Chocolate Ice Cream!

Did you know that I'm not really into chocolate?  I like it and all, but I'm not one of those people who goes ga ga for chocolate, or who craves chocolate regularly.  Usually I prefer to eat chocolate in conjunction with other stuff (looking at you, peanut butter), and I like the chocolate to take a back seat to the other flavors.

I'm also afraid of making chocolate stuff, because I'm not terribly good at it.  I've had Back in the Day Bakery Cheryl's chocolate cake recipe for a few months now, and am still too afraid of it to make it.  (Also afraid that in the event that I successfully make it, I would eat the whole thing, despite my ambivalence about chocolate.  I need to have a time to share it with others.)  I don't know what's so scary about chocolate.  Mainly I'm just a big sissy.

I absolutely must overcome this fear*, because what kind of baker/ice creamer/fat girl can I be without knowing how to make awesome chocolate stuff?

This week I got one step closer, because I made David Lebovitz's Chocolate Ice Cream.  Plain ol' chocolate.  Also, David Lebovitz is a god.  The god of ice cream.

Now, Matt's mom, who is a chocoholic, doesn't like chocolate ice cream, because apparently true chocolate lovers prefer vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup. But I think this one could convert her--that's how good it is.

The flavor is intense without being overpowering, and the texture is silky smooth.  It's sweet without being too sweet.  This is the chocolate ice cream recipe that I will use for the rest of my life, because I just can't believe that it can get better.  (And I know that I have a penchant for hyperbole, but seriously, I'm telling the truth.)

Get this book. 

And make this ice cream.

And look at a picture of this dog.

And you'll be happy.  (At least until the ice cream's gone and the dog starts whining for treats.)

David Lebovitz's Chocolate Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream

3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

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.

Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolk. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over the medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (170°F on an instant-read thermometer). 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.


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.)


*Shoot.  That would've been a good New Year's resolution, huh?  Instead I'm left with learning to like tomatoes and to eat at least one egg with a runny yolk.  Also afraid of that, but we'll have to discuss it at a later date.