Chocolate Ice Cream

Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream is a favorite of mine to make.  Again, the chocolate
ice cream is worth all of the effort that is involved in making it.  I use an electric Cuisinart
Ice Cream Maker when I prepare ice cream at home.

Utensils:

Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons
One Wire Whisk
Three or Four Large Spoons
Two Large Bowls with lids (place the bowls in the freezer while making the vanilla custard)
One Large Mixing Bowl
One Large Cooking Pan
Kitchen Candy Thermometer
Egg Separator (optional)
Freezer Container (optional)

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder (I use Hershey's Cocoa Powder)
     *Note: If you like your Chocolate Ice Cream more of a chocolate flavor, add more cocoa.
                  I find that adding more cocoa powder to the ice cream makes it bitter tasting.
1 1/4 Cups Sugar
8 Egg Yolks
2 1/2 Cups 2% Milk
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Dash of Salt
1 Cup Heavy Cream
1/2 Cup Half & Half

Directions:

Place the eight egg yolks in the mixing bowl, grab your wire whisk and mix the eggs yolks until blended.  Slowly, slowly, add the sugar to the egg yolks, while beating the mixture at the same time.  When all of the sugar is incorporated into the egg mixture, continue beating the mixture until it reaches the ribbon stage on the wire whisk.  This takes about eight or so minutes.  Add the cocoa powder and stir until combined.

While you are doing this stage of the ice cream process, then at the same time, in a large cooking pan, combine the milk, salt and heavy cream. Place the milk mixture over medium heat.  When the egg mixture reaches the ribbon stage, while still stiring, slowly add some of the hot custard to the egg mixture until you have added about half of the custard mix to the egg mixture.  Pour the egg mixture into the rest of the custard mixture.  You now have a chocolate custard mixture.

Cook mixture over medium heat until the mixture reaches 170 degrees on a candy thermometer.  Stir the mixture every so often as it is cooking.  When your custard reaches 170 degrees, take it off of the heat and add the vanilla to it, stir.

Pour the custard in the large bowl that has been in the freezer.  Place the bowl into the refrigerator until the mixture is completely cold.  About three hours.

Once your chocolate custard is cooled, plug in your Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker.  Place the freezer container (that should always be in the freezer), onto the machine, place the paddle attachment into the middle part of the freezer container, switch the machine to the on position, and pour in the chocolate custard.

In around twenty to twenty-five minutes, you will have soft serve ice cream.  When the ice cream is done, turn the machine to the off position, take out the paddle attachment. Pour the Chocolate ice cream into a freezer container.  Let the ice cream stay in the freezer for six to eight hours.  Enjoy your ice cream in a bowl, or with ice cream cones.