet, floral ice cream with soft bits of ripe peach
-
Fruit
Banana ice cream
Sweet, pale yellow ice cream with the flavor of ripe bananas
-
Fruit
Blueberry ice cream
Sweet-tart, jammy fruit ice cream colored by cooked blueberries
Plan and make it with these
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Recipe Scaler and Converter
Ice cream recipe converter: cups to grams
Scale an ice cream recipe by a factor, a batch volume or your machine, and see every line in grams and cups.
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Scoop size chart
Ice cream scoop sizes and the disher number chart
The number stamped on an ice cream scoop tells you how many level scoopfuls fill one quart, so a #8 holds 4 fluid ounces (1/2 cup) and a #16 holds 2.
Sources
- 21 CFR 135.110, Ice cream and frozen custard Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR)
- Ice Cream Technology e-Book: Freezing/Whipping of Ice Cream H. Douglas Goff, University of Guelph
- Ice Cream Technology e-Book: Fruit Ice Cream H. Douglas Goff, University of Guelph
- Ice Cream Technology e-Book: Colour in Ice Cream H. Douglas Goff, University of Guelph
- Ice creams, vanilla (FDC 167575) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
- Ice creams, vanilla, rich (FDC 167573) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
Every data source the site uses is on the Sources page.