Favorite Mint Chocolate Ice Cream
Mint Chocolate Ice Cream
Servings 4
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 cups heavy cream divided use
- 1 ¾ teaspoons peppermint extract not mint -- make sure it says peppermint
- ⅛ teaspoon vanilla
- 3 oz or to taste grated dark chocolate or melt-in-your-mouth chocolate chunks (see note)
Instructions
- Mix the sugar, cornstarch and eggs together in a bowl and set it next to the stove.
- In a heavy saucepan set over medium heat, bring the 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of the cream to a simmer. Pour the simmering cream mixture into the egg mixture whisking constantly, then return the mixture to the saucepan. Reduce heat to about medium low and whisk or stir constantly until the mixture thickens – it should not come to a complete boil, but rather thicken just to the consistency of thick gravy and coat the spoon. If you have a candy thermometer, it should read somewhere between 165 and 170. Remove from heat and pour into a large bowl or a large shallow dish (a trick to make it cool faster).
- Pour the remaining 1 cup of cream into the mixture, then stir in the peppermint extract and vanilla. If desired, add a few drops of green food coloring.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap and chill for a few hours or overnight until very cold.
- Following the ice cream maker’s directions, mix the ice cream until thick. During last 5 minutes of ice cream mixing, add the grated chocolate. Spoon into a lidded container and let sit in the freezer to ripen until you are ready to serve it.
- Makes about 4 cups
Notes
Cook time is really chill time. Make sure you use peppermint extract rather than mint extract since mint extract is usually spearmint. For the chocolate chunks, you need to melt the chocolate, spread it on a parchment or foil lined plate, then re-freeze and chop. For softer chocolate you can mix in a tiny bit of refined coconut oil, but just the process of melting and refreezing will change the chocolate so that it melts in your mouth.. This page will give you more information on how to do that. https://www.cookiemadness.net/2011/11/super-simple-mint-chocolate-chunk-ice-cream/
For fresh mint ice cream, start by putting 1 cup milk and 1 cup of the cream in a large saucepan along with about 20 mint leaves. Bring to a simmer, then turn off heat and let steep for 10 minutes. Push through a sieve, then follow recipe as directed using the mint flavored milk/cream mixture.
