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Summary
Vanilla beans are expensive, and if you don’t have one on hand, feel free to substitute a good quality vanilla extract. Natural mint ice cream will be a creamy white rather than green, but you can add a few drops of green food coloring if desired. NOTE: The mixture should be refrigerated overnight, so begin the ice cream the day before you want to serve it. If you don’t have the time, chill the mixture as long as possible before placing it in your ice cream machine.
Servings
8 servings
Prep Time
23 hours, 0 minutes
Cook Time
0 hours, 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream
- Pinch of salt
- 2 cups fresh mint leaves
- 1 vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise to expose seeds
- 5 large egg yolks
- 5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
Instructions
In a medium saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream, salt, mint and vanilla bean. Once the mixture is hot and steaming, remove from heat, cover, and let stand for an hour to infuse the mint flavor.
- Set aside vanilla bean, but do not discard. Remove the mint with a strainer, then press down with a spatula firmly to extract as much mint flavor and color as possible. (You can also use well-washed hands to do it as well, making sure the mixture isn’t too hot to safely handle.) Once the flavor is squeezed out, discard the mint.
Pour the remaining heavy cream into a large bowl and set the strainer over the top.
Rewarm the infused milk, adding the vanilla bean back into the pot. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, then slowly pour some of the warm mint mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan. Cook the custard, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. If using an instant read thermometer, it should read around 170ºF (77ºC).
Immediately strain the mixture into the cream, then stir the mixture over an ice bath until cool. The vanilla bean will catch int he strainer. With a knife scrape out the inside of each pod half, and mix into the cream mixture. Refrigerate the mixture thoroughly, preferably overnight.
Place the mixture in your ice cream machine and turn on. Allow it to run for about 20=25 minutes. Slowly add the chopped chocolate, and allow to run for another 5 minutes, until thoroughly mixed. Cover and freeze until firm.
