Milk Chocolate Ice-Cream

Many things benefit from being home-made, and ice-cream is very much in that category. It is quicker to buy from the supermarket, and you have to plan ahead to make your own (and preferably have an ice-cream maker) but it's worth it!

My primary recipe source is The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz, which Mr Cake gave me for Christmas 2008, and we've still barely made a dent in the recipes in the book! One recipe which is marked with a post-it which reads 'Delicious!' is the milk chocolate ice-cream recipe.

One of the important factors of any food is the quality of ingredient - it matters more for some recipes than others and this is definitely a recipe where it matters. I used Lindt milk chocolate, plus a smattering of Callebaut bittersweet chocolate budlets (to help mitigate the sweetness just a little).

Ice-cream is pretty easy - it takes a bit of patience for making the custard and it might take a couple of tries to get it just right, but even when it's not perfect it still tastes good!

It does take a few dishes - but the method is pretty simple. Melt the chocolate in the cream, warm the milk and sugar, pour slowly into the egg yolks (this is the part that requires most care; if you pour too fast the protein in the egg can cook and make it go lumpy), then return to pot and cook to a custard.

(ours was a bit grainy this time. I blame Mr Cake! But it still tasted great...)

After you make the custard, you add it to the melted chocolate and cream, then chill overnight - then churn it up. Delicious!

Milk Chocolate Ice-Cream from The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz
Ingredients
230g milk chocolate, chopped
375ml heavy cream
375ml milk 
150g sugar
pinch salt
4 large egg yolks
2 tsp cognac (we used rum the first time we made this and frangelico this time - so you can switch this out)
(optional) 3/4 cup cocoa nibs or chocolate chips

Method
Combine the milk chocolate and cream in a large bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until chocolate is melted then remove bowl from heat and set aside with a strainer over the top.

Warm the milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slooooooowly pour the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly, then return the mixture to the saucepan.

Stir the mixture over medium heat with a spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour through the strainer into the chocolate mixture, add the cognac (or rum, frangelico, amaretto, or whatever else you like), and mix together. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill thoroughly in the fridge (at least 8 hours), then churn in your ice-cream maker.

If you're adding cocoa nibs or chocolate chips, add them at the end of churning. Freeze until firm, and enjoy in small, decadent portions!