Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream with Marshmallow Sauce

I don’t know what the weather’s like in your corner of the world, but here in Chicagoland we’re havin’ a heat wave!  The sun is beating down with low 90’s temperatures and plenty of humidity. So it’s time to bring out the ice cream maker again and cool off with homemade chocolate ice cream topped with sweet, creamy marshmallow sauce!

As a kid I remember waiting for all eternity for my dad to finish making the ice cream in those old makers that used salt. And he’d have to churn it over and over.  We’d keep asking, “Is it done yet? Is it done yet???”

Thankfully we have much better ice cream makers today!

 

This recipe is so easy! You start by making the chocolate base, and then you add a custard mixture by squeezing it through a strainer. Simply use the back of a spoon to smash the custard through the strainer, making the ice cream mixture super creamy.

 

I’ve learned a couple tricks along the way on my ice cream making journey. First, you want to make sure you thoroughly chill the ice cream mixture before processing it in your ice cream maker. And second, you want to make sure you’ve set the container part of your ice cream maker in the freezer for at least 24 hours.

 

If you’re going to make ice cream on a somewhat regular basis (it’s worth it!!), you can simply store your ice cream maker’s container right in the freezer. That way it’s always ready to go!

 

If you find your ice cream is still soft after processing, you can put it in a freezer container and freeze until it’s more firm. For an extra special treat, serve it with marshmallow sauce and fancy cookies!

 

Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream with Marshmallow Sauce

2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
5 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, and blend thoroughly using a whisk. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 seconds at a very low boil, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Stir until smooth, then stir in the remaining 1 cup cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

In a saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, and salt. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then pour the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula. Scrape the bottom while stirring until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard mixture through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and let cool.

Chill the ice cream mixture in the refrigerator, then process it in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

To Make the Marshmallow Sauce, in a small saucepan, heat 1½ cups Marshmallow Fluff and 3 tablespoons water over moderately low heat. Stir constantly until blended. Cool sauce. You can make sauce 4 hours in advance and store at room temperature, covered.

This recipe is a variation of a recipe that was modified by a few people before I finally got my hands on it, and then I made my own slight modification to it.  The original recipe is found in Jeni Britton Bauer’s book, Splendid Ice Creams at Home.