Chocolate Ice Cream and Cocoa Nib Tuiles

Judging by the mess above, this recipe wins the prize for messiest. However, it also wins a prize for being so chocolaty delicious.

I have had this recipe for a while but never tried it before. H, a very sweet person, recently asked me to make chocolate ice cream and I couldn't resist. The recipe comes from Chez Panisse, and I got it when I was a pastry intern in the summer of 2006. Chez Panisse is one of those restaurants that believe in sharing, customers can request a copy of any recipe and they will kindly oblige. Armed with this knowledge I am publishing this recipe without asking their permission.

I scaled down the recipe by a third, since I had the exact amount of yolks from a butter cream I made the previous weekend. If I had read the recipe more closely though, I would have noticed that, even after scaling, it still makes 4 quarts of ice cream base. OUCH! Once I started though, I decided to keep going so I would have chocolate ice cream for ever. Nothing wrong with that!

One of the reasons for the extreme mess and copious amount of pots, bowls and utensils used, was the breaking of the ganache. I followed their method of melting the chocolate with the cream, but maybe I mixed it too early and broke the ganache. I was about to pass out from hyperventilating when I saw those 10.5 precious ounces of Scharffen-Berger chocolate reduced to a horrible separated mess. My pastry senses came back and I was able to bring the ganache back together in a mixer by emulsifying it by adding some cold cream. PHEW!

Mess aside, this is an amazing ice cream, not too sweet and intensely chocolaty. Worth the effort.

Chocolate Ice Cream
adapted by Chez Panisse

1 3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 cup cream
2 1/2 cup milk
pinch of salt
2 cups sugar

10.5 oz. bitter chocolate
1 c cream

14 yolks
2 3/4 cup cream
2 3/4 cup milk

Put cocoa in a pan, add the cream to make a paste. Add the milk, the sugar, and salt and bring to a boil (mix the bottom constantly to prevent scorching). In the meantime, heat the cream to a boil and then pour onto chopped chocolate, wait 5 minutes and then slowly whisk them together, and set aside. When the cocoa mixture is hot, slowly pour it onto the yolks to temper them. If the mixture is very hot the yolks will custard, otherwise transfer the liquid onto a clean pan and heat it up stirring continuously, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon (when your finger leaves a clear line through the custard on the spoon it's ready). Slowly stir the warm custard into the melted chocolate and whisk well. Slowly add the last amounts of cream and milk to the custard. Strain well and chill. Freeze according to your ice cream maker.

Cocoa Nib Cups
Courtesy of Pastry Chef DMG

3 oz sugar
1 oz glucose
3 oz butter
1 oz milk
6 oz cocoa nibs
1 oz flour

Partially grind the cocoa nibs, just enough to have some dust and slightly smaller nibs. Melt the butter, sugar and glucose in a heavy saucepan. Add the milk and whisk well. Add the flour and the nibs. Refrigerate until firm. Spoon onto a silpat, leaving space a lot of space since they expand quite a bit. Bake at 325F until firm. Let cool slightly until they can lifted without braking. Make cups or tuiles using the back of a muffin pan or rolling pin. If not using glucose, substitute corn syrup and decrease the milk by a teaspoon. Makes 12-16 cups depending on the size.