Chocolate ice cream has always been a favorite of mine, and this is my favorite chocolate recipe.  Homemade ice cream makes dessert easy and fun when you have an electric ice cream maker (see my favorite things page), and ensures that the ice cream is gluten free.  Once you have the machine to do the churning for you and you leave the inner chilling container in your freezer for 48 hours, the rest is a no brainer.  Mix, chill, churn, chill some more if you want, and enjoy.  This recipe was adapted from the booklet that came with my Cuisinart Electric Ice Cream Maker.

Makes just over a quart

Ingredients:

• 2.25 ounces cocoa powder, sifted (3/4 Cup)
• 3.5 ounces granulated sugar (1/2 Cup)
• 2.5 ounces dark brown sugar (1/3 Cup)
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 cups organic heavy cream (see note below)
• 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

In a medium bowl weigh and whisk together the cocoa, sugars, and salt. Slowly whisk in the milk so that the mixture goes from a thick to thin consistency; this helps eliminate the possibility of lumps of cocoa remaining.  Finally whisk in the cream and the vanilla.

Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, until the liquid is thoroughly chilled (I usually do this early, the night before or in the morning, then churn the ice cream while making dinner, and pop it in the freezer until dessert).

Churn according to the machine’s instructions with one caveat, freeze the inner container longer than suggested to ensure that it is solidly frozen.  I keep my container in the freezer and storing items inside of it to save on space; then it is always ready.  Churning takes 15 to 25 minutes depending on the room temperature.  Remove the soft ice cream from the container with a silicon scraper to preserve the strength of the chilling container, and place in a container with a tight lid.  Pop into the freezer to harden further, or prepare yourself a dish of fresh ice cream.

Note 1:  the cocoa powder needs to be gluten free.  This can take persistence (or good luck) to find.  The cocoa can be Dutch processed or regular, but it cannot be processed in a plant that also processes wheat, barley, or malt ingredients.

Note 2: Be aware that many heavy creams use stabilizers to keep the fat from floating to the top, but generally organic creams do not.  Some of these stabilizers are derived from wheat.  The easiest way to know that the cream is gluten free is if the only ingredient listed is cream, so please read the label.