You’ll either thank me or hate me for putting up this post, depending on your relationship with chocolate. and heavy whipping cream. and saliva-inducing, waist expanding recipes.
Behold: the best homemade chocolate ice cream you will ever have in your entire life.
Photo courtesy of www.joannagoddard.blogspot.com
Come on, admit it. You’re drooling. It’s okay. It happens to the best of us.
I saw this recipe on Joanna’s daily blog post and literally said “oh, em, gee.” Not kidding. My face was practically plastered to my computer screen. And this weekend we (finally!) decided to try our hand at making it. It’s pretty simple to make, but I’ll forewarn you: It takes like two days to complete. This isn’t a recipe you just whip up on a whim. It takes planning. And a lot of patience, which if you know me are two things I constantly struggle with. I’m a “I-want-results-and-I-want-’em-now” kind of girl. It’s why I was no good at interior design. But that’s another story. So, essentially, Frank made this recipe, and I forgot about it, until the other night when a light bulb reminded me of the great idea we had about making the chocolate ice cream.
So anyway, here’s the recipe (taken straight from www.joannagoddard.blogspot.com. If you don’t follow her, you should. She’s pretty cool)
Makes almost a quart
You’ll need:
1 can (14-ounce/400 grams) sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup (180 grams) whole milk
3/4 cup (175 grams) heavy cream
6 ounces (170 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped finely
1/4 cup (25 grams) cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder (or two tablespoons freshly-brewed espresso)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A pinch of fine sea salt
5 teaspoons (12 grams) cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water
In a heavy-bottomed large pan, whisk sweetened condensed milk, whole milk and heavy cream until combined. Set the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
Take off heat and add the finely-chopped chocolate, cocoa powder, instant espresso powder, vanilla extract and salt. Whisk until the chocolate melts and the cocoa powder is completely dissolved.
Mix cornstarch and cold water in a bowl with a fork until completely dissolved, and add to the ice cream base. Whisk until combined.
Place the pan over medium-high heat and cook, whisking constantly, scraping the sides and the bottom of the pan to prevent burning, until thickened, for 8-10 minutes.
Transfer to a heatproof bowl and set aside, uncovered, to cool for half an hour. Don’t worry if a skin forms on top. When the bowl is cool enough to handle, cover with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly–preferably overnight–in the refrigerator.
Before transferring the chilled ice cream to the freezer, stir or whisk to dissolve the skin on top and scrape into a container. Cover with plastic, this time pressing the wrap against the ice cream to create an airtight seal; put the lid on (or cover with an additional layer of plastic wrap) and freeze until firm enough to scoop.
- photo courtesy of www.joannagoddard.blogspot.com
Join me in blaming Joanna for ruining my diet and exercise plan this week. Oh! I also forgot to mention… this doesn’t look like it makes much. In fact, I was a bit disappointed at the seemingly small portions it made, but this stuff is rich. I scooped about four tablespoons of it in one of our little bowls we put spices in when we’re cooking and I couldn’t finish it. I think I savored about two tablespoons before putting the rest back in the freezer. So, you can’t really eat it like regular ice cream. Or, I suppose you could but be prepared for one MAJOR sugar crash. But this stuff is perfect for when you get those cravings for chocolate. You know what I”m talking about — the cravings that you could theoretically kill to get your hands on a piece of chocolate. I mean, you know, if you were the unstable sort. Frank knows what I”m talking about. 
bon appetit!
