mint leaf & chocolate chip ice cream
Freshly churned real mint ice cream
Mint-Leaf/Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Note: allow time for custard mixture to cool, 8 hours or more. I usually do this on consecutive days.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy (whipping) cream
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 huge handful roughly chopped mint sprigs, preferably from two different varieties of mint: e.g., peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint, and/or black mint
6 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate (like the Callebaut 70%), either chopped coarsely if you're going for the melt-and-stir method, or chopped extremely fine if you want to take an easier path. Mini chocolate chips are fine, too.
Instructions:
Put milk, cream, and half the sugar in a heavy saucepan and whisk to combine. Set over medium-high heat. In a medium metal bowl, whisk together yolks and remaining half of sugar. Watch the cream mixture very carefully until it just begins to foam and bubble on the sides–it will boil over quickly! Turn heat off and ladle some of cream mixture into the yolks, whisking it together. Do this with a few more ladles full of cream mixture, then turn heat back on very low. Pour contents of bowl back into saucepan, whisking the whole time, until mixture begins to thicken slightly–enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon.
Pour back into the mixing bowl and stir in mint leaves. To cool more quickly, set the bowl over a larger bowl with ice in it. Cover with plastic wrap with a couple of holes poked in it–this will let steam out and prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, at least 8 hours or overnight. Mixture must be very cold for most ice cream makers.
When ready to freeze, get your ice cream maker ready, and also put container that will hold ice cream into the freezer. Immediately before using, strain ice cream mixture into a clean bowl with a mesh strainer, pressing on mint leaves to extract maximum flavor. Discard leaves. Freeze ice cream according to your machine's instructions.
Meanwhile, the chocolate: If attempting the melt-and-stir method, make a double boiler with a metal bowl and saucepan while the ice cream is freezing. Put a little water at the bottom of the saucepan (should not touch bowl) and bring to a gentle simmer. Put the bowl on top and fill with all but a few pieces of chopped chocolate. Melt chocolate slowly, and when it's just melted, remove bowl and stir remaining pieces into the melted chocolate until they melt, too. You want the chocolate to be liquid but not hot–you can test by touching a little chocolate on your lower lip. If you curse, it's too hot. Should feel nearly room temperature.
When ice cream is thick and frozen, you can do one of two things. One, simply stir in chips or thinly chopped chocolate, and you’re done. Or Two, proceed from above: transfer ice cream into cold container (or leave it in the canister with paddle removed). Have a big mixing spoon with the chocolate and a wooden spoon or spatula with the ice cream. Partner up or go solo. One hand drizzles a thin stream of chocolate into the ice cream while the other stirs it in furiously. Faster! Faster! Work quickly, stopping once you are satisfied with the distribution of chocolate.