Fran’s Chocolat au Chocolat Ice Cream

Fran’s inspiration for the ice creams she used to sell in her shops are the dense spoonfuls of perfection she first tasted at Berthillon in Paris. Since chocolate ice creams often aren’t distinct enough, we use deep, dark cocoa to enrich and underline that pure chocolate note. It’s very important to totally cook out the raw taste of cocoa so it doesn’t leave a dry taste on the tongue. An assortment of flavorful ice creams, served in small oval scoops formed by two soup spoons, is always a perfect ending to an elegant dinner.

Makes 1 quart or 8 generous servings

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1½ cups whole milk
  • 1½ cups heavy cream
  • 6 large egg yolks
  • 5 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons Kahlua

Directions

  1. In a heavy saucepan whisk together the cocoa powder and half of the sugar. Slowly pour in ½ cup of the milk and whisk until a smooth paste is formed. Whisk in the remaining milk and cream.
  2. Place the saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes, or until the raw taste of cocoa has disappeared. Do not let the cocoa mixture come to a simmer or a boil. Remove from the heat.
  3. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the remaining sugar and egg yolks. Slowly pour about 1½ cups of the warm cocoa mixture into the yolks, stirring constantly. Then pour the yolk mixture back into the saucepan, stirring constantly to prevent the eggs from forming curds.
  4. Return to low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon (about 160°F). Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Let sit 1 minutes to melt the chocolate. Then stir until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and Kahlua.
  5. Cover with plastic touching the top so a skin does not form. Let cool to room temperature and refrigerate until cold.
  6. Freeze in an ice-cream maker following the manufacturer’s directions.

Serving Ice Creams

Our ice creams are extremely dense and freeze to a solid consistency. The best way to serve them is to warm on a counter about 10 minutes to soften. The ideal texture offers some resistance to a scoop but is not rock hard.

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