April 30, 2012

Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

One of my proudest kitchen moments so far has been making homemade ice cream.

Mint chocolate chip ice cream

When I ordered the ice cream attachment for my Kitchen Aid – I was beyond excited.  I was bopping around, talking up my ice cream skills to anyone who would listen. This primarily meant the hubs and Arnold. It got pretty old, pretty fast. Believe me. 
 
It’s just that I could NOT wait to make ice cream. But then life happened, and this past weekend I realized that I’ve had the stupid churn for several months, but I haven’t done a darn thing with it.   

I’ve mentioned before how busy and important I am. Clearly this proves it.

Mint chocolate chip ice cream recipe

When deciding on what flavor of ice cream to make first, the choice was clear – mint chocolate chip. The hubs loves mint chocolate chip ice cream – it’s his absolute favorite. And since he came down with typhoid a cold this weekend, it only seemed fair to make him some. Seriously, when the man is sick, it's like the world is ending. 

I will honestly admit that until recently, I thought making homemade ice cream was outside of my culinary capabilities. I figured I should stick with pie crust and call it a good day. But all of this time spent in the kitchen has taught me the following: if I think I can, I will. So this past weekend I did.

mint chocolate chip ice cream on a wooden spoon

It was a much easier undertaking than I imagined, and this mint chocolate chip ice cream recipe is incredibly accessible. No surprise it’s from David Lebovitz. It makes incredibly creamy and decadent ice cream. If you’re not a big fan of the creamy variety, substitute the heavy cream with whipping cream - it has a lower fat percentage and will work like a charm.

So what are you waiting for?! Think you can and you will! No matter what is facing you.

Happy Monday!

xx
nina



You will need:

1 cup whole milk
¾ cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups fresh mint leaves – packed
5 large egg yolks
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used a combination of both)

Directions:

In a saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup heavy cream, vanilla, salt and mint. Once the mixture is hot and steaming, remove from the heat and cover. Let the mixture stand for one hour. This will infuse the mint flavor into the cream.

After an hour, strain the mint from the mixture, making sure to press down with a spatula or your hands to get as much mint flavor as possible. When you’re finished, discard the mint.

Pour the remaining heavy cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Set aside.

Re-warm the mint milk mixture over medium-low heat.  Once it’s warm, slowly pour some of the mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly until combined. Then scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.

Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until it thickens and coats the spatula. *Note, this process went faster than I thought it would, about 5-7 minutes. If using an instant read thermometer, it should read around 170ºF (77ºC).

Immediately strain the mixture into the cream, then continuously stir the mixture over an ice bath until cool.

Refrigerate the mixture thoroughly, preferably overnight. Then churn and freeze according to the instructions of your ice cream maker.

If using your kitchen aid attachment, add the chopped chocolate at the very end of the churning process. Usually 2—3 minutes before it is done. If using another type of ice cream maker, follow the instructions for when to add the chocolate.

Serve immediately after churning, or freeze and enjoy!

Recipe slightly adapted from David Lebovitz (from his website)

3 comments:

  1. What a mouthwatering ice cream! Love the fresh mint flavor too. Great recipe!

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  2. The mint turned the ice cream the lightest shade of green, and naturally! So well done and so delicious!

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