In a medium saucepan, add your cherries, ¼ cup sugar, and ¼ cup of water. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until cherries are softened, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from the heat, and allow cherries to cool to room temperature. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate.
In a medium bowl, whisk together your egg yolks and sugar for about 2-3 minutes, until smooth and pale yellow in color.
Whisk in your milk to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring the milk to a simmer and then remove from the heat. Do not boil.
Whisking constantly, slowly add a ½ cup of your hot milk to the yolk and sugar mixture, whisk until combined.
Add the tempered egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan with your remaining hot milk. Mix in your salt.
Whisking constantly, heat on low until the the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. This should take a few minutes.
Add your heavy cream and vanilla extract to your mix, stir to combine.
Cover your bowl with plastic wrap, making sure to have the plastic wrap touching the surface of the ice cream base so it does not get a skin. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
When ready, churn your ice cream mixture in the bowl of your ice cream machine according to your manufacturer’s instructions.
In the last two minutes, add in your prepared cherries. Churn until they are evenly distributed.
Spoon your ice cream into a loaf pan. Press plastic wrap the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for at least 4 hours, or until solid.
To serve, allow ice cream to sit at room temperature for at least 5 minutes. Scoop and enjoy!
