Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

 

One of the best parts of early spring (and then all of summer) is that good ol’ ice cream truck rattlin’ down the block with its slightly grating (haha) sing-songy song that gets stuck in your head, the whirring condenser blowing like mad, the bright lights blazing like a slice of heaven has opened up, Mike asking “hey babe, ice cream truck tonight?”

When I was a kid, the ice cream truck rarely rolled by our house so when it rolls up these days, I totally feel like a giddy kid. 

As I’ve mentioned, Mike and I, we have two excellent options for summertime soft serve which for me is where it’s at.  Soooffft serve.  Yes.  Gimme.

Oh, ok, so there’s a Baskin Robbins in the area too but mmmm, even though I was a fan as a kid (Bubble Gum Ice Cream anyone?), as I’ve grown and started making my own, they just don’t do it for me anymore.

Huh, a quick search turns up a new shop, Ice Cream Bar.  Huh!  And some bougie places in Logan Square, mmm nah, that’s ok.

I have become an ice cream snob of sorts it seems.  Sigh, alas.  

Well, ok, that’s not necessarily true; it’s that homemade is, well, homemade, I mean c’mon.  You know what’s in it and it’s better, fresher, tastier, more customizable than store-bought.

Right?!?!

Though, heh, I have had homemade fails which sounds hyperbolic because ice cream is still ice cream but yeahhh, there was one that I made last year that I tossed….just awful.

But so, there’s no place close enough to home, in my opinion, that serves good scooped ice cream.  And one of Mike’s all-time favorites is Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.

Who can blame him, right?  Cool refreshing minty flavor with lil’ crunchy bits of chocolate in there?  Good stuff, yeah?!

Ready to be frozen for a few hours here, or jeez louise, get yourself a spoon and dig into some soft melty goodness!

Several years ago, I made him a version with fresh mint leaves I had growing in a pot outdoors.  He appreciated it.  It was ok.  Ish.

This recipe here I tweaked from Epicurious via Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream in Brooklyn (never been) is now the hands-down winner in our house.  I think you’ll see why once you try it.  

It’s perfect.  The balance between the mint, a dash of vanilla, the right amount of sugar, just rich enough, the pops of chocolate punching through….it is in fact flawless. 

You definitely need an ice cream maker for this so if you don’t have one already, click here* to order one up.  It’s just about the only extraneous single-purpose kitchen appliance I’ll advocate for (besides perhaps a waffle maker [a mixer is a basic]) as it is soooo worth it.

Besides, you can always come back here for other brilliant ice cream recipes with oodles more on the docket!

Anywhooo, this stuff is deeeeelicious.  I did cut down on the egg yolks and slightly upped the sugar from the original because, because that’s what I do.   And I re-engineered the process.

A handy feature of this recipe is not needing actual real mint leaves.  Yes, this recipe uses extract instead which, yes I know, is not the real thing, but we prefer it this way for its evenness and bright, predictable character.  You can use real mint leaves here though I have not tested it and can’t say for sure how much you’d need.

And I personally do not use food coloring but definitely feel free to add some if you prefer your minty ice cream a nice shade of green.  Or purple or pink, hey why not?!

Man, Mike is gonna be infinitely disappointed when he sees this post then comes home to find an empty freezer…..aw man I am in deep doo-doo.  This, the guy who buys two quarts of Mint Chocolate Chip at a time when the craving hits, he loves it so much.  I know what he’s buying on the way home now. 

Okey dokey, as with all the ice creams I present to you, this one is darn super simple too.

Set up an ice bath (see the recipe for directions) and plop a medium size bowl in there, pour in some of the cream.  Pour the rest of the cream and the milk into a saucepan and get that warming up.

Get yourself set up with everything you need, it’s much more carefree that way.

In a large measuring cup or a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, salt, and sugar together until it’s airy lighter and that oh so lovely shade of pale yellow.

Whisked, yep, to the happiest color in the world.

Temper that egg yolk goodness with about half of the heated creamy milk then pour it all back into the saucepan to thicken up while you whisk constantly.  Hot tip:  once the bubbles and foam start dissipating, that’s your cue that things are about to thicken, time to wake back up.

Tempered and ready to become the custard now!

All righty, next, pour the hot custard through a fine-mesh sieve* to strain right into the chilled cream, cover that up directly on the surface with plastic, and cool cool cool.  FYI, put the whole shebang in the fridge to speed things up.  Alternately, skip the ice bath and chill in the fridge for several hours or overnight.

A quick strain to catch any cooked yolk bits…

Not sure why I always include this photo.  I suppose so you can see I really do in fact mean plastic right on the surface.

Once the custard is ready to go, toss in the mint and vanilla extracts then churn away.

In go the mint and vanilla extracts and into the ice cream machine we go!

A minute or two before it’s done and ready, dump in your mini chocolate chips for a nice blending.  Or chop up some chocolate if you’d rather, or just regular chips are fine too.  Get some chocolate nibbles in there!

Let the ice cream maker do the work of folding that chocolate in for you, yeah, why not!

All set?  Ok!  Scoop out that rich and dreamy mint chocolate chip ice cream into a freezer-safe container, cover it, and freeze to set.

Eeeennnn-joy.  Holy cow, enjoy.  This stuff is minty chippy paradise on a spoon.

Asking Mike, who was goo-goo ga-ga all a-twitter excited that I made him this ice cream, “hey babe, how do you like it?”

All I got was a side-eye, a pause, several primordial grunts, and then suddenly his dish was empty.  Did he go back for seconds?  He may have.

Note:  This content originally appeared on Flaky Bakers.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Yield

10

Prep time

30 Min

Cook time

30 Min

Inactive time

4 Hour

Total time

5 Hour

This flawless, refreshingly cool, creamy and luxuriously minty mint chocolate chip ice cream is a dream come true.

Ingredients

• 2 cups (472 ml) heavy cream
• 1 cup (237 ml) whole milk or any sans skim
• 2/3 cup (132 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon (1.5 g) fine sea salt
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (7 ml) mint extract
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 g or 2 ml) vanilla extract
• 6 oz. (170 g) mini chocolate chips half of a 12 oz. bag, or your preference of chocolate

Instructions

1. Ensure the ice cream canister has been frozen for 24 hours prior to making this recipe or as directed by the manufacturer.
2. Set up an ice bath (a large bowl filled with ice and a bit of water with another clean, dry, empty bowl set within the ice) and pour 1 cup of the heavy cream into a medium bowl.
3. Combine the remaining 1 cup of cream and the milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
4. In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk the sugar with the salt and egg yolks until airy and pale in color.
5. Once the cream/milk combination is emitting steam (avoid boiling), temper the yolks with the sugar by adding a slow stream of liquid while whisking constantly. Add about half of the warmed liquid total then pour the warmed mix into the saucepan.
6. Raise the heat to about medium and whisk constantly until the custard has thickened, about 5-10 minutes depending on the heat. Dip the back of a spoon in the custard, pull a finger through it, and if it doesn’t move to fill the void, it’s ready.
7. Strain the tempered mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into the chilled cream sitting in the ice bath. Cover the custard with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the liquid and set aside to cool. To speed things, the ice bath with the custard atop can be set in the refrigerator. Alternately, skip the ice bath and chill in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
8. Once the custard has chilled, add the mint and vanilla extracts then churn in an ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s instructions.
9. When the ice cream is just about done churning, add the mini chocolate chips. Scoop the ice cream into a freezer safe container, cover, and freeze until firm, about 4-6 hours.

Notes:

Adapted/altered from Epicurious.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

439.90

Fat (grams)

30.01

Sat. Fat (grams)

18.23

Carbs (grams)

38.95

Fiber (grams)

1.58

Net carbs

37.37

Sugar (grams)

35.81

Protein (grams)

7.12

Sodium (milligrams)

124.35

Cholesterol (grams)

134.87

Please see the "info" section for nutrition details and information about gram weights.

ice cream, mint, chocolate chip

recipes

American

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