chocolate for the little chica
Recipe: chocolate ice cream
Congratulations to my pals, Amos and Louie, on the birth of their baby girl! Amos is one of my oldest friends (oldest as in I’ve known her longer than most friends – she’s not old… we’re the same age because we share the same birth date). Since both Amos and Louie love chocolate and love ice cream – it’s almost a genetic guarantee (I jest, I jest! Biogeeks, please be seated!) that little Alejandra will too. I recently made a batch of teh best homemade chocolate ice cream evar. Smooth, creamy, rich, and most of all: chocolaty. What better way to celebrate Alejandra’s arrival than with a post on chocolate ice cream.
it begins with a little cocoa and cream
Now where else would I get this recipe but from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop? Do you read his blog? I find him to be quite entertaining. His recipes tend to be spot on. I don’t think I can ever go back to non-custard ice cream. And the joy of it all is that I now have a use for all of those egg yolks after making chiffon cakes and swiss meringue buttercream (because that freezing egg yolks trick doesn’t pass muster for pastries).
add good quality chopped dark chocolate
pour the custard into the chocolate mixture
wisps of high-calorie goodness
The mixture itself was thicker and richer than some of the other ice cream recipes I’ve tried. That was a good sign. As I scooped it out of the ice cream machine, Jeremy took a taste and gave it a thumbs up. Super creamy texture and not too sweet. The only deviation from the recipe was that I used regular cocoa powder instead of Dutch process cocoa. I read the difference between the two years ago and forgot that Dutch process is smoother – less acidic. There was a slight edge to the ice cream that I’d like to eliminate, and the Dutch process will likely do that. Otherwise, this one is a winner.
the best chocolate ice cream
Chocolate Ice Cream
[print recipe]
from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
2 cups heavy cream
3 tbsps unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
5 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Warm 1 cup of cream with cocoa powder in medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to boil then reduce heat and gently simmer for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until smooth. Stir in remaining cup of cream. Pour mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as much as possible. Set mesh strainer atop the bowl. Warm 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 yolks back into the saucepan. Stir mixture constantly over medium heat making sure to scrape the bottom and corners, until the mixture thickens and reaches nappe consistency. Pour custard through strainer and stir it into the chocolate until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Continue to stir over ice bath until cool. Refrigerate the mixture to cool thoroughly and then freeze it in your ice cream machine per the manufacturer’s instructions. Yields 1 quart.
October 25th, 2007 at 8:17 am
I haven’t made ice cream in at least a week… it must be time again, this looks fabulous!
October 25th, 2007 at 10:32 am
…*whimper* Reading through the day’s Tastespotting links is becoming an exercise in self-discipline “Oh, god, I want to eat some ice cream.” “No, no you do NOT!” “But look at it! Look at it, it looks–” “Eat some carrots.” “*sigh* Fiiine…”
In other words, amazing-lookin’ ice cream.
October 25th, 2007 at 11:50 am
My goodness – this is just decadent!
October 25th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
I am really torn right now…I am slurping on soup and wearing a wool sweater, and I am pining for your ice cream! Argh, the weather sucks in Italy right now. :(
October 25th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
I made the same recipe from Perfect scoop too…except I tried the Philadelphia version…even that version was super smooth.
October 25th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
Brilynn – oh, I’m planning ahead so we’ll have several flavors for our visitors to choose from next weekend!
Jim – thanks, but I doubt it’s *my* ice cream, rather – *any* ice cream looks really good, no? :)
Patricia – I wish I could send you a scoop over the internet.
Sara – we shall have to trade, because it has been unseasonably warm here (Indian Summer?) and we want our snow, NOW! :)
Nabeela – ooooh, you’ll definitely have to try the custard version, I *love* it!
October 26th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
This is being used for my halloween party, cause who doesn’t love ice cream!
October 29th, 2007 at 1:03 am
Jerry – yeah, and who doesn’t love CHOCOLATE ice cream? ;)
January 12th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
The Perfect Scoop is awesome, isn’t it? I just made his pear-caramel ice cream. Awesome flavor.
January 19th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Michael – yup, I love David!
June 1st, 2009 at 11:23 am
I tried out your chocolate ice cream recipe and its awesome.
I never had such tasty ice cream in my life, accept in those really expensive
cafes and here in Germany the weather is just perfect for such great ice cream.
Thank you publishing this recipe ^^
June 7th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
Anastasia – that is a *really* good recipe, isn’t it? I think it’s the best chocolate ice cream I’ve ever tried. David Lebovitz is the BEST.
August 13th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Jen, this recipe is just perfect! I made it yesterday and it turned out really good. I put some toasted almonds on top of it. Great!. Next experiment: toasted coconut ice cream. Cheers! Sil
August 18th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Sil – mmm, toasted almonds are great on just about anything. Love DL’s recipes.
October 25th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
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May 24th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
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May 25th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
Seriously yummy. Tweaks: organic cocoa powder, a mixture of unsweetened and semi-sweet chocolate, a little less sugar, an extra egg yolk and spices. Thanks for sharing!
January 19th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
This is the best chocolate ice cream recipe EVER. Thanks so much for posting with photos. I tried it a second time adding just a couple tablespoons of Bailey’s and… oh no, I think I have to make it again… Totally craving more!
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