Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream – a preview of summer

It almost feels like summer and what better way to usher in warm weather and long nights than ice cream!  Mint chocolate chip has always been my favorite flavor.  What’s not to love about green colored ice cream with chocolate in it?!  I’ll admit rainbow sherbet was a close second but mint chocolate chip was always my go-to kind.  While I’ve moved away from the green colored brands I still like the more natural looking scoops. 

I made it to the end of the Ad Hoc at Home cookbook and found TK’s dessert section.  It was almost like fate.  Right next to the cherry ice cream recipe that will probably go untouched was one for mint chocolate chip! Perfect!  Unlike the other Thomas Keller recipes this one was relatively simple! 

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

as found in Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cups loosely packed mint leaves

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

10 large egg yolks

3 ounces 55% chocolate chips

 Eggs, Cream, sugar, mint, chocolate. It couldn’t be more simple!

Directions:

Separate the yolks from the white.  Ready.. go!       

 

 

 

 

 

Going…

 

 

 

Going…

 

 

 

 

… gone!

 

Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan and add the mint (picked from the stem and washed…. mine was really sandy!)  Turn the heat up to medium until it reaches a simmer, then turn the heat off and let the mint “steep” for about 20 minutes to transfer all the minty goodness from the leaves to the milk and cream.  I found local milk and cream at my Whole Foods so I am going to call this “slow” ice cream.  The creamery sells non-homogenized dairy products.  Other than promoting laziness I’m not really sure why milk and cream are homogenized to be honest.  Nothing wrong with a little shaking before drinking! 

 

Strain the leaves out of the liquid, add 2/3 of a cup of sugar and bring to a simmer over medium heat to dissolve said sugar. 

While the sugar is dissolving whisk the remaining sugar into the egg yolks until the whisk leave a faint trail.

Slowly, add the hot milk/cream mixture to the yolks a 1/2 cup of at a time, making sure not to curdle the eggs. Strain the mixture back into the pan.  (Prepare an ice bath and set it aside for later).

Put your saucepan over medium heat and stir it constantly to make a custard.  Make sure to scrape the sides and bottom so it doesn’t get lumpy or gummy. Stir until the mixture thickens enough to coat your wooden spoon.  When it gets to this point take it off the heat, strain it into a bowl and put the bowl into the ice bath to stop the cooking process.  Leave the custard in the ice bath, stirring once and a while, until it cools off.  

Put it in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.

I left mine in overnight (cooking it hard work!!)

 

 

The following day, pour the mixture into your ice cream machine and “follow the manufacturer's instructions”. When the mixture is the consistency of frozen yogurt add the chocolate pieces, let it churn a little longer, and then put it in Tupperware to freeze and then eat!!

I added a few pieces of chocolate on top! Can’t hurt.

Here’s to warmer weather, longer nights and a glimpse of the summer to come!