marionberry chip royale ice cream

when it comes to ice cream, the geek and i agree to disagree. we usually buy his and hers cartons of ice cream because we like different things. he'll go for the gallon of cookie dough or mint chocolate chip; i'll pick the pint of some limited edition or seasonal concoction (haagen daz, please bring back the reserve hawaiian lehua honey & sweet cream. thank you).

a couple years ago, we found an ice cream we both loved- raspberry chip royale from dreyers/edys. we both thought the combination of sweet cream, tart berry, and chocolate chips was magical. unfortunately, we must have been the only ones in love with the flavor, because it's no longer available- at least not in our stores.

rather than use raspberries here, i opted for marionberries - a type of blackberry grown in the pacific northwest. i used the same base for this as i did with the hot chocolate ice cream. next time, i may try a non-custard base to lighten it up.

equipment
ice cream maker or kitchen aid attachment
4-quart sauce pan
whisk
1 1/2 quart freezer safe container (stored in the freezer prior to making the ice cream)
heatproof bowl

ingredients
2 cups frozen marionberries
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons light cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2/3 cup sugar
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate


directions

• in a medium saucepan, heat the marionberries and sugar over low heat for about 20 minutes. the berries will thicken and the liquid will reduce.
• strain the berry mixture through a fine mesh strainer. reserve the marionberry syrup; discard the berry goop.
• in a small bowl, create a slurry of 2 tablespoons of milk with the cornstarch.
• in a large bowl, combine cream cheese and salt. whip until smooth.
• in a 4-quart sauce pan, bring milk, cream, sugar and light corn syrup to boil over medium-high heat. boil for exactly 4 minutes. the milk will bubble up, so keep an eye on it and mix occassionally.
• remove from heat and gradually mix in slurry.
• return to heat and bring to boil until thickened, about 1-2 minutes.
• add about a 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture to the cream cheese and whisk until completely smooth. whisk in the remaining milk mixture. whisk in the marionberry syrup .
• cool mixture slightly and cover with plastic wrap, placing the plastic wrap directly on the surface of the mixture to avoid a 'skin' from forming.
• refrigerate 4 hours (or overnight).
• once chilled, transfer the mixture to your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's directions.
• using heatproof bowl fitted over a pot of simmering water, melt the bittersweet chocolate. (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water).
• once the chocolate is melted, drizzle a few spoonfuls of chocolate around the frozen container. swirls, curlicues, alphabets, or any drizzly design that strikes your fancy.
• once your ice cream is done, add a layer of it to the container, top with more drizzles of chocolate then stir to break up the drizzles into chocolate chips. add another layer of ice cream, more chocolate drizzle, stir...repeat until all the ice cream is in the container. top with remaining chocolate. 
• cover and freeze until firm.
• to serve, allow to rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before scooping.