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1
:Put the cherries in a heatproof bowl. Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the syrup over the cherries and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until chilled (the cherries will keep for up to a month in the refrigerator).
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2
: Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Whisk the cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.
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3
:Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the tea, and let steep for 10 minutes.
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4
Strain the milk mixture through a fine sieve, pressing on the tea leaves to extract as much cream as possible. Return to the saucepan and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
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5
:Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.
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6
Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy. Drain the cherries well.Pack the ice cream into a storage container, layering it with the cherries as you go. Press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.
