Devil's Food Cake Chocolate Ice Cream

By stancec44

If you don’t have crème de cacao, use vodka, bourbon or rum. Adding a nip of alcohol slows the freezing process, which allows the ice cream to slow down, take its time, not rush, and churn up to its full potential. Omitting the alcohol will make the ice cream more dense, harder to scoop, and less velvety smooth. Don’t worry about the kids not wanting any, as we’re guessing the intensely dark chocolate taste is going to send most kids back to their tub of cookies n cream. Let them have it. Means more of this for you.

Ingredients

• For the ice cream base
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (use 1/8 teaspoon if substituting iodized salt)
• 1 cup whole milk
• For the chocolate paste
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, such as Cacao Barry Extra Brute
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped 72% dark chocolate
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons crème de cacao* (see note above)
• DIRECTIONS
• Make the ice cream base
• Make the chocolate paste
• 2. In the same pot, whisk together the sugar and cocoa and then add the chopped chocolate and cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly until the sugar has fully dissolved and the mixture is bubbling hot, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Make the ice cream

Preparation

Step 1

Make the ice cream base
1. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, salt, and milk in a 3-quart stainless steel saucepan over low heat and gently stir until warm, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-low and stir until the custard is slightly thickened and steaming hot, about 5 minutes more. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, scraping the pot.

Make the chocolate paste
2. In the same pot, whisk together the sugar and cocoa and then add the chopped chocolate and cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly until the sugar has fully dissolved and the mixture is bubbling hot, 5 to 7 minutes.

Make the ice cream
3. Strain the cocoa mixture into the custard and then stir in the vanilla extract and crème de cacao. Let cool to room temperature (if you like, to hasten the process you can place the bowl of custard in a larger bowl filled halfway with ice water) and refrigerate until the mixture is cold and thick and pudding-like, about 4 hours. (You can cover and refrigerate the custard for up to 1 week.)

4. Transfer the custard to an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s directions until your ice cream is creamy and thick. If your machine has an open top, cover it with an inverted baking pan or pie dish or something like that to keep it cold as it churns. Meanwhile, place a flexible spatula and quart container (an empty yogurt tub works great) in the freezer.

5. When the ice cream is done, if you like a “soft serve” consistency, you can serve it straight from the ice cream maker or, if you prefer a firmer consistency, you can scrape the ice cream into the chilled container with the chilled spatula, press some plastic wrap against the ice cream to minimize the risk of freezer burn, and seal the container. Freeze until it’s firm enough to scoop, about 12 hours.