Chocolate Ice Cream

Steps

1. Put 375 ml milk + 125 ml cream + half the sugar (50 g) in a pan. Bring to a boil.
2. (At the same time) In a bowl, whisk 3 egg yolks with the rest of the sugar (50 g) + 2 tbsp cocoa powder.
3. Once the milk mixture boils: pour half of it onto the egg yolk mixture. Stir well.
4. Pour everything back into the pan. Heat while stirring over low heat.
5. The mixture must not boil. Heat to 85°C. The mass will bind and thicken slightly.
6. Take the pan off the heat. Pour the hot custard through a fine sieve over the 150 g chopped chocolate.
7. Add ½ tsp instant espresso powder (instead of allspice — deepens the chocolate flavour).
8. Blend everything with an immersion blender until smooth.
9. Let cool and refrigerate for a few hours (preferably overnight).
10. Churn according to your ice cream maker’s instructions, until firm.
11. Store in the freezer. Take the ice cream out 10-15 min before serving so it scoops easily.

Flow

Two tracks: the pan (green) and the egg bowl (orange). They merge at the tempering step, then a single track via the chocolate to the ice cream. The arrows tell you when to move on.

Notes

• 85°C is the limit and it must not boil — otherwise the eggs curdle. No thermometer? Use the spatula test: lift the spatula, run a finger across the back — if the two sides of the stripe stay apart, the custard is thick enough.
• Espresso instead of allspice: half a teaspoon of instant espresso powder deepens the chocolate flavour without tasting of coffee.
• Sieving the hot custard through a fine sieve catches any curdled egg and lets the chocolate melt evenly.
• A few hours (ideally overnight) of chilling gives a creamier churn.
• Freezer? Take the container out 10-15 min before serving for nice scoops.