218: Really Good Rich and Creamy Homemade Dark Chocolate Ice-Cream!

I know my title is a tad too long. But never mind, I was just trying to emphasize that my ice-cream was indeed really chocolatey, rich and creamy! It wasn’t the icey kind, it wasn’t the really fluffy kind (like those store-bought Wall’s or King’s ice-cream I frequently buy). It was like Italian gelato, ultra smooth because no ice-cream maker was involved. I was whisking the ice-cream mixture every couple of hours to incorporate some air into it and breaking up any ice crystals if any. But it was SOOOO good, I prefer my ice-cream this way just like gelato. Dense and creamy and rich ice-cream!

And so my first attempt at making dark chocolate ice-cream was a HUGE SUCCESS! Definitely a confidence booster! I’m so going to try the other recipes from the Williams-Sonoma Frozen Desserts recipe book! (:

Here’s my ice-cream! Not a very flattering photo but focus on the spoon! Look at how smooth and creamy it is! It sure is!

And here’s the recipe for dark chocolate ice-cream I adapted for non ice-cream machines!

Chocolate Ice-Cream (obtained and adapted from Williams-Sonoma Frozen Desserts, made easy with step-by-step photographs)

Ingredients

185g bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces

1 1/2 cup (375ml) whole milk

1 1/2 cup (375ml) heavy(double) cream/whipping cream

2/3 cup (155g) granulated sugar (I used only 100g)

4 large egg yolks

3 tbsp unsweetened regular or Dutch-process cocoa powder

2 tsp vanilla extract/essence

Instructions

1) Chop the chocolates.

2) Prepare the custard ingredients. Put the milk, 250 ml (1 cup) of the cream and sugar in a medium saucepan. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and the remaining 1/2 (125ml) cream until they are blended and a pale buttery yellow, about 1 minute. The cream will help insulate the yolks from the heat and prevent them from curdling. Sprinkle the cocoa powder over the yolk mixture (it helps to sieve the cocoa powder first) and whisk until evenly coloured and no lumps remain, about 1-2 minutes.

3) Temper the egg yolks. Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until bubbles form around the edges, the liquid just begins to ripple in the centre and the sugar is dissolved, 4-5 minutes. Do not allow the liquid to come to a boil. Remove from the heat. Begin whisking the egg yolk mixture with one hand while slowly pouring 1/4th of the hot milk mixture into the yolks with the other. The method of slowly adding a hot liquid to egg yolks is called tempering. When 1/4th of the hot milk mixture has been blended into the yolks, start pouring the warmed yolk mixture back into the saucepan, whisking constantly until well-blended.

4) Cook the custard. Place the saucepan with the milk-and-yolk mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly with the wooden spoon, 4-5 minutes. It should be thick enough to cover the back of a spoon (check out youtube for some videos of examples or Google images for examples). While the custard cooks, it is important to stir it constantly, taking care to reach all areas on the bottom of the saucepan so that it does not scotch or curdle. The custard should come to a bare simmer, with steam rising from the surface and the surface rippling, but it should not actually bubble or come to a boil.

5) Remove the saucepan from the heat. Sprinkle the chopped chocolates over the the top of the custard and let stand for 1 minute so that the chocolate begins to melt. Then using a wooden spoon, stir gently until the chocolate is melted and the custard is smooth, about 2 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract until blended.

6) Set a fine-mesh sieve over the bowl and pour the hot custard through the sieve, gently pressing the liquid through with the back of the spoon and leaving any grainy solids in the sieve. Fill a large mixing bowl halfway with ice cubes and enough cold water to cover the ice ubes. Place the bowl with the custard into the larger bowl and let cool for 30-45 minutes. One custard has cooled to room temperature, remove the bowl from the ice water bath.

7) Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard, which will prevent a coating/skin from forming as the custard chills.

8 ) Place in the freezer compartment to chill for hours. In the next couple of hours, check on the ice-cream. It should freeze slightly around the edges. Use a hand whisk (or better still, an electric hand whisk) to whisk the ice-cream until all ice crystals are mashed and ice-cream is smooth and creamy again. I repeat this every 1-2 hours. (I started freezing my ice-cream at around 1pm and whisked every 1-2 hours until a final whisk around 11pm. I retired to bed at around 11pm and at around 8am the following day, I got my rich creamy chocolate ice-cream)

9) Serve your ice-cream (: Yummy yummy icy goodness!