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Old-Fashioned Chocolate Frozen Custard

By Diane Unger

Published on June 8, 2015

Time

25 minutes, plus 1 to 2 hours chilling and 6 hours freezing

Yield

Makes about 1 quart

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Frozen Custard

Ingredients

6 large egg yolks¼ cup (1 ¾ ounces/50 grams) sugar 2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder 1 cup heavy cream ½ cup whole milk ⅓ cup light corn syrup ½ ounce (14 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine1 tablespoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder ⅛ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Before You Begin

Use 60 percent cacao bittersweet chocolate. An instant-read thermometer is critical for the best results.

Instructions

  1. Whisk yolks, sugar, and milk powder in bowl until smooth, about 30 seconds; set aside. Combine cream, milk, corn syrup, chocolate, cocoa, and salt in medium saucepan. Heat cream mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until it steams steadily and registers 175 degrees, about 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat.
  2. Slowly whisk heated cream mixture into yolk mixture to temper. Return cream-yolk mixture to saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and registers 180 degrees, 4 to 6 minutes.
  3. Immediately pour custard through fine-mesh strainer set over large bowl; stir in vanilla. Fill slightly larger bowl with ice and set custard bowl in bowl of ice. Transfer to refrigerator and let chill until custard registers 40 degrees, 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
  4. Transfer chilled custard to stand mixer fitted with whisk and whip on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, or until mixture increases in volume to about 3 3/4 cups. Pour custard into airtight 1-quart container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours, before serving. (Frozen custard is best eaten within 10 days.)
Old-Fashioned Chocolate Frozen Custard

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Frozen Custard

Headshot of Diane Unger
By Diane Unger
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Time

25 minutes, plus 1 to 2 hours chilling and 6 hours freezing

Yield

Makes about 1 quart

Ingredients

6 large egg yolks
¼ cup (1 ¾ ounces/50 grams) sugar
2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup whole milk
⅓ cup light corn syrup
½ ounce (14 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
1 tablespoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

6 large egg yolks
¼ cup (1 ¾ ounces/50 grams) sugar
2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup whole milk
⅓ cup light corn syrup
½ ounce (14 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
1 tablespoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

6 large egg yolks
¼ cup (1 ¾ ounces/50 grams) sugar
2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup whole milk
⅓ cup light corn syrup
½ ounce (14 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
1 tablespoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

Creating chocolate frozen custard without an ice cream maker requires a few tricks to churn out a smooth, rich, and creamy dessert. First, we heated a mixture of heavy cream, whole milk, corn syrup (to help prevent crystallization), 1/2 ounce of bittersweet chocolate, and 1 tablespoon of Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Then, we slowly poured it over a rich mixture of egg yolks, sugar, and dry milk powder—a process called tempering. This helped guard against any clumping of egg in the final custard. Straining the mixture removed any solid bits of egg. To achieve the smoothest possible frozen custard, we cooled the mixture down and then whipped it in a stand mixer to add air, which prevents crystallization and makes the final product especially creamy.

Before You Begin

Use 60 percent cacao bittersweet chocolate. An instant-read thermometer is critical for the best results.

Instructions

  1. Whisk yolks, sugar, and milk powder in bowl until smooth, about 30 seconds; set aside. Combine cream, milk, corn syrup, chocolate, cocoa, and salt in medium saucepan. Heat cream mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until it steams steadily and registers 175 degrees, about 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat.
  2. Slowly whisk heated cream mixture into yolk mixture to temper. Return cream-yolk mixture to saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and registers 180 degrees, 4 to 6 minutes.
  3. Immediately pour custard through fine-mesh strainer set over large bowl; stir in vanilla. Fill slightly larger bowl with ice and set custard bowl in bowl of ice. Transfer to refrigerator and let chill until custard registers 40 degrees, 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
  4. Transfer chilled custard to stand mixer fitted with whisk and whip on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, or until mixture increases in volume to about 3 3/4 cups. Pour custard into airtight 1-quart container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours, before serving. (Frozen custard is best eaten within 10 days.)

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