Chocolate Ice Cream

Besides vanilla, chocolate is such a classic ice cream flavor. It was just me and my four youngest children for four days last week. My Lutheran Stud and older girls were in the mountains for the annual Catechism Retreat. More on that later. I decided that we would eat ice cream almost every evening. The boys requested chocolate one night, so that request was granted and it was loved by all of them.

Measure out your sugar by the ounce. I found that 9 ounces is approximately 1 1/4 cup, in case you aren't able to weigh your ingredients.

Beat your eggs until they're light and fluffy. Then add the sugar and beat some more.

Meanwhile heat your cream, milk, and cocoa on the stove.

Once the chocolate and cream mixture has simmered remove it from the heat. Next you are going to temper it with the egg and sugar mixture. Just a small amout at a time so the eggs don't begin cooking.

Next pour the entire mixture back into the pot and heat to 170 degrees while stirring frequently.

Make sure that the mixture can coat the back of a spoon.

Then pour the entire mixture into another container to cool. After sitting for about 1/2 an hour, add a little vanilla and place it in the refrigerator for a few hours or even overnight.

After your mixture has cooled completely dump it into your ice cream machine and follow machine insturctions.

Serve it up immediately or if you like harder ice cream place it in the freezer for a few hours. Enjoy!

Chocolate Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces unsweetened cocoa powder, approximately 1/2 cup
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 8 large egg yolks
• 9 ounces sugar, approximately 1 1/4 cup
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

Place the cocoa powder along with 1 cup of the milk into a medium saucepan over medium heat and whisk to combine. Add the remaining milk and the heavy cream. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar and whisk to combine. Temper the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar by gradually adding small amounts, until about 1/3 of the cream mixture has been added. Pour in the remainder and return the entire mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and reaches 170 to 175 degrees F. Pour the mixture into a container and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract. Place the mixture into the refrigerator and once it is cool enough not to form condensation on the lid, cover and store for 4 to 8 hours or until the temperature reaches 40 degrees F or below.

Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes. Serve as is for soft serve or freeze for another 3 to 4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.

Adapted from Alton Brown at Food Network.com