Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream
A rich French style custard chocolate ice cream made with Dutch process cocoa, real semi sweet chocolate, and egg yolks. No stabilizers, no gums, and one tablespoon of vodka that keeps it scoopable straight from the freezer.
Servings: 10 1/2 cup scoops
Calories: 260kcal
Equipment
- Whynter 2.1 quart automatic ice cream maker
- Instant read thermometer
- Fine-mesh strainer
- Two mixing bowls for the ice bath
- Shallow freezer container with a lid
Ingredients
- 350 g heavy cream 1 cup plus 7 tablespoons
- 390 g whole milk 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons
- 115 g granulated sugar 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon, divided
- 35 g Dutch process cocoa powder 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon
- 85 g semi sweet chocolate finely chopped (1/2 cup)
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon vodka plain or vanilla (optional)
Instructions
- Whisk the cocoa powder together with about half the sugar in a medium saucepan. Add the milk a little at a time, whisking after each addition, until the mixture is completely smooth with no lumps. Whisk in the cream and the salt.
- Set the pan over medium low heat. Whisk gently and heat until the mixture just begins to steam and the cocoa is fully bloomed. Pull the pan off the heat, add the chopped chocolate, let it sit undisturbed for one full minute, then whisk until glossy and completely smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until pale and slightly thickened.
- Temper the yolks. Ladle about one cup of the hot chocolate dairy into the yolks in a slow steady stream while whisking constantly. Once combined, pour the yolk mixture back into the saucepan.
- Return the pan to medium low heat. Stir constantly with a rubber spatula, dragging it across the bottom of the pan, until the custard reaches 170 to 175 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not let it boil. Use the thermometer rather than the spoon test, because the chocolate causes the base to coat a spoon well before the yolks are cooked.
- Set up an ice bath. Fill a large bowl with ice and a splash of cold water, then nest a smaller clean bowl inside it. Pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer directly into the inner bowl. Add vanilla extract.
- Stir every few minutes until the custard stops steaming and cools to about room temperature or chilled.
- Cover the custard and refrigerate at least 4 hours, best 8 hours or overnight, until fully cold.
- Stir the vodka into the cold base if using. Pour into the ice cream maker and churn 40 to 60 minutes, until it thickens to soft serve consistency and mounds on the paddle.
- Transfer to a chilled shallow container. Press a piece of parchment directly against the surface of the ice cream, cover with the lid, and freeze at least 4 hours or until scoopable.
Notes
Why the vodka works. Alcohol does not freeze at freezer temperatures, so one tablespoon lowers the freezing point of the base just enough to keep the ice cream soft and scoopable straight from the freezer. You will not taste it. Use a vodka you would actually drink, since there is no heat to cook off harshness. Flavored vodkas work beautifully here, and vanilla vodka is what I use.
The vodka is optional. Left out, the ice cream is still excellent, it simply freezes firmer and needs about ten minutes on the counter before scooping. The alcohol is stirred into a cold base and never heated, so it does not cook off. Skip it if you are serving this to children or anyone avoiding alcohol.
Do not exceed one tablespoon. More alcohol lowers the freezing point further and the base will not set up properly in the machine.
Cocoa choice. Dutch process cocoa gives the deep, mellow, fudgy flavor this recipe is built around. Natural cocoa will work since there is no chemical leavening involved, but expect a lighter color and a sharper, fruitier chocolate flavor.
Chocolate chips. If you are using chips rather than a bar, chop them anyway and give them the full minute of rest in the hot dairy before whisking. Chips are formulated with less cocoa butter so they resist melting.
Do not skip the ice bath. It stops the residual cooking, moves the custard quickly through the temperature range where bacteria multiply, and protects the temperature of everything else in your refrigerator. A base that goes into the machine truly cold churns faster and freezes smoother.
Storage. Best within two weeks. Store in the back of the freezer rather than the door, where temperature swings grow ice crystals. Keep the parchment pressed to the surface to prevent freezer burn.
No ice cream maker. Pour the chilled base into a shallow metal pan, freeze, and stir vigorously with a fork every 30 minutes for the first 3 hours. The texture will be denser and closer to a semifreddo, since you are not churning air into it.
