What's a girl to do while cooped up in the house during an ice storm? Make ice cream, of course! :) For Christmas, I received David Lebovitz's book, "The Perfect Scoop". It's the most amazing collection of ice cream and sorbet recipes I've read. I chose the Chocolate recipe to be my first because I had an entire bag of Reece Cup minis lying around and knew if I mixed those into the ice cream, my family would elevate me to "Diva" status...at least while they savored their bowls of deliciousness! Plus, I couldn't wait to have the opportunity to take a picture using these gorgeous dessert dishes that I inherited from my Granny and knew the chocolate would photograph beautifully in the clear glass.
This ice cream was beyond delicious! Every spoonful was incredibly creamy and chocolaty! I couldn't believe that any homemade ice cream could develop the richness of flavor that this recipe does. I can't imagine purchasing another quart of chocolate ice cream, especially with grocery prices escalating, when I can create an all natural, delicious recipe at home for half the cost! Oh-did I forget to mention that the Reece Cups were DIVINE mixed in with the chocolate! Best idea EVER!
From the heart of my kitchen to yours, may your experience be fun and the food always flavorful! Enjoy!
Chocolate Ice Cream
2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
5 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used bittersweet)
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
15 miniature Reece Peanut Butter Cups, chopped (my addition)
1. Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 cup cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.
2. Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
3. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.
4. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. (If the cold mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.)
**After the mixture was finished in my ice cream maker, I stirred in the Reece Cups, poured it into a freezer proof container and froze it for 5 hours. Delish!
Source: David Lebovitz-The Perfect Scoop
