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Main page > Ice Cream > All Chocolate Ice Cream Flavours > Chocolate (only) > with xanthan gum > unsweetened chocolate (100% cocoa solids)
For a deeper insight and photos, visit the mother recipe.
For best results, use a digital kitchen scale and measure the ingredients directly into the utensils, as you proceed with the recipe. Avoid weighing in one utensil and transferring to another, as this causes a small, but important loss of quantity, especially in liquids.
If you have a kitchen scale, weigh the ingredients instead of measuring them by cup; it provides accurate results, very much needed in ice cream making.
If you do not have a kitchen scale, follow these guidelines:
1 cup (US) = 235 ml | 1 Tbs. = 15 ml
– Chocolate: chocolate cannot be measured in a cup because the results vary depending on how finely chopped the chocolate is. Instead, you can calculate the number of chocolate pieces you need based on the weight of the chocolate bar as written on the packaging.
– Sugar: measuring sugar in tablespoons is more accurate than measuring it in cups. Do not use a regular tablespoon: you need a 15 ml measuring tablespoon; this is 12 gr of sugar. To measure, scoop the sugar to fill the tablespoon, then level it with the flat side of a knife. Repeat scooping and levelling.Do not convert the sugar into cups with the usual “1 cup=200 grams” conversion; this is too much sugar, which results in sloppy ice cream.
– Milk and cream: make sure that you thoroughly scrape with a rubber spatula the cup every time you measure something and empty it.
You can find xanthan gum in speciality shops, health food stores and online.
You can adjust the quantity of the xanthan gum in the recipe to your liking, depending on the texture you want to achieve:
This recipe is for unsweetened chocolate with 100% cocoa solids (you can also use a 99% cocoa solids chocolate) ; for other cocoa solids % click here.
Also suitable: chocolate liquor, cocoa liquor, cacao liquor, or cocoa mass, unsweetened baking chocolate.
Do not confuse:
with
Do not use unsweetened cocoa powder. If you want to make ice cream with unsweetened cocoa powder, this is the recipe for you.
Only use whole milk (this is around 3.5% fat). Do not substitute with skimmed milk or plant-based milk.
Use heavy cream with 35-40% fat content and of pourable consistency. “Ultra-pasteurised cream” and “cream suitable for whipping” with 35-40% fat are ok, too. Avoid any cream which contains sugar or other sweeteners. Do not substitute with low-fat cream or plant-based cream.
You can combine double cream with whole milk to make heavy cream for this recipe. To make 350 gr (12.3 oz.) heavy cream, you need:
To make the heavy cream, put the double cream in a bowl then pour in the milk, a little at a time, stirring smoothly with a rubber spatula until smooth. Avoid whisking, as it may turn into whipped cream.
The resulting heavy cream has 36% fat, perfect for this ice cream. Proceed with the recipe, just as if you had the 350 gr (12.3 oz.) heavy cream needed.
*this 105 gr (3.7 oz.) milk is extra to the 585 gr milk (20.6 oz) asked in the recipe. So, if using double cream, you will need in total 690 gr milk (24.3 oz.), from which:
Only use regular sugar (white granulated sugar) or raw cane sugar such as Turbinado or Demerara.
Do not try to reduce the calories of the ice cream by cutting down the sugar or replacing it with low-calories or “healthy” sweeteners. Do not use:
A flexible rubber spatula is good for:
-wiping the bottom of the saucepan when cooking dairy on the stovetop.
-scraping residues from bowls, saucepans etc.
If you do not have one, I strongly encourage you to buy one, preferably a flexible one.
Make the ice cream mixture (steps 1-3) one day before churning it.
If your ice cream maker has a removable freezer bowl, put it in the freezer for the whole time indicated by the manufacturer before churning, usually 24 hours.
Pour the cold heavy cream (350 gr; 12.3 oz.) and 1/5 of the cold milk (120 gr; 4.3 oz.; 1/2 cup) into the blender jar (or in a large bowl, if using an immersion blender). If you do not proceed with the recipe immediately, place it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.
Warm the rest of the milk with all the sugar: in a medium saucepan, put the rest 4/5 of the milk (465 gr; 16.4 oz.; 2 cups) and all the sugar (228 gr; 8 oz.). Warm over medium heat, often stirring with the rubber spatula, until the sugar dissolves and the milk is hot and steamy.
Bring to a boil: when all the sugar dissolves, increase the heat to medium-high and when it comes to a boil (95°C; 203°F; or when large bubbles which pop vigorously appear on the surface) immediately remove it from the heat and pour it into the blender jar with the cold cream.
Turn the blender on (medium speed). Note: by blending that much boiling hot milk with that much fridge-cold cream, the blend instantly reaches approx. 55°C; 131°F; this is the temperature where the xanthan gum dissolves efficiently. And no, you do not even need a thermometer to measure it.
Add the xanthan gum and blend: with the blender on, sprinkle the xanthan gum (½ tsp.) over the surface and blend for 2 minutes to fully hydrate the xanthan gum.
Add the chopped chocolate (85 gr.; 3 oz.) into the blender and blend until the mixture is a uniform brown colour with no streaks.
Strain the ice cream mixture over a fine-mesh sieve and into a bowl.
Cool it down: prepare an ice bath by putting ice cubes and cold water in a large bowl and carefully nest the bowl with the ice cream mixture over it, taking care that no water slips into the ice cream mixture. Let it cool down for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Chill until completely cold: cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or until completely cold; and up to 3 days.
When churning with a domestic ice cream maker, your ice cream mixture should always be thoroughly chilled. Otherwise, if the ice cream mixture is not cold enough, the ice cream maker may not churn it to its fullest potential, resulting in a sloppy liquid vs. fluffy ice cream.
Check the ice cream mixture if it is thoroughly cold before churning: it should feel fridge-cold to the touch (approx. 4ºC–10ºC; 39ºF-50ºF).
Stir: this chocolate ice cream mixture may become very thick after chilling, so give it a thorough and vigorous stirring with a rubber spatula to loosen it (or a quick blitz with an immersion blender); this will allow it to churn for longer and to acquire a better texture.
If the ice cream mixture is too thick (say, like yoghurt), blend it briefly with an immersion/regular blender before churning it.
Why do we do that? If the ice cream mixture is too thick, the ice cream maker may stop before it incorporates enough air into the ice cream. In this case, the ice cream will be sloppy instead of fluffy.
So if you are after fluffy ice cream, take the time to bring the ice cream mixture to a fluid (pourable) thickness before churning it.
If you feel unsure about the ice cream’s thickness, prefer to err on the side of fluid and give the ice cream mixture a blend nevertheless before churning it.
Churn: with the machine running, pour the ice cream mixture through the canister and into the ice cream maker. Leave to churn until fluffed up and creamy; depending on your ice cream maker this can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes (see below).
This chocolate ice cream will expand and fluff up during churning. It is ready when it looks smooth and fluffy, with a mousse-like consistency. That could take anywhere from 30-60 minutes, depending on your ice cream maker.
To evaluate if it is ready, lift a spoonful; it should be thick enough to stand on the spoon, but it will be still soft like soft-serve ice cream. If you lift ice cream with the spoon and a pool immediately starts forming on its edges, you will have to churn it for longer.
In any case, if you feel doubts about the consistency, leave it to churn for ten minutes more. But beware: at this stage, do not expect it to be like store-bought carton ice cream; for now, it should be more like soft-serve ice cream. It will firm up and become like store-bought ice cream only after it sets in the freezer.
So, stop the ice cream maker when thick and creamy, as described above. If you leave to churn it for much longer, it will start turning grainy.
Warning: some ice cream makers are programmed to automatically stop after a specific length of time, which doesn’t make sense because the ice cream may need to churn for more to reach its fullest potential. So, if you notice that your ice cream maker stops on its own and upon checking the ice cream, you find that it is sloppy instead of fluffy, try to turn the machine on again and leave it to churn until it reaches the desired texture.
Put in the freezer to set: before serving the ice cream or moving it to a container for storing, you have to put it in the freezer to set. To do so, turn off the ice cream machine and:
Setting time depends on the ice cream maker you use; see notes below for indicative times.
Serve or store: when it sets, you can either serve it directly from the removable freezer bowl or transfer it to an airtight container for longer storing.
Storing: in the freezer for one month, covered well to protect it from absorbing the freezer’s smells.
Scooping: this ice cream, like all artisanal ice creams, freezes hard in the long term. To soften it to a perfectly scoopable consistency, put it in the refrigerator for 45-60 minutes.
If you have an instant-read thermometer, the perfect serving temperature of this chocolate ice cream is when the thermometer inserted midway through the ice cream reads around -11ºC / 12ºF. At this temperature, the ice cream is perfectly scoopable and enjoyable.
Click on the cocoa solids % chocolate of your choice for the recipe.
You can use any cocoa solids % you like; the final ice cream will be the same. The difference between the recipes is in the quantities of the ingredients. For example, with 50% cocoa solids chocolate, you need 200 gr (7.1 oz.) chocolate, whereas, with 70-74% chocolate, you need 125 gr (4.4 oz.); e.t.c., e.t.c. The same is with the rest of the ingredients (sugar, milk, cream); they change so that the final ice cream has the same chocolate intensity and a perfect mouthfeel, no matter the cocoa solids % of the chocolate you use.