2000s Recipes + Menus

Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream

Makesabout 1 1/2 qt
  • Active time:40 min
  • Start to finish:2 1/2 hr (includes freezing)
February 2003
  • 1/2 vanilla bean
  • 11 oz Mexican chocolate (3 1/2 disks; preferably Ibarra), coarsely chopped
  • 3 3/4 cups half-and-half
  • 3 large eggs
  • Scant 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Special equipment:

    an instant-read thermometer; an ice cream maker
  • Halve vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape seeds into a 3-quart heavy saucepan. Add chocolate and half-and-half and bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking. Remove from heat.
  • Lightly beat eggs with salt in a bowl, then add hot chocolate mixture in a slow stream, whisking. Transfer custard to cleaned saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard registers 175ºF on thermometer, 1 to 5 minutes. Immediately pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a metal bowl. Put bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and cool, stirring occasionally.
  • Freeze custard in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and freeze until hardened, about 1 hour.
Cooks' note: Ice cream keeps 4 days.
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