94 degrees. That’s still hot weather right? At least it dipped a bit from the 100 degree weather that we have been experiencing from the past week. What’s the best way to cool down when it’s hot outside? ICE CREAM!!! The darkest chocolate ice cream in the world to be exact.
I still have not put away my ice cream maker because I bought a new ice cream book “Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home.” It’s filled with whimsical and gourmet-style ice cream recipes and they all can be made at home. Goat cheese ice cream with roasted red cherries, Kona stout ice cream, roasted pumpkin 5-spice ice cream, rum ice cream with toasted coconut, gooey butter cake ice cream - to name a few drool worthy and irresistible recipes that I have been bookmarked to make. It’s definitely an ice cream lover’s delightful dream come true.
Jeni has created some of the most amazing flavor combos around, but they all start with one simple base. Her recipes do not use eggs whereas typical ice creams are custard-based. There is a science to her method for using cream cheese because it binds the ingredients and gives the ice cream body. A nice, sultry and creamy body. I won’t go into more details because I urge you to buy the book to learn more and indulge in a splendor of one the best chocolate ice creams that you will ever enjoy.
Luscious and the perfect cure for any hot heat wave days.
The Darkest Chocolate Ice Cream in the World
Adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
Chocolate Syrup:
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup brewed coffee
½ cup sugar
1 ½ ounces bittersweet chocolate (55% to 70% cacao), finely chopped
Ice Cream Base:
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 ½ ounces (3 tablespoons) cream cheese, room temperature
⅛ teaspoon table salt
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Preparation:
For the chocolate syrup:
In a small saucepan combine the cocoa, coffee, and sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stirring quickly to dissolve the sugar, and let boil for 30 seconds. Remove from heat, add the chopped chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir the chocolate syrup until smooth and set aside.
For the Ice Cream base:
In a small bowl mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch to make a smooth slurry. In a medium bowl, whisk the cream cheese and warm chocolate syrup and salt until smooth. Prepare a large bowl with ice and water.
In a medium Dutch oven combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and let boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture until smooth. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as needed, until cold, about 30 minutes.
When ready to prepare ice cream, pour in the ice cream base into the frozen canister and churn until thick and creamy, about 30 minutes - depending on your ice cream maker’s instructions.
Pour ice cream into freezer container, and press a sheet of parchment paper directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze until firm, about 4 hours.
Yield: 1 generous quart
Review: Simply amazing. The coffee highlights the chocolate ice cream and intensifies it just a teensy bit. Jeni describes this as “mouth-filling, palate-gripping, intense chocolate with a fudge-like texture and a pleasingly dry finish.” I couldn’t have described it any other way.
