THE ITALIAN WAY TO ICE CREAM
With chocolate, cocoa powder, heavy cream, sugar, and cornstarch.
This is our Italian Way of Ice Cream because we use cornstarch to thicken the ice cream mixture as in Italian gelato recipes. It is the kind of ice cream which is refreshing and cooling, with a full-bodied mouthfeel. It is also firm and resistant to melting, making it the perfect ice cream in summer when the weather is hot.
For a Classic Chocolate Ice Cream, we use chocolate AND cocoa powder. Although you can make chocolate ice cream using only cocoa powder or only chocolate, there is nothing like combining the two together.
3 more ways to make this Classic Chocolate Ice Cream:
or see:
Do not reduce or replace anything; everything is there for a reason.
This is a quick overview of the recipe. If you are new to ice cream making, do read the recipe before proceeding.
Warm the heavy cream with the cocoa powder until hot and steamy and the cocoa dissolves.
Add the chopped chocolate and whisk to melt, then blend with an immersion/regular blender to smooth it.
In a large heatproof bowl whisk the corn starch with 3 tablespoons of the cold milk to create a slurry.
Bring to a boil the rest of the milk and all the sugar and pour over the cornstarch slurry; stir to thicken.
Pour in the thickened milk the chocolate mixture, stir and cool down over an ice bath.
Put the ice cream mixture in the refrigerator overnight, or until completely cold (a faster chilling method is also included in the recipe).
Churn in your ice cream maker until fluffed up and creamy.
Put it in the freezer for a few hours to set.
As soon as it sets, you can either serve it from the ice cream maker bowl or transfer it to a container and store it in the freezer.
When making ice cream prefer to weigh all the ingredients by weight. We also recommend weighing the liquids directly into the bowl/pan as you proceed with the recipe instead of transferring them from one bowl to another because this transfer causes a small -but unwanted- loss of quantity.
If you do not have a kitchen scale, follow these guidelines:
• 1 cup (US) = 237 ml | 1 tablespoon = 15 ml
• sugar: measuring sugar in tablespoons is more accurate than measuring it in cups. Use a 15 ml measuring tablespoon (not a regular one); this is 13 gr of sugar. To measure correctly, each time you scoop the sugar, level it with the flat side of a knife.
• cocoa powder: first, sift the cocoa powder into a bowl and then measure by the spoonful by gently taking a spoonful at a time and levelling it with the flat side of a knife. Measure the cocoa powder right after sifting it, as its volume lessens while it sits.
• chocolate/couverture: measuring chocolate by volume is impossible because measurements vary depending on how finely chopped the chocolate is. What you can do is calculate the number of pieces you need based on the weight of the chocolate bar as written on the packaging.
• milk and cream: thoroughly scrape with a rubber spatula any residues left on the sides and bottom of the cup every time you measure something and empty it.
Note that the quantities in each measuring system (grams, ounces, and cups) in our recipes may not be accurate conversions; any deviations you may notice do not affect the outcome.
This recipe makes a 1.2 litre/quart ice cream mixture (before churning), perfect for ice cream makers with a capacity of 1.5 and up to 2 litres/quarts (like Cuisinart ice cream makers).
If you need to scale the ice cream mixture up or down, use this ratio of the ingredients (in weight only):
milk 54.6% / heavy cream 16.8% / sugar 15.1 % / 70-74% cocoa solids chocolate 10.1% / cocoa powder 1.4% / corn starch 2%
in desired total weight of ice cream mixture.
For example, if you want to make 1000 g (approx. 1 litre) of ice cream mixture, you need:
• 1000 g x 54.6% = 546 g milk
• 1000 g x 16.8% = 168 g heavy cream
• 1000 g x 15.1% = 151 g sugar
• 1000 g x 10.1% = 101 g chocolate 70-74%
• 1000 g x 1.4% = 14 g cocoa powder
• 1000 g x 2% = 20 g corn starch
You can combine double cream with whole milk to make heavy cream for this recipe. To make 200 g (7 oz) heavy cream, you need:
To make the heavy cream, put the double cream in a large bowl, then pour in the milk, a little at a time, stirring smoothly with a rubber spatula until smooth. Avoid whisking, as it may turn into whipped cream.
The resulting heavy cream has 36% fat, perfect for this ice cream. Proceed with the recipe, just as if you had the 200 g (7 oz) heavy cream needed.
*this 60 g (2.1 oz) of milk is extra to the 650 g milk (22.9 oz) asked in the recipe. If using double cream, you need in total 710 g milk (25 oz), from which:
A flexible rubber spatula is good for:
-wiping the bottom of the saucepan when you cook dairy on the stovetop.
-scraping residues from bowls, saucepans etc.
If you do not have one, we strongly encourage you to buy one, preferably a flexible one.
The ice cream mixture needs to cool completely and rest before churning, so prepare it in advance (approx. 8 hours before) to give it time to chill in the refrigerator.
If your ice cream maker has a removable freezer bowl, put it in the freezer for the whole time indicated by the manufacturer before churning, usually 24 hours.
Place a rubber spatula and a whisk on a plate next to the stovetop to have them ready to use interchangeably.
Sift the cocoa powder (15 g; 0.5 oz) through a fine-mesh sieve and into a small bowl if you haven’t already done so. Do not skip sifting, it is necessary.
Warm the heavy cream with the cocoa powder: in a medium saucepan, put the heavy cream (200 g; 7 oz) and the cocoa powder. Warm over medium heat, often whisking until the cocoa dissolves and the cream is hot and very steamy. Do not let it come to a boil. Remove from the heat.
Add the chocolate and whisk to melt it.
Blend with an immersion/regular blender for 30 seconds or until no brown clumps are visible, pausing once to scrape the bottom and sides of the saucepan with the rubber spatula.
Pour it into a heatproof bowl (if using a regular blender, leave the chocolate cream in the blender jug) scraping along any residues left in the saucepan with the rubber spatula. Let it cool down while you proceed with the next step.
Make a corn starch slurry: in a large heatproof bowl, put the corn starch (25 g; 1 oz) and 3 tablespoons of the cold milk (45 g; 1.5 oz). Whisk until smooth. Set aside.
Warm the rest of the milk with the sugar: in a medium saucepan, put the rest of the milk (605 g; 21.4 oz) and all the sugar
and warm over medium heat, often stirring until the sugar dissolves. Do not let the milk boil before the sugar fully dissolves, or the milk may curdle; often stirring helps the sugar dissolve efficiently.
Bring to a simmer: Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer with fine bubbles just beginning to appear (about 85 °C / 185 °F). Remove from the heat.
Combine with the slurry: Pour the hot milk over the cornstarch slurry, whisking to combine. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to release any remaining slurry, then whisk again until fully combined. Return the mixture to the saucepan and set it back over medium heat.
Cook to thicken: Cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula and scraping the bottom to prevent sticking, until the milk thickens (about 85 °C / 185 °F). Do not let it boil — overheating will break the thickening. Remove from the heat and proceed immediately with the next step.
Just a tad. The difference in the thickness will be from that of milk to the thickness of heavy cream. That may seem too little, but it is enough for now, as the ice cream mixture will continue to thicken as it cools.
Combine the two mixtures: pour the thickened milk into the bowl/blender jug with the chocolate cream scraping along any residues from the bowl. Stir (or blend if it is in the blender jug) until it is a uniform brown colour with no streaks.
Strain the ice cream mixture over a fine-mesh sieve and into a bowl.
Cool it down: prepare an ice bath by putting the bowl with the ice cream mixture into a larger bowl and filling the empty sides with ice cubes and cold water. You will need two trays of ice cubes (approx. 400 g; 14 oz of ice) to bring the ice cream mixture to room temperature. Let the ice cream mixture cool down for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Chill until completely cold: cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days.
This ice cream will expand and fluff up during churning. It is ready when it looks smooth and fluffy, with the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. The total churning time depends on your ice cream maker and could be anywhere from 30-70 minutes.
To evaluate if it is ready, lift a spoonful; it should be thick enough to stand on the spoon, but it will still be soft like soft-serve ice cream. If it looks watery or starts to melt the moment you spoon it, leave it to churn for longer.
In any case, if you feel doubts about the consistency, leave it to churn for ten minutes more. But beware: at this stage, do not expect it to be like store-bought carton ice cream; for now, it should be more like soft-serve ice cream. It will firm up and become like store-bought ice cream only after it sets in the freezer.
So, stop the ice cream maker when thick and creamy, as described above. If you leave to churn it for much longer, it will start turning grainy.
Warning: some ice cream makers are programmed to stop after a specific time, which doesn’t make sense because the ice cream may need to churn for more to reach its fullest potential. So, if you notice that your ice cream maker stops on its own and upon checking the ice cream, you find that it is sloppy instead of fluffy, try to turn the machine on again and leave it to churn until it reaches the desired texture.
Check if the ice cream mixture is cold before churning it: 4ºC–12ºC / 39ºF-54ºF / it feels fridge-cold when you place your finger into it.
Prepare the ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Blend before churning: briefly blitz the ice cream mixture with an immersion blender, stopping once to scrape down the sides and bottom with a rubber spatula. This improves consistency and ensures a smooth, even texture.
Churn: with the machine running, pour the ice cream mixture through the canister and into the ice cream maker. Leave to churn until fluffed up and creamy; depending on your ice cream maker, this can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes.
Put in the freezer to set: before serving the ice cream or moving it to a container for storing, you have to put it in the freezer to set. To do so, turn off the ice cream maker and:
· remove the removable freezer bowl (still filled with the ice cream) from the ice cream machine
· remove the paddle, scraping any ice cream attached to it back into the ice cream bowl
· place it in the freezer, uncovered
Setting time depends on many factors; see notes below for indicative times.
Serve or store: when it sets, you can serve it directly from the removable freezer bowl or transfer it to an airtight container for longer storage.
The setting time for the ice cream largely depends on the type of ice cream maker you use.
It can take :
Note: the times given are indicative. Setting time depends on many factors.
Check it occasionally (approx. every 2 hours; or as needed) while it is in the freezer. The ice cream is ready when it has an internal temperature of -11ºC / 12ºF. If you do not have a thermometer, to evaluate if the ice cream has set, insert a round tip knife into it, all the way to the bottom:
If the ice cream stays in the removable freezer bowl for too long, it will harden and be difficult to remove or serve.
To make it scoopable again, leave it in the refrigerator to soften. That can take:
(Note: the time given is indicative, time may vary depending on many factors, so do check it occasionally as it sits in the refrigerator.)
When the ice cream is easy to scoop (or it has an internal temperature of approx. -11°C / 12°F if you have a thermometer), you can transfer it to another container and store it in the freezer or serve it directly from the removable freezer bowl.
Straight after churning, the ice cream has a soft-serve consistency and melts immediately upon contact with anything. This makes it impossible to serve or transfer to another container.
Putting it in the freezer after churning sets it and brings it to the right consistency, similar to that of an ice cream parlour’s.
Storing: in the freezer for one month, covered well to protect it from absorbing the freezer’s smells.
Scooping: this ice cream, like all artisanal ice cream, freezes hard in the long term. You can make it perfectly scoopable again by putting it in the refrigerator for 45-60 minuter until soft; or until its internal temperature reads -11°C / 12°F.
