Dark Chocolate Ice Cream (dairy-free or dairy)
This ultra-rich dark chocolate ice cream is creamy and decadent. Just a small scoop will do. Make it dairy-free or with dairy. Use high quality, 72% or higher bittersweet chocolate. This recipe is soft serve style and best served right out of the machine or soon after. See notes in post.
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 612kcal
Equipment
- Ice Cream Maker
Ingredients
- 12 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate 72%-85%
- 2 ½ cups full fat canned coconut milk or half whole milk and heavy whipping cream.
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup sugar or granulated monk fruit or 15-20 drops liquid chocolate stevia
- a pinch of salt
Instructions
- Fill a 4-5 quart pan with a about 2 inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Chop chocolate into small pieces. A long serrated bread knife makes it easy.
- Place the chopped chocolate in a medium stainless steel or glass bowl and place the bowl on top of the pan with the water. The bottom of the bowl should not touch the water. Turn the heat to low and melt the chocolate (so it stays smooth), stirring occasionally.
- Heat the coconut milk in a 3 quart saucepan to just under a boil. Remove from the heat briefly. If using sugar or monk fruit add now and let it melt into the coconut milk, stirring. Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl until smooth. When coconut milk is hot, whisk a little of the hot milk into the eggs (called tempering). Add just a little at a time so you don't scramble the yolks. When about half of the milk is added, add the rest at once. Whisk until smooth.
- Pour the egg and milk mixture back into the pan, place back on the heat, and cook stirring until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon, 5-7 minutes.
- Pour the hot liquid custard through a fine strainer into the melted chocolate. Discard and yolks bits left in the strainer. If using stevia, add now. Stir until smooth.
- Set up an ice bath: Fill a sink or a larger bowl half full with ice and cold water. Nestle the bowl into the ice bath to chill the ice cream base stirring to release the heat. When the base is below 70° (measure with a digital thermometer), place it in the refrigerator to chill further, about an hour. When the base is very cold, pour into your ice cream maker and process by manufacturer directions. Serve soft, right out of the maker or after a brief sit in the freezer.
Notes
This recipe is best enjoyed soon after making as it gets rock hard in the freezer if its in there too long. If you do leave it in the freezer and it gets rock hard, let it stand for an hour, then break it up with a table knife and stir well. I've done this twice to see how it came out. I was able to get the ice cream back to a softer consistency, but it is a lot of work when you just want a bowl of ice cream.
The other thing I did was after it sat out awhile and softened up, I put it back in the ice cream machine and set it to churn and freeze. That smoothed it all out, but again, it's extra work. Just enjoy it soon after it's made.
Nutritional Note: If you make dark chocolate ice cream with monk fruit or stevia the sugar numbers are far lower.
Nutrition
Calories: 612kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 51g | Saturated Fat: 37g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 122mg | Sodium: 24mg | Potassium: 278mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 163IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 2mg