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Monday, April 28, 2014

Things that make you go hmmmmm: Ben's Chocolate Ice Cream

So.
With the weather of this past week, where I'm back to wearing socks and long sleeves, I know what you're thinking:  Why are you making ice cream?  Are you mad?
The short answer is no.  But I will warn you that this is a recipe where you question many things, including why you haven't made it yet.  While freezer diving a couple of weeks ago, I ended up shifting the bowl of my ice cream maker around, and I started thinking about how great ice cream made at home is, and how it's been so long since I've made it, and how I need to start making ice cream again.
Then I started looking at Facebook.
One of the blogs I like and follow on Facebook is The Way to His Heart.  I think I found Maeghan and her blog through Pinterest with the stuffed Taco Shells.  I followed that up by making Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream from there as well.  And while there are many things that I consider making, I don't always get around to it.
When I saw this ice cream, I knew that that would be different in this case.  For whatever reason, I've not made a good, plain chocolate ice cream.  Perhaps I've considered it too easy, but chocolate ice cream just sounded good.  The recipe was also full of pantry staples so that I could make the batter without buying a thing.  So I wasn't questioning the flavour, nor the ingredients.  Let's take a look at what I did wonder about, shall we?
I present to you now from The Way to His Heart, Ben's Chocolate Ice Cream:
 Ingredients:
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 c milk
2 eggs
1 c sugar
1 c heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

Method:
1.  In the top of a double boiler, over simmering water, melt chocolate.  Gradually whisk in milk, whisking over heat until smooth.  Take off heat and set aside to cool.
2.  In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Gradually add sugar, whisking well until well blended.  Add cream, vanilla and salt, whisking until well combined.
3.  Add chocolate mixture to the cream mixture, whisking until smooth and consistent.  Cover and refrigerate until cold.
4.  Transfer to ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's instructions.
From The Way to His Heart, originally from Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream and Dessert Book

So let's talk about the things that make you question what you're doing, shall we?  I melted the chocolate in the double boiler, looked at the cup of milk I'd poured from the fridge, and thought, "The chocolate is going to seize.  What am I doing?"  I was right.  The chocolate did seize.  But I trusted the process and kept stirring.  What resulted was this.  Smooth and shiny.  I used a whisk at first, followed up with the rubber spatula to make sure I got all the seized chocolate reincorporated.
Then I made the cream base with 2 raw eggs, and thought, "What about salmonella?"  I read this and decided to take my chances.  You could use pasturized eggs if you wanted.
Then I processed.  And...it didn't take very long.  I was afraid that I'd actually broken the churn this time.  I had the same trouble when I made the small batch of blueberry cheesecake ice cream.  The recipe makes a quart.  I think it doesn't take long because there's not as much in the bowl.  After ripening, it's easily scoopable and I had a debate with myself about whether or not I should put one or two scoops in each bowl.
I decided on two small, but I could have gone with one.  That's what we like best about homemade ice cream - that we eat so little and are satisfied.  It makes the deliciousness last longer.

2 comments:

  1. Dang, that looks good! We used to make a strawberry ice cream along similar lines that we LOVED. Haven't made it in years, but this inspires me to try again!

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  2. Glad you enjoyed the ice cream! We have quite a few tubs of this in our freezer. I've found that you have to add the milk in very gradually, almost like when you are adding whipped egg whites in to something, and it wont seize on you. Other recipes have been quite a pain with that, but I fortunately haven't had it happen with this one yet! Glad you've enjoyed my recipes! I'll be bookmarking your blog now as well!

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