CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM

As we were developing the recipes for this book, we made two different batches of our chocolate ice cream, one using natural cocoa powder and one using Dutch-processed. The results were astounding. The version made with Dutch cocoa was dark, intense, and trufflelike in its flavor, while the natural version seemed more like milk chocolate ice cream. The results are addictive either way.

AT A GLANCE:

TECHNIQUE: Ice cream

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: Ice cream machine

CHILLING TIME: 2 hours or overnight

SHELF LIFE: 1 week

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 large egg yolks
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ cup Dutch-processed or natural cocoa powder, measured then sifted (see headnote)
• 1 cup 1% or 2% milk
• 1¾ cups heavy cream
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS:

MAKE THE BASE

1. In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the yolks just to break them up, then whisk in half of the sugar (6 tablespoons). Set aside.
2. In a heavy nonreactive saucepan, combine the cocoa powder with the remaining sugar (6 tablespoons). Whisk in about ¼ cup of the milk to make a paste, adding a little more of the milk as needed to make it smooth and uniform. (If you add the milk all at once, the cocoa will be lumpy.) Whisk in the remaining milk, the cream, and salt and put the pan over medium-high heat. When the mixture approaches a bare simmer, reduce the heat to medium.
3. Carefully scoop out about ½ cup of the hot cream mixture and, whisking the eggs constantly, add the cream to the bowl with the egg yolks. Repeat, adding another ½ cup of the hot cream to the bowl with the yolks. Using a heatproof rubber spatula, stir the cream in the saucepan as you slowly pour the egg-and-cream mixture from the bowl into the pan.
4. Cook the mixture carefully over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it is thickened, coats the back of a spatula, and holds a clear path when you run your finger across the spatula, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
5. Strain the base through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean container. Set the container into an ice-water bath, wash your spatula, and use it to stir the base occasionally until it is cool. Remove the container from the ice-water bath, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate the base for at least 2 hours or overnight.

FREEZE THE ICE CREAM

1. Add the vanilla to the base and stir until blended.
2. Freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. While the ice cream is churning, put the container you’ll use to store the ice cream into the freezer. Enjoy right away or, for a firmer ice cream, transfer to the chilled container and freeze for at least 4 hours.

MAKE IT YOUR OWN

• Fold in chopped toasted hazelnuts (see Buying and Using Nuts) for a Nutella-like effect.
• Add a swirl of Fudge Ripple for chocolate-on-chocolate action.

SERVE IT WITH …

• Blackberry Ice Cream or Orange-Cardamom IceCream