Share This Cool, Chocolatey Treat
Sweet, smooth chocolate ice cream is the perfect way to cool off on a hot day. Well, since today is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day, we’d like to share a recipe for a special treat that we really enjoy!
Store-bought chocolate ice cream is delicious, but homemade chocolate ice cream is truly the way to celebrate this holiday. All you need is an electric ice cream maker and some basic ingredients to make a simple, yet decadent treat that’ll cool you off and satisfy any chocolate craving you may be harboring.
Start off by pouring 2 cups of half and half and 1 cup of cream into a medium saucepan. Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring it occasionally, until it’s warm and steamy. Remove it from the heat.
Pour ½ cup of the cream mixture into a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat three egg yolks until they’re smooth. Stir in ¾ cup of sugar and pour the egg mixture into the ½ cup of cream mixture. Stir the two components until they’re well combined, then slowly whisk them into the remaining cream mixture in the saucepan.
Whisk ¼ cup of Dutch cocoa powder into the mixture in the saucepan. Then, slice open half of a vanilla bean, scrape the tiny black seeds out from the inside with the tip of your knife and drop the seeds, along with the half pod, into the cream mixture. Place the saucepan back over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it is warmed through and the mixture coats the back of a metal spoon. Do not allow the cream mixture to come to a simmer, as that will curdle the eggs.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in 4 oz. of chopped chocolate. It’s best to go with a good-quality, semisweet or bittersweet chocolate for this. Our Godiva 72% Dark Chocolate Bar is a good choice. Leave the mixture on the stove to cool, uncovered, for about 45 minutes. Then, fish out the vanilla bean and transfer the liquid to a container with a lid. Refrigerate the cream mixture overnight to get it nice and cold.
When it’s time to make your ice cream, add it to your ice cream maker and process it according to the instructions. It should take 20 to 30 minutes to freeze into a soft dessert. Transfer the ice cream back to its container and freeze it until serving to firm it up even more.
This rich chocolate ice cream is amazing on its own, but can be even better with some mix-ins. Add chips, nuts and other goodies to the ice cream during the last five minutes or so of processing it to make a customized treat.
We love to serve this ice cream rocky road style, using quality sweets from NutsOnline. Add white marshmallow bits, semisweet chocolate chips and pecan pieces to make a truly unforgettable dessert.
Of course, we offer plenty of other options to make this delicious ice cream even more decadent. Try throwing in some Mini M&Ms, macaroon crunch, sliced almonds or organic chocolate covered cacao nibs to turn this basic sweet into your dream treat!
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