Dark Chocolate and Strawberry Goodness

You know what the best thing about Ice Cream is? It’s ice cream… that’s the best part… Ok… what is the best ice cream? ALL ice cream…. Gah! I keep asking stupid questions… How about this… what is a fun way to impress your friends? Buy ice cream and lie and said you made it… Ok… that really is not impressive. MAKING your own ice cream – that is impressive and oh so yummy. Strawberry and Dark Chocolate – not together, two different batches… but hrm…. Swirled together, that could be amazing.
So…. Strawberry and Chocolate… For the strawberry I use my own strawberry puree. Basically when I have strawberries that aren’t quite great for eating, I mush them up and throw them in the freezer, keep doing that and you’ll have your 3 cups in no time. You can use fresh berries too.
For the Chocolate, I melt Dove Dark Chocolate Promises, spread them on a piece of parchment paper, then crumble them in at the very end of churning. So good.
So, about tempering these eggs. It’s easy. I know I know, you might scramble them. You won’t… just add the cream mixture slowly while whisking the eggs. Wait until it seems like you have way more cream mixture than egg, then slowly pour it right back in the pan. You should be just fine. If not? Then I’m sorry… you’ll have chunky ice cream in a whole new way.

Strawberry Ice Cream
What you need!
6 large eggs yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
Pinch fine salt
3 cups strawberry puree

What to do!
In a medium bowl lightly whisk the yolks together with a 1/4 cup of the sugar. Set aside.
In a non-reactive saucepan combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 1/2 cups of the cream, and the salt. Heat the cream mixture over medium-high heat until just boiling. Remove from the heat; whisk the eggs constantly while gradually pouring the hot liquid into the yolks. Return the egg mixture to the saucepan.
Cook the mixture while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon in a figure 8 motion, over medium-low heat, until thickened, about 5 minutes. When the ice cream mixture is properly cooked it coats the back of the spoon, is satiny thick, and free of any bubbles on the surface. (The ice cream base will taste slightly egg-y.) When the mixture is thickened pull it from the heat; add the reserved 1/2 cup cream, and strain it through a fine strainer into a medium bowl.
Set the bowl of ice cream base in a bowl of ice and whisk until cool. Add the strawberry puree.
Freeze the strawberry mixture in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. (Take care not to over churn the ice cream or it can have a grainy texture.) Place the ice cream in the freezer to set up for at least 1 hour. Serve.


Chocolate Ice Cream
What you need!
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups milk (2%)
1 cup heavy cream
8 large egg yolks
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

What to do!
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.