Wednesday, August 8, 2018

ICOTW: Brownie Caramel Chocolate Ice Cream


This is the 50th (50TH) ice cream/frozen things recipe I've posted in the past 3 summers and, by far, the most popular of all of them has been this one.  I'll be honest, it's not my favorite, not even in the top 10.  But I get how no churn recipes have to be appealing when compared to buying and storing a machine. 

Since I like chocolate and caramel, I decided I needed to recreate it as churned ice cream.  Which you might think isn't that big of a difference...but it is.  Trust me, it is. 

This may sound a little involved but it is easy enough to break up across a few days or a few kitchen sessions.  Make the caramel sauce one time and refrigerate.  Make the brownies another.  Make the ice cream and let it cool.  Then churn and assemble.  Although I certainly won't judge if you use caramel sauce from a bottle and brownies from a mix. 

The one downside to this recipe is that it's a little rich.  Or a lot rich.  It's very rich.  I've found I can't eat it in the evening because my aging body does not sleep well after this much chocolate.  And I really value sleep.  So this has become more of a mid-afternoon snack.  But other than that, it's delightful.  Lots of chocolate.  Lots of flavor, not too difficult.


Note: you can use any chocolate ice cream and I have two others on the blog already.  Here and here.  Same with the brownies, use your favorite recipe or my favorite here


One year ago: Coconut Pineapple Popsicles
Two years ago: Creamy Strawberry Ice Cream
Three years ago: Super Simple Strawberry Popsicles (our most frequently made popsicle!)






Brownie Caramel Chocolate Ice Cream
yield: a very generous quart
Ingredients
Brownies
about ¼-½ of a 8x8 pan recipe (my favorite here)

Caramel Sauce
-1 cup sugar
-6TB butter
-½ cup heavy cream

Chocolate Ice Cream
-2 cups heavy cream
-3 TB unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
-5 oz (140 g) bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate, chopped
-1 cup whole milk
-¾ cup (150g) sugar
-pinch of salt
-5 egg yolks
-½ tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Brownies
Crumble or chop into bite sized pieces.


Caramel Sauce
1) Melt the sugar in a medium sized sauce-pan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  Once it has come to a boil and is completely melted, stop stirring.  When the sugar has turned an amber color add the butter, stirring constantly until it is melted.  Remove from heat.

2) Slowly, and whisking constantly, stir in the heavy cream.  Slow and constant stirring is key!  Keep whisking until the sauce is smooth.  Let cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a glass container (refrigerate if not using right away).

Chocolate Ice Cream
1) Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium-large saucepan, whisking thoroughly to blend the cocoa.   Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 seconds, whisking constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in the chopped chocolate until smooth and then add the rest of the cream.  Pour into a large bowl, setting a mesh strainer on top.

2) Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan.  In a separate bowl whisk together the egg yolks.  Slowly pour the warmed milk into the egg yolks, whisking the whole time.  Once fully incorporated, pour the warm egg/milk mixture back into the saucepan.  Stir constantly over medium heat, scraping the bottom of the pan as you stir, until it thickens and coats the spatula.  Pour through the strainer into the chocolate mixture.  Stir until smooth and then add the vanilla.

3) Refrigerate until cool or overnight.  Churn according to your machine instructions. 

4) Scatter some brownies on the bottom of your freezer container, add about 1/3 of the ice cream, top with some caramel sauce (you won't use it all if following the above recipe) and repeat until all the ice cream is used.  Freeze until solid.  May need 5-10 minutes at room temperature before serving.   

Enjoy!


Sources: 
Brownies Nestle Tollhouse via AllRecipes
Caramel Sauce modified from Girl Gone Gourmet
Chocolate Ice Cream from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz


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In the summer I aim to make a different homemade ice cream (or other frozen treat) 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! 

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