
Proper Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce
PREP TIME: mins
COOKING TIME: mins
I like ice cream, I won’t say I love it but rather I like the cold feeling in my mouth, especially on a hot day, but there is something rather decadent about ‘proper’ ice cream, you know the kind made with organic cream from happy cows, egg yolks from truly free range organic eggs and fresh fragrant vanilla pods.
THIS is that kind of ice-cream.
When I was younger my parents treated us occasionally to join them (we are 4 kids!) at their favourite steakhouse, which was probably not their favourite but rather one they would agree to take us to. In any event they had the best ice cream and chocolate sauce. Thick chocolate sauce and thin icy ice cream.
My version is warm not-so-thick chocolate sauce and thick ice cream.
I know less than 1% of the population owns a ice cream machine and I promise to test good no-churn one soon, but in the meantime, try this one (but use vanilla pods please)!
The chocolate sauce is a dream, the better the chocolate, the better the sauce, I use a combination of dark (70%) and milk (for the kids) and Lindt (always).
Makes 2l
Ingredients:
- 875ml proper organic single cream (confusingly called double cream in the UK)
- 225ml good full cream milk
- 2 fresh vanilla pods
- 8 egg yolks (freeze whites for a proper pavlova)
- 175g caster sugar
Chocolate Sauce (makes a generous batch)
- 100g good-quality dark chocolate (preferably, Lindt, I used a combination of 70% dark and milk)
- 50g unsalted butter
- 250ml single cream
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
Method:
- In a large saucepan, combine the cream and the milk. Scrape the vanilla seeds out of the pods and into the pan, using a butter knife, then add the pods. Heat until just steaming, do not boil. Leave to infuse for at least 30minutes.
- Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until pale and thick, at least 10 minutes.
- Pour a little warm cream into the egg yolks and combine. Add all the cream mixture and combine. NB: most of the seeds will be at the bottom of the saucepan, give it a good swirl and add to the egg mixture, remove the pods. Add back to the saucepan (or a clean one, if you are me) and now comes the really important part. GENTLY heat the mixture until it thickens. My thermometer reads around 75c-85c and I let the mixture heat up slowly and gently, stirring constantly. Too hot and the mixture will curdle. A way of knowing if your mixture has thickened is if the mixture ‘sticks’ to the back of a wooden spoon and it leaves a trail if you run your finger through it.
- Pour into a large bowl, getting all the beautiful vanilla seeds, cover the top with plastic to prevent a skin forming, let the custard cool completely overnight in the fridge.
- Pour into an ice-cream machine and churn until frozen, keep in the freezer.
- For the chocolate sauce: Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water until completely smooth. NB: don’t let the bowl touch the simmering water. Heat all of the remaining ingredients in a small saucepan until evenly combined, remove from the heat. Add the cream mixture to the chocolate mixture until you have achieved your desired consistency, I prefer my sauce thicker and don’t always have to add all the cream.
- Take the ice-cream out of the freezer about 10minutes before you want to serve it, scoop into bowls and pour the warm chocolate sauce over! Heaven!