HappyTummy              

It’s been about six months since my mom gave me an ice cream maker as a gift. Considering how much ice cream B and I eat, it’s pretty stupid that I haven’t tried using it until now. After making Dorie’s Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream, I wish I had. If you like chocolate ice cream, you’ll love this. It’s very rich and creamy and it screams chocolate.

I almost didn’t succeed with this recipe, though. Despite taking great care not to cook the yolks during the custard-making phase, I ended up with an extremely liquidy, scrambly-egg mess that never thickened, even though it sat in the refrigerator for more two hours. I came nowhere close to turning out a custard to freeze. I was so mad and was about to throw out the whole thing…but ultimately decided that it wouldn’t hurt to just put it all into the ice cream maker anyway, just to see how it would turn out.

I’m glad I did. The chocolate-y, eggy concoction churned into a delicious ice cream. I didn’t even strain out the egg bits! The end product still turned out perfectly.

Thanks for picking this recipe, Katrina. You can see my lower-fat version of the ice cream (I used 1% milk instead of whole milk)…but if you want to see Dorie’s original recipe, visit Katrina’s blog, Baking and Boys.

Recipe: Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream
Adapted from Baking:From My Home to Yours

• 6 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup of sugar

Put the chocolate in a 2-quart liquid measuring cup or a large heatproof bowl. Bring 3/4 cup of the cream to a boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it sit a minute, then using a rubber spatula and starting in the center of the mixture, slowly stir the cream into the chocolate in ever-widening concentric circles. When the ganache is smooth, set it aside.

Bring the milk and the remaining 3/4 cup cream to a boil in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the yolks and sugar together until well blended and just slightly thickened. Still whisking, drizzle in about one third of the hot liquid—this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won’t curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remaining liquid. Pour the custard back into the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring without stopping, until the custard thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon; if you run your finger down the bowl of the spoon, the custard should not run into the track. The custard should reach at least 170 degrees F, but no more than 180 degrees F, on an instant-read thermometer. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and slowly and gently stir the custard into the ganache.

Refrigerate the custard until chilled before churning it into ice cream.

Scrape the chilled custard into the bowl of an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Pack the ice cream into the container and freeze it for at least 2 hours, until it is firm enough to scoop. Makes about 1 quart.