For Chocolate Lovers Only: August 2001’s Recipe for Chocolate-Truffel Bar Chunk Ice Cream on StarChefs

Chocolate-Truffle Bar Chunk Ice Cream

Yield: 1.3 quarts, about 8 to 9 servings

Tips: I love homemade ice creams and sorbets, and I have a champion little one quart ice cream maker from Krups, called La Glaciere, that does a great job of churning them. This is a not-too-deeply chocolate ice cream with the added bonus of chunks of cut-up truffle-filled chocolate bar. I use Lindt Lindor Truffles Bars for this (dark chocolate with a smooth filling, though you could use the milk chocolate variety if you wanted). Each bar is 3.5 ounces, and you'll need at least one per batch. If you can't find one of these bars, you can cut up an equivalent amount of any good chocolate bar into chunks no larger than about 1/4 inch on a side.

You'll need a candy thermometer to make the ice cream base, and the base must be well-chilled before it it churned (I usually make the base the night before I use it). You can't really taste the liqueur if you add it; the small amount used prevents the ice cream from freezing too hard in the same way that some commercial ice creams use food gums to accomplish this. This is best within about 3 days of churning--not that it ever lasts that long in my freezer!

Ingredients:

Near stovetop, set a fine-meshed strainer over a heatproof liquid measuring cup of at least 3-1/2 cup capacity. In small bowl, combine egg yolks and about 1/4 cup heavy cream (reserve remainder). With fork, beat until well-mixed; set aside near stovetop.

In 2 quart, heavy-bottomed, nonaluminum saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa powder, nonfat dry milk powder, and salt. Whisk well to blend.

In small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat reserved cream and milk over low heat until very hot, stirring occasionally. Add enough to dry ingredients in 2 quart pot to make a smooth paste when stirred or whisked. Gradually add remaining hot liquid to mixture in 2 quart pot. Scrape bottom and sides with rubber spatula. If necessary, reheat this mixture over medium heat until it is again very hot, pressing out any lumps of cocoa or powdered milk if they should form. Remove from heat.

Beating egg yolk mixture constantly, very gradually add about a cup of the hot liquid mixture, then, stirring the hot liquid constantly, return the contents of the bowl to the pot. Place over medium heat; stir constantly until mixture reaches 174 to 175 degrees F on a candy thermometer. There will probably be a layer of foam on top--OK.

When end temperature is reached, remove mixture from heat. Stir in vanilla. Pour through strainer into heatproof liquid measuring cup. Cool briefly, then chill. When cold, cut a circle of paper towel slightly larger than outer dimensions of top of measuring cup. Place gently over top of measuring cup before covering airtight with plastic (this will prevent any condensation that forms from dripping back into your ice cream base).

To prepare chocolate bars and container: If you use Lindt Lindor Truffle bars, you'll see that each 3.5 ounce bar is made up of 18 square sections. Decide how much chocolate you'll use, then chop each square on a flat surface with a small, sharp knife into 9 smaller sections. The sections may stick together--OK. Pile the chopped pieces into a bowl, cover the bowl tightly, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Do not freeze the chunks now, or they will be very difficult to separate! After the chunks have chilled, quickly and gently separate them if any are stuck together. Place in freezer now for at least one hour (longer is OK). At the same time, place your ice cream container in the fridge or freezer to chill (I use a plastic carton of 1.3 quart capacity, which is just about the right size).

To churn the ice cream, remove the base from the refrigerator. You'll see that there is now a thin chocolate layer on the bottom. With a large spoon, stir the base very thoroughly until this blends back into the rest of the base. Follow manufacturer's directions for freezing the ice cream. When it is almost done churning, add the optional liqueur, one tablespoon at a time. After adding the second tablespoon, get your carton and place it on a flat surface near the ice cream churn. Have the chocolate bar chunks ready; they should be very cold. Scatter about 1/4 of the chunks in the bottom of the carton.

Work quickly now. When ice cream is finished churning, it will still be quite soft. Pour or scoop about 1/3 of the ice cream onto the chunks in the bottom of the carton, then scatter about 1/3 of the remaining chocolate chunks on top of the ice cream layer. Repeat the process until all of both the chunks and the ice cream are used. Don't worry about appearances or blending now; just get the carton covered and get it into the freezer.

After 1 to 1-1/2 hours of freezing, remove carton from freezer and uncover. Working quickly, with a large spoon, blend ice cream and chocolate truffle bar chunks until chunks are evenly distributed in ice cream. Cover and return to freezer. Let stand in freezer at least an additional 2 hours before serving; serve within three days of churning.

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