ICOTW: Fudgesicles

This summer, one of my goals was to make a new ice cream or popsicle recipe every week.  I didn't quite make that.  Turns out we don't eat enough ice cream to go through a new batch every week.  As I write this we have some peach sorbet, maybe some strawberry popsicles, some of these coconut water popsicles, and various leftover smoothie popsicles all in the freezer still.  And I just finished this coconut ice cream a few nights ago.  Of course the peach sangria popsicles are long gone, those were a good one (and I think Matt was very concerned we'd accidentally give one to Luke, which we never did, so those got eaten quick).  So even though I didn't manage a new recipe every week of the 16 week summer, this is still the 13th I've posted and we have enough leftovers to last awhile.

And I've saved the best for last (mostly unintentionally).  These fudgesicles are, without a doubt, my favorite ice cream/popsicle/frozen yogurt/sorbet recipe I've tried, maybe ever.  They are rich, like my favorite chocolate frosting, but frozen which makes them the perfect treat when it's 90° in September (which I'm not complaining about!  I'm in no hurry for summer to end!!)  I am not sharing these with Luke and Matt's lucky even he's getting some (he claims to not like chocolate much until I make something like these...).  They are rich, creamy, and basically perfect.  Try them and invite me over!

Fudgesicles
yield: depends on the size of mold, I got 10
Ingredients
-1 1/2 ounce dark or bittersweet chocolate (get the good stuff! do NOT use chocolate chips!)
-2/3 cup sugar
-2 TB cornstarch
-3 TB unsweetened cocoa powder (I used dark chocolate powder)
-2 1/2 cups milk (whole will give you the creamiest texture; I used 2 cups whole, 1/2 skim)
-1/2 tsp coarse salt
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 TB butter, room temperature

Directions
1) Melt the chocolate in a medium sized saucepan over low heat, stirring almost constantly to prevent burning.  Once melted, stir in the sugar, cornstarch, and cocoa powder as best you can.  It will be very dry and crumbly.  Slowly pour in the milk, a little at a time, while whisking constantly until the mixture is pretty smooth.

2) Increase the heat to medium-high and cook for about 5-10 minutes,  until it is thicken, stirring frequently.   Once thickened, remove from heat and stir in the salt, vanilla, and butter.  Let cool slightly before pouring into molds.  Freeze until solid.

Source: Smitten Kitchen via Annie's Eats

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In the summer I aim to make a different homemade ice cream each week and report back here, good or bad!  I call it "Ice Cream of the Week".  You can follow the "ICOTW" tag to see them all chronologically or go to my "Recipes" page and scroll down to the "Ice Cream/Frozen Things" section for my favorites!