Sunday, July 20, 2014

Chocolate Buttercream Ice Cream

Elise,
It's the summer of ice cream, which doesn't really differentiate from any other summer.
My favorite ice cream ever was Chocolate Butterccream ice cream from Mad Martha's in Martha's Vineyard. I had it years ago; I've always wondered about recreating it. And I think I just did.
David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop has a recipe for Milk Chocolate Ice Cream. I substituted Vanilla for the Cognac and increased the salt to a generous 1/4 tsp. 



I used this chocolate.

Chocolate Buttercream Ice Cream Barely adapted from David Lebovitz.

8 oz. milk chocolate with at least 30% cocoa solids, finely chopped
1 1/2 C heavy cream
1 1/2 C whole milk
3/4 C sugar
generous 1/4 tsp salt
4 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla

       Put the chocolate and the cream together in the top of a double boiler over, not immersed in, simmering water and stir it just until the chocolate melts, then take it off the simmering water.
      Warm the milk, sugar and salt in a heavy pot and stir it until the sugar mostly dissolves. Whisk the egg yolks. Very carefully and slowly, I use a ladle, add about half of the milk to the egg yolks, whisking like crazy. Then pour the egg and milk mixture back into the rest of the milk, still whisking like crazy.
      Stir this with a heat proof spatula over low heat, or medium low if you are impatient, but then really watch it. It will thicken and coat the back of the spatula. If you over cook it, the custard will curdle, and then you probably have to start over. Unless it just curdles a little bit, like mine did, and then go on and make it anyway. The little bit of curdling didn't seem to adversely effect the finished product. Once it is thick enough, take it off the heat.
      Pour the custard through a strainer into the cream and chocolate mixture, add the vanilla and chill it, either in an ice bath or in the fridge. When it is well chilled freeze it in your ice cream maker.