OhSewCrafty Blog

Mint Chocolate Chip is my favorite ice cream flavor and I consider myself somewhat of an afficiando.  Well, this version is the best I ever had, it packs a vivid mint flavor, is wonderfully rich and creamy, and has good slightly chunky texture from the chocolate bits.  Not bad for my first foray into ice cream making; the inspiration was to use several egg yolks left over from C’s birthday cake, which used whites only.  The ice cream maker was a wedding gift and I can’t say why I waited so long to use it, but I’ve already put it to use again for a different flavor.

The recipe is (slightly) adapted from Simply Recipes.  Makes 1 quart.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cup fresh mint leaves, torn from stems, rinsed, drained, packed (this is what I got from one bunch of fresh mint at Whole Foods)
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 cups heavy cream (divided)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• Pinch salt
• 6 eggs (divided, yolks only)
• 6 oz semisweet chocolate
• 1 tsp peppermint extract
• 2 tsp creme de menthe

1.  Cook the mint leaves along with the milk and 1 cup of the heavy cream in a heavy saucepan over medium heat just until steaming; don’t let it boil.  Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 30 minutes.

2.  While the mint is infusing, chop the chocolate finely and then store in the freezer.  Sseparate the eggs if not already done.

3.  Reheat the mint mixture again over medium heat until steaming.  Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 15 minutes.

4.  While the mint is infusing for the second time, pour the remaining cup of heavy cream into a medium sized metal bowl.  Take a larger metal bowl, dump lots of ice in there and enough cold water to make the ice float.  Let the medium bowl float atop the ice water and set a mesh strainer over top. 

5.  Strain the mint mixture into a separate bowl, pressing against the mint leaves with a spoon to extract as much liquid as you can.  Discard leaves.  Return the milk mixture to the saucepan, add the sugar and salt, stir until sugar dissolves and heat over medium heat until steaming.  Remove from heat.

6.  Whisk the egg yolks in a medium sized bowl.  Pour the warm milk mixture in narrow stream into the egg yolks, whisking constantly to temper them.  Return the warmed egg yolks to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.  Scrape the bottom as you go.  Cook just until the mixture has thickened, and coats the back of the spoon without running if you run your finger across it, about 5-10 minutes. 

7.  Immediately remove the mixture from heat and pour through the strainer from Step 4 into the cold cream to stop the cooking.  Stir in the peppermint extract and creme de menthe.  Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for a few hours, until thoroughly chilled.

8.  Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  I let mine go for 25 minutes, and it was still pretty soft at the end.  Then gently fold in the frozen, chopped chocolate.  Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 4 hours if you want a good consistency for scooping. 

The ice cream will last one week in the freezer, perhaps longer, but ours was was fully consumed by then!  This recipe is pretty involved, and does require quite a few bowls, but it’s absolutely worth it!