Dark Chocolate Ice Cream
Smooth creamy ultra dark chocolate ice cream made from a rich custard base with a combination of dutch process cocoa and dark chocolate.
A little different than my midnight chocolate ice cream, this dark chocolate ice cream starts with a custard base of egg yolks, sugar, milk and heavy cream. It has cocoa in it but also dark chocolate which gives it a deep rich flavor, but also a very smooth texture.
This one is dark chocolate not because of the cocoa per se (that would be my black cocoa ice cream) but because it has a bar of 70% (you can go higher 😉 added to it. It’s also churned in a machine, unlike my no churn chocolate ice cream.
Recipe Origins
This follows the known formula for ice cream recipes (popularized by the nyt): 6 yolks, 1 cup milk, 2 cups heavy cream, plus sugar and flavorings. Mine has dutch cocoa added and since I add chocolate to the base, I lightened the custard by using equal amounts of heavy cream and milk to avoid it being too heavy. I also have a few blending steps to ensure this comes out as creamy and smooth as possible.
Recipe Ingredients
Eggs: large eggs. We’ll separate the egg yolks from the whites and use only the yolks. It’s ok if a bit of white gets in – we’ll strain the custard afterwards to remove any lingering bits.
Sugar: fine granulated sugar. You can also use brown sugar, light or dark. It will add a touch of molasses to the ice cream which is quite nice.
Milk: whole milk.
Heavy cream: or heavy whipping cream.
Cocoa: dutch process cocoa. Not natural, which is a lighter cocoa and more acidic – it won’t give us the rich flavor we’re after in this dark chocolate ice cream.
Salt: fine sea salt. If using table salt, halve the amount.
Chocolate: 70% – 85% cocoa solids for a rich, dark chocolate flavor.
Vanilla: pure vanilla extract or paste.
How to make Dark Chocolate Ice Cream
Prep
Separate the eggs so you have six yolks and six whites. Reserve the whites for another use (pavlovas are great for exactly 6 whites!)
In a medium sized pot (which you’ll use to make the custard) add the sugar and egg yolks, then whisk them very, very well. You can also use an immersion blender if you have one – that will work best to break up the egg yolks.
Add the whole milk and heavy cream to the pot and whisk to combine.
Sift in the dutch cocoa and add the salt. Whisk well – cocoa can take a bit to dissolve, so keep whisking until it’s smooth.
Cook
Set the pot over medium heat; we’re going to cook the custard until it slightly thickens and the temperature reaches 170-175 F. This is when the eggs are fully cooked, and safe to eat.
Whisk and stir frequently as the custard cooks first on the bottom (where it’s closest to the heat) and we don’t want it to burn or curdle.
When the temperature reaches 170 F, turn off the heat and add the vanilla and the chocolate. If you have an immersion blender, use it now to blend the custard very well. If you don’t, transfer the custard to a standard blender/food processor and blend until smooth.
> The goal here is to break up the chocolate which can melt unevenly and then create bits in the churned ice cream.
Chill
Pour the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a heat proof bowl. Let it cool to room temperature then cover it to seal and set in the fridge to chill overnight (or at least 8 hours).
Churn
In the morning, follow your machine’s instructions to churn the chocolate ice cream. The custard will have settled unevenly so give it a quick whisk before pouring it into the machine to churn. Some machines ask you to freeze the bowl for a day before churning so check!
Store the ice cream in an airtight container, it’ll keep for a few weeks. If it’s rock hard when you take it out of the freezer, let it soften for 10 minutes on the counter before scooping.
Dark Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe
Dark Chocolate Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 100g or ½ cup fine granulated sugar
- 6 egg yolks from large eggs
- 360g or 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 360g or 1 ½ cups heavy cream you can go up to 2 cups heavy cream, and reduce the milk to 1 cup for an even creamier texture
- 55g or ½ cup dutch process cocoa
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 100g dark chocolate chopped into chunks
- 1-3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or paste
Method
- Set the sugar in a medium sized pot. Add the egg yolks and immediately whisk very very well (or use an immersion blender) until light and creamy.
- Add the heavy cream and milk and whisk to combine.
- Sift in the cocoa and add the salt then whisk until incorporated - it takes a few minutes to get the cocoa well mixed.
- Set the pot over medium heat and cook slowly and evenly, until the custard reaches 170 F (use a thermometer, instant read or laser to check). It will cook quicker on the bottom so stir often so it does not curdle or burn.
- Turn off the heat and add the chunks of chocolate and the vanilla. Use either a hand held immersion blender or transfer the mix to a blender to blend until smooth.
- Pour the mix through a fine mesh sieve into a heat proof bowl. This is to remove any lingering bits. Let it come to room temperature then cover and chill for 8 or up to 48 hours.
- The custard will have settled unevenly so give it a good whisk before pouring it into your ice cream machine. Follow machine instructions to churn. Ice cream should be stored in an airtight container in the freezer.
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