Milk Chocolate Ice Cream w Brownie Bits

Milk Chocolate Ice Cream with Brownie Bits

POSTED ON JULY 5, 2008 BY ANNIE

Oooooh my, this is some delicious ice cream.  There are several chocolate ice cream recipes in The Perfect Scoop and they all look fantastic, so I have decided I will be trying them all    Ben chose this for us to try first and it was an excellent choice – and now, it has taken place as Ben’s new favorite ice cream.  I think this says a lot since he is not even a chocolate fiend like myself.  I was pretty nervous about making my first French-style ice cream but the wonderful instructions and tips written by David Lebovitz made it easier than I thought it would be and the whole thing went off without a hitch.  The texture was deliciously rich and creamy.  Now I’m really looking forward to trying some more French-style ice creams.  I just have to choose which one to try next!

Milk Chocolate Ice Cream with Brownie Bits

Ingredients:

For the brownie bits:

½ cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, cut into small pieces

1 ¼ cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup flour

1/8 tsp. salt

½ cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

For the ice cream:

8 oz. milk chocolate with at least 30% cocoa solids, finely chopped

1 ½ cups heavy cream

1 ½ cups whole milk

¾ cup sugar

pinch of salt

4 large egg yolks

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Line an 8-inch square pan with a long sheet of aluminum foil that covers the bottom and reaches up the sides.  If it doesn’t reach all the way up all four sides, cross another sheet of foil over it, making a large cross with edges that overhang the sides.  Grease the bottom and sides of the foil with butter or nonstick spray.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan.  Add the chocolate pieces and stir constantly with a whisk over very low heat until the chocolate is melted.

Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar, then the eggs one at a time, and the vanilla.  Stir in the flour and the salt.  Beat the batter vigorously for 30 seconds, until it begins to forms a smooth ball.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for 30 minutes, until the center feels just about set.  Remove from the oven and let cool.  Cut into small bits to be mixed in to the ice cream.  (Only half of one batch is needed to mix in to ice cream – the other half can be eaten in regular brownie form or frozen for later use.)

For the ice cream, combine the milk chocolate and cream in a large, heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water.  Stir until the chocolate is melted, then remove the bowl from the saucepan.  Set it aside with a mesh strainer over the top.

Warm the milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan.  In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.  Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.  Pour the custard through the strainer into the milk chocolate mixture.  Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Fold in 2 cups of crumbled brownies into the just-churned ice cream.

Source: adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz, 10 Speed Press, 2007.