Dark Chocolate Ice Cream (eggless)
This is the best chocolate ice cream I have ever made! It's smooth and has a deep chocolate flavor, beyond what I expected. The recipe uses a different custard technique with no eggs, but it requires an ice cream machine. In my humble opinion, it's worth every minute spent preparing it.
Servings 4 cups
Ingredients
For the chocolate mixture:
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup prepared coffee I use Nespresso
- ½ cup sugar I use dark brown or white
- 2 ounces semisweet chocolate chopped
For the ice cream base:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons cream cheese
- pinch sea salt
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
Instructions
For the chocolate mixture:
- In a small saucepan mix ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, ½ cup sugar , and ½ cup prepared coffee.
- Cook over medium heat and let boil for 30 seconds.
- Remove from heat, add 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, let stand a minute, and mix with a hand whisk until smooth. Reserve.
For the ice cream base:
- In a small bowl mix 2 tablespoons of the total amount of milk with 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Reserve.
- In a large bowl beat 3 tablespoons cream cheese with pinch sea salt and add the chocolate mixture.
- Have ready a wide, rather shallow, freezer-friendly, plastic container with lid (not a deep one so the ice cream cools more quickly).
- In a saucepan mix the rest of the milk, 1 cup heavy cream, ½ cup sugar and 2 tablespoons corn syrup (the sides should be double the amount of liquid since it crawls up when boiling).
- Boil for 4 minutes over medium heat.
- Remove from the heat, add the cornstarch mixture, and return to the stove. Let boil an additional minute, stirring, until it thickens a bit.
- Add this to the chocolate mixture and mix until smooth.
- Transfer to the plastic container and let cool in the freezer. Be sure to stir it every 15 minutes in the beginning until it’s very cold and thick but not starting to crystalize. Don’t let it start to freeze. We need to have the coldest possible mixture. By stirring it frequently in the beginning, we make sure ice crystals don’t get a chance to form and ruin the creamy texture.
- When very cold, churn in the ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s directions. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 4 hours.
Notes
I don't use the ice bath as instructed in the book. I use the freezer (it's detailed in the instructions above). I find the results amazing and the process easier.
Swap the coffee for red wine for a stunning variation.
