Receta Minty Fresh: Chocolate Mint Chip Ice Cream
Minty Fresh: Chocolate Mint Chip Ice Cream
August 18, 2014 By Isabelle Boucher | Filed Under: chocolate, dessert, ice cream
Hey kiddies! Guess what? It’s Ice Cream Week!
Yeah, you heard me. I’ve joined forces with a bunch of my favourite bloggers to put together a whole week of ice creamy goodness, including three (yes THREE) posts from yours truly. Let the feasting begin!
To kick things off, I figured I’d start with my most favourite flavour of all time: chocolate mint chip ice cream.
Growing up, my parents would sometimes take us to the ice cream shop up the street for a special treat in the summertime, especially on hot sticky evenings when the lack of air conditioning got unbearable.
Back then, my usual order was a sugar cone with a single scoop of bubblegum ice cream – obviously the best choice according to my grade-school-girl logic because once the ice cream was gone, I still had a mouthful of gum left to chew on. Two birds, one stone. (And also, little girls are naturally inclined to like things that are obnoxiously pink.)
I eventually developed a slightly more sophisticated palate and moved on to more grown-up flavours. PB and chocolate, raspberry cheesecake and mocha almond fudge always ranked quite high in my books, but most of all, there was always mint chip.
And yes I know that colour isn’t entirely natural, but mint chip ice cream just doesn’t taste the same to me unless it’s an obnoxious shade of pale minty green. It totally goes against my usual all-natural, no-additives, no-artificial-stuff approach to food, but I figure a few drops of food colouring won’t kill me in the long run… and if they do, at least I’ll die eating a right proper mint chip ice cream, all refreshingly minty and full of crackly dark chocolate.
Sounds like a pretty good way to go, if you ask me.
Mint Chip Ice Cream Total time 6 hours 15 mins This homemade version of the ice cream shop classic will have you swearing off storebought forever, thanks to its combo of fresh mint and crackly bittersweet chocolate. Author: Isabelle Boucher (Crumb) Recipe type: Dessert Serves: 8 Ingredients Mint Ice Cream Base:
2 cups heavy cream. divided 1 cup whole milk 2 cups fresh mint leaves ¾ cup sugar ¼ tsp salt 4 egg yolks 1 tbsp creme de menthe (optional) 2-3 drops green food colouring (optional) 1-2 drops blue food colouring (optional) Bittersweet Chocolate Chips:
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 2 tsp canola oil Instructions Make the Custard Base:
In a small saucepan set over medium-high heat, heat 1 cup heavy cream with the milk until wisps of steam start to rise from the surface. Immediately remove from heat and stir in the mint leaves. Cover and let stand for 1 hour to allow the flavours to infuse. Pour the infused cream through a fine mesh strainer to remove the mint, pressing firmly on the leaves to extract as much flavour as possible. Stir in the sugar and salt, and return the infused cream to the stovetop over medium-high heat. Warm the cream until wisps of steam start to rise from the surface. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, then slowly pour some of the warm mint mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan. Cook the custard, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Immediately remove from heat, and stir in the remaining 1 cup cream along with the creme de menthe and food colouring, if using. Scrape the custard into a clean mixing bowl, and cover with plastic wrap, placing the wrap directly on the surface of the custard to stop a skin from forming. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Make the Chocolate Chips:
While the custard base is chilling, melt the chocolate in the microwave or a double boiler until smooth. Add the oil, and set aside to cool to room temperature. Freeze the Ice Cream:
Using an ice cream maker, freeze the chilled custard as per the manufacturer's directions. To create the chocolate "chips", spoon a layer of ice cream into the container, then drizzle a thin stream of chocolate overtop using a swirling motion. Continue alternating layers of ice cream and chocolate until both of them are done, then swirl the mixture with a butter knife to break up the chocolate into irregular pieces. Cover and transfer to the freezer to chill until firm and scoopable, about 3-4 hours. Notes The creme de menthe doesn't just add another layer of minty flavour - it also keeps the ice cream soft and scoopable. If you don't have any, though, feel free to swap for vodka or any other neutral alcohol, or just skip it entirely. 3.2.1311
Make sure you swing by for a scoop from each of today’s Ice Cream Week Participants: