The recipe comes from Emeril so immediately you know its going to be great. He only put in ¼ cup of Jack Daniels but I added a few extra tablespoons to get an extra oomph and substituted his semisweet chocolate with dark chocolate. I had no problems with getting the ice cream to freeze, although it becomes a creamy semi-soft ice cream (like the Nutella ice cream this week) rather than a hard ice cream. I would have drank it right from the pot so, either way is fine by me!
Dark Chocolate Jack Ice Cream (adapted from here)
Serves: 4 (4 cups ice cream)
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
4 ounces dark chocolate chips (or bar broken into chunks)
1/3 cup Jack Daniels
In a medium saucepan over medium heat bring cream and vanilla to a simmer. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl until pale yellow and thick. When the cream mixture has reached a full simmer, slowly pour about 1/2 cup of the milk into the egg yolk mixture whisking to combine. Add an additional 1/2 cup slowly while whisking. Whisk the egg yolk mixture into the hot cream mixture (back into the saucepan) and turn the heat to low. Stir the mixture constantly! with a wooden spoon. When the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, remove from the heat. Pour the chocolate chunks/chips into a bowl and pour the cream mixture over it. Allow to sit undisturbed for a full minute before whisking to blend. Add the whiskey to the ice cream and stir to blend. Then, set aside to cool completely. Place the bowl in the fridge for at least an hour to fully chill (I left it in there overnight). Then, once the ice cream is chilled, churn the ice cream using your ice cream maker. Transfer the ice cream into an air-tight container and store in the freezer until ready to serve.
The ice cream churned really nicely into a soft custard. You could serve it like this but it is much better fully frozen (as hard as it was, we waited overnight).
I hope you all enjoyed ice cream week as much as I have! While ice cream can be enjoyed anytime, I find it most fun to make during the summer. No ice cream machine? No problem! I hope the instructions without ice cream machines make it easy for everyone to try them (whether in a dorm room, a beach house, or a tiny apartment) this summer.
Which of these flavors was your favorite? I’m going to continue a bunch of these flavor profiles into the fall with soufflés, cookies, and beverages! I can’t wait to share them with you.
Until the next time my oven is on…
