Vanilla Bean Chevre Ice Cream with Cherry Bourbon Swirl

1/4 cup maple sugar

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

seeds of one vanilla bean

1/2 tsp sea salt



To make swirl, combine cherries, maple sugar, maple syrup, lemon juice, and sea salt in a saucepan, and cook over medium heat until the cherries are soft, about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and add vanilla extract and bourbon.  Cool to room temperature, then puree in a food processor until smooth.  Place in the fridge to chill until very cold, preferrably overnight.  To make ice cream, combine cream, milk, chevre, honey, and vanilla extract in a food processor. Slit the vanilla bean lengthwise with a sharp knife. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and reserve the pod for another use (such as placing in a jar of sugar to give it a lovely flavor). Add seeds to to the food processor along with the salt and process to blend. Chill ice cream base in the fridge until very cold.  When chilled, pour the ice cream base mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to package directions (mine takes about an hour, and is still a little soupy like the consistency of a malt, but firms up in the freezer). When ice cream is done freezing, pour half into a tupperware container. Then top with about half the cherries and swirl slightly with a knife. Pour remaining ice cream into the container, and top with remaining cherry mixture swirling with a knife. Place in the freezer for at least a few hours, or preferrably overnight to ripen for best results. Makes about 4+ cups of delicious ice cream!