Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

I wasn’t kidding when I said that I want ice cream for every meal during the summer. And, this Milk Chocolate Ice Cream is simple enough to make that I really could have it for every meal. It’s from The Real Food Cookbook by Nina Planck, and I received a review copy. This is a book of uncomplicated, traditional dishes made with fresh, seasonal ingredients. Plank writes: “The ingredients are timeless, not trendy; the methods are classic rather than rule-breaking.” The recipes are personal. For instance, she tells us the story of how she has come to make Chicken Soup and how it’s never going to be the same as the chicken soup her husband remembers from childhood. The dishes also reflect her upbringing on a farm, her experience having created London’s first modern farmers’ market, and her focus on healthful, whole foods. The recipe for Deviled Eggs is more about using really good, farm-raised eggs than it is about particular seasonings or technique. There are drinks, salads, soups, main dishes, sides, breads, and sweets. I want to try the Ricotta Pesto while my basil plants are still going strong. And, the Griddled Red Peppers could be used in so many ways, it would be ideal to have a constant supply of them in the refrigerator. I’ve marked the page for the not-too-sweet Coeur a la Creme with Raspberry Sauce. With all the recipes in the Sweets chapter, you’ll find a preference for a little less sugar than usual and a nice simplicity to the approach. I was taken in by the Milk Chocolate Ice Cream because it’s intended to be like cold chocolate milk. This isn’t a turbo, intense chocolate experience. Instead, it’s an easy-going, milky chocolate ice cream. It’s perfect, summer comfort food. 

There are no eggs in this ice cream. Making it is simply a matter of heating cream and milk and dissolving a very small amount of sugar in it. I actually used honey rather than sugar. Once the milk and cream mixture was hot, a broken chocolate bar was added and stirred in until melted and smooth. I used a locally-made chocolate from artisanal, bean-to-bar Kiskadee Chocolates. Only three and a half ounces of chocolate is needed, and I used about half of an 85% cacao bar and half of a 60% cacao bar. The cream and milk mixture with the melted chocolate was cooled and then churned in an ice cream maker. To serve, this ice cream is best when allowed to soften. It could be served directly from the machine after churning, or if it’s been placed in the freezer, let it sit in the refrigerator for a bit before scooping. 

The title of this book gets it exactly right. This isn’t fancy food or unusual food or food for any particular trend. It is simply real food from a personal point of view. Whether you follow the recipes exactly or take inspiration to make them your own, there are a lot of great ideas here to add to your own cooking repertoire. 

Milk Chocolate Ice Cream 
Recipe reprinted with publisher's permission from The Real Food Cookbook.

In chocolate bars, I like austerity, and in chocolate mousse, intensity, but with ice cream the effect I want is akin to cold chocolate milk: in a word, milky. There may be more decadent chocolate ice creams, and there are certainly more complicated ones, but this is exactly what I’m looking for: it calls for simple ingredients I always have on hand, and it’s terribly simple. 

2 c cream 
1 c milk 
1 T organic whole cane sugar 
1 bar (100 g or 3.5 oz) 70% chocolate 

1. Put the cream, milk, and sugar in a pan. Mix well and heat gently. 

2. Break up the chocolate, drop it in the milk, and melt it completely, mixing well. 

3. Chill thoroughly. Mix it once more before you churn it; the chocolate sometimes settles. 

4. Churn it in your machine as instructed. 

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