Chocolate Ice Cream

You may have been wondering...where are all the ice cream recipes???  Well, I have been making different frozen delites this summer.  All major failures.  Let me tell you why.  

Ice cream is fattening.  And for me, ice cream is all or nothing.  After making delicious batches full of heavy cream and eggs, I fell in love in the worst possible way.  With fat.  

Luckily, I am flexible.  I love sorbets and sherbets just as much as I love fatty ice cream.  So, I started experimenting with different recipes that are naturally low in fat.  You know, the ones without dairy or just with a little milk.  And I picked all the wrong recipes.  And did all the wrong things.  And we had numerous different blocks of flavored ice sitting in our freezer.  I started reading more about how to keep these non-fat/low-fat things soft and learned that the recipes I tried were just BAD.  

So what do I do?  I decide to make the richest, creamiest chocolate ice cream recipe I can find.  What?  Yeah, makes no sense. But, I was just so OVER making ice blocks.  Needed a little encouragement.  

Scot (chocoholic) is in love with this ice cream.  This a very chocolately chocolate ice cream.  He has had it topped with fresh raspberries.  He also had it with a banana.  I like it as is.  It is soooo creamy and good.  

Next, I will try out some of the great sorbet, sherbet and frozen yogurt recipes that I have since found.  I will keep you updated.  All I know is I need some alcohol and gelatin in my life.  

Chocolate Ice Cream

adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz via Annie’s Eats

2 cups heavy cream, divided

3 tbsp. Dutch-process cocoa powder

5 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

5 large egg yolks

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder. Warm over medium-high heat, whisking to dissolve the cocoa. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove the pan from the heat, mix in the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Stir in the remaining 1 cup of cream. Transfer this mixture to a medium-large mixing bowl. Set a fine mesh sieve over the top.

In the same saucepan, combine the milk, sugar and salt and warm the mixture over medium-high heat. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. When the milk mixture is warm, gradually whisk into the egg yolks, beating

constantly. Return the egg-milk mixture to the saucepan and continue heating over medium-high heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan with a spatula, until the mixture is slightly thickened and reads 170-175° F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from the heat, pour through the mesh sieve into the chocolate-cream mixture and stir to blend. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. (Alternatively to speed chilling, stir the mixture frequently over an ice bath.) Once the mixture is well chilled, freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Store in an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.

(Servings: 4, Prep time: 45 min., Chill time: 30 min., Difficulty: Intermediate)

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