For the second annual City Church Ice Cream Extravaganza, we made some homemade chocolate and chocolate peanut butter ice cream. It was actually a few weeks ago, but we've been really busy with getting ready for our trip and haven't had time to post the pictures until now. (We're in New Braunfels, Texas now, and will be here for a week.) Anyway, here are some pictures of the ice cream-making process.
On the left is 1/2 cup of whipping cream and 2 squares each of semi-sweet and unsweetened baking chocolate, melted. In the middle is 1 cup sugar and 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder mixed. On the right is 2 cups half and half, heated until just before boiling. Then you beat 8 egg yolks in a mixing bowl and add all of these things in.
Once they are all mixed together, you pour it back into a saucepan and bring to an almost boil again, so the eggs won't be raw. I always get really stressed about how to bring something to an almost boil, since I never know if it's close until it starts boiling, and then it's too late. I try to keep a really close eye on it and as soon as I start seeing bubbles on the outside I remove it from the heat. Then you add 1 1/2 cups whipping cream, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 4 teaspoons vanilla. Now it is officially "ice cream batter." Since it's been heated up, you have cover it and put it in the fridge overnight.
The next day, you take the ice cream mixing bowl (which you have frozen overnight) and pour the batter in. This is called the conversion process. As the batter is stirred, the sides of the bowl freeze it gradually, and pretty soon it thickens up and looks something like this:
Once it looks pretty frozen, you put it in the freezer for the ripening process. You could eat it like this, but it would be a little soupy. When it comes out of the freezer after the ripening process, it looks just like ice cream you'd get at the store. But, of course, it tastes much better! We like to stir in peanut butter at the very end of the conversion process to make chocolate peanut butter ice cream. Yum!
On the left is 1/2 cup of whipping cream and 2 squares each of semi-sweet and unsweetened baking chocolate, melted. In the middle is 1 cup sugar and 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder mixed. On the right is 2 cups half and half, heated until just before boiling. Then you beat 8 egg yolks in a mixing bowl and add all of these things in.
Once they are all mixed together, you pour it back into a saucepan and bring to an almost boil again, so the eggs won't be raw. I always get really stressed about how to bring something to an almost boil, since I never know if it's close until it starts boiling, and then it's too late. I try to keep a really close eye on it and as soon as I start seeing bubbles on the outside I remove it from the heat. Then you add 1 1/2 cups whipping cream, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 4 teaspoons vanilla. Now it is officially "ice cream batter." Since it's been heated up, you have cover it and put it in the fridge overnight.
The next day, you take the ice cream mixing bowl (which you have frozen overnight) and pour the batter in. This is called the conversion process. As the batter is stirred, the sides of the bowl freeze it gradually, and pretty soon it thickens up and looks something like this:
Once it looks pretty frozen, you put it in the freezer for the ripening process. You could eat it like this, but it would be a little soupy. When it comes out of the freezer after the ripening process, it looks just like ice cream you'd get at the store. But, of course, it tastes much better! We like to stir in peanut butter at the very end of the conversion process to make chocolate peanut butter ice cream. Yum!
4 comments:
i LOVE homemade ice cream. have you ever used one of those old fashioned makers with a wooden bucket? it is a Hunt family tradition to make ice cream in that way and we always used to do it at our grandparent's house with all our cousins. you only get to eat it if you help turn the crank around. my mom hates the ice cream, but my brother and my dad and i love it. we tell her it's because she doesn't have Hunt blood in her. hope you're enjoying the trip!
Thanks for the linky dink on your side page. Saw Justin at church on the Sabbath, sounds like the trip was good. Hope you're enjoying more Balti.
this ice cream looks amazing. it must take such patience to prepare it start to finish. you and the j-man are such studs.
I would like to request more posts. Thank you.
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