Chocolate Ice Cream

Pre-freeze your ice cream machine canister along with the container you are going to put the ice cream in. It should hold at least a quart. A standard loaf pan works great!

Melt your chocolate in the microwave in a heat-safe bowl and set aside. Be sure it isn't too hot!

In a large pot, combine milk, cream, salt, vanilla, and half the sugar. Heat the mixture on medium-high heat until it comes to a boil.

While you are waiting for the cream mixture to come to a boil, whisk the egg yolks and the remaining sugar together in a large bowl until pale yellow. Add your melted but not hot chocolate and whisk to combine. (The mixture will be thick.)

Once the cream mixture comes to a boil slowly pour it into the eggs while whisking constantly.

Return to the pot and cook until the base reaches 85°C or 180°F, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, making sure the spatula is touching the bottom of the pot at all times. Don’t forget about the corners of the pot! Custard loves to burn there.

Pour the mixture through a strainer into a bowl. Set the bowl in an ice bath, you can actively cool the base with your spatula. I like to cool it till about room temperature before I place it in the refrigerator (this is optional). Cover the base with plastic wrap and poke a few holes before placing it in the fridge.

This base is going to be thick like pudding. If you let it sit overnight, you may need to scoop the base into your ice cream machine. You want to add the base with the machine already running to avoid it freezing on the sides.

Continue churning until the volume increases about ⅓ and the ice cream pulls away from the sides and holds its shape when scooped out. It will take about 20-30 minutes.

Pour into a pre-frozen container, and place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the ice cream to avoid it taking on flavors from the freezer and to avoid ice crystals from forming. Freeze for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.