This ice cream is so decadent it should be illegal

Sometimes ideas start out just like that– ideas. It isn’t until you act on it and find a way to execute it that it becomes a reality. Cravings are the same way. They bloom in your mind and don’t go away for a fair amount of time until you acknowledge them. But unlike cravings, ideas can slip through the cracks if left unattended, never to be seen or conjured again. I always dread those moments the most, especially because I tend to have a lot of things swirling in my head at a single time and one dominant thought pushes the others away goodbye.

When I get a flash of brilliance at the most inopportune moments and can’t get my thoughts on paper down immediately, sometimes the exact idea is no longer the same some minutes later. I hate it a lot when I come up with things– a brilliant dialogue for one of the stories I’m always developing, for example– in the middle of walking or commuting home. I simply cannot just stop at some street corner to jot it down. Whipping out my phone is out of the question because there is an 80% chance it will get snatched. I don’t actually live in a bad neighborhood, but in essence all of Manila is pretty much a hazard zone whether you’re on the street, on a bus, on the train… So I have to wait until I arrive home safely before I can do anything, and by then the dialogues are no longer exactly the same as in the moment it first crossed my mind. 

That’s both the beauty and the tragedy about ideas isn’t it? When you get them you can get them good, but when you don’t scramble to hold on to them by putting them on paper you can just pretend it never happened. But cravings? Well those keep coming back.

Sometimes the longer you try to control them the more they bang around in your mind, your tummy, your tastebuds. They aren’t fickle or quick to disappear. It’s almost as if you MUST give in or else they will never leave you in peace! 

This ice cream started out as a craving. Or was it an idea? I guess it was a little bit of both. I was craving some brownies and some ice cream and figured why not make ice cream that incorporates both? Sure enough I turn to my favourite ice cream bible and there it was– Milk Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream.

This flavour combo is not some never-before-seen innovation, but chocolate-lovers beware: This will still blow your socks off.

It’s a fairly well-known fact around here that I dislike milk chocolate. I don’t “hate” or avoid it like white chocolate, but it’s certainly not my favourite. So why in the world, you would ask, did I choose to make Milk Chocolate Ice Cream instead of something darker? Well the answer is pretty simple: I’ve never made Milk Chocolate Ice Cream before! 

I thought I’d try it and feel the difference, and obviously the difference is pretty huge. But liking Dark Chocolate Ice Cream is just my own preference, and really it doesn’t take away from how awesome this ice cream is. Even I have to admit that I enjoyed it quite a bit in small increments. This is amazingly creamy and sweet, with the brownie bits providing a nice spongey texture in the ice cream. And thanks to the addition of the uhhh-mazing Chewy-Dense Brownies, the ice cream has a nice deep chocolate flavour too.A little indulgent, yeah, buT you know you still want it anyway.

For this, I used a brand of chocolate I’ve never used before called Coeur. It’s Swiss, and the one I used is labelled Dark with 48% cacao. That’s a really far cry from the 72% of legit dark chocolate, but I didn’t want to use super milky sweet milk chocolate so I was gunning for a 50% since David (we’re on first name basis?) in his book said that the chocolate should be at least 33%. 

Ice cream is awesome you guys. It’s one of the best creations in the Universe. I want to make ice cream for the rest of my life. And this Milk Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream recipe is one of the best live-a-little ultimate indulgences you can make for yourself!

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Milk Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream

A decadent and sweet milk chocolate ice cream with bits of dark chocolatey brownies within.

Makes about 1 Litre

Ingredients

• 230 grams 8 ounces milk chocolate with at least 30% cacao, finely chopped
• 375 millilitres, 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 375 millilitres, 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 150 grams 3/4 cup sugar
• Big pinch of salt
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons Cognac*
• 120 grams 3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (optional)
• 2 cups crumbled Chewy-Dense Brownies

Instructions

• Before beginning the recipe, remember to freeze your ice cream bowl at least 24 hours before, as necessary.
• 1. Combine the milk chocolate and cream in a large, heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is melted. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and set aside with a mesh strainer on top. Set the bowl on top of an ice bath.
• 
• 2. Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan until it starts to simmer.
• 
• 3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly to avoid the eggs getting cooked. Scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
• 4. Stir the mixture constantly over the medium heat with a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon, scraping the bottom while stirring, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. (A finger ran through the mixture coating the spatula/spoon should leave a clear line.)
• 
• 5. Remove the custard from the heat and immediately pour over the mesh strainer into the milk chocolate mixture. Add the Cognac and mix together. Stir until cool over the ice bath.
• 
• 6. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, 6 hours to overnight.
• 7. Once chilled, churn mixture in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. During the last few minutes of churning, add the chocolate chips, if using.
• 
• 8. When the ice cream is consistency of soft serve, it is ready to be taken out of the machine. Fold in the crumbled brownies before transferring the mixture into a container. Freeze the ice cream until firm, at least 4 hours, before eating.

Notes

*I used rum and it came out great.

Adapted from <i>The Perfect Scoop</i> by David Lebovitz

In the set-up I had today, I actually dipped that very inviting piece of brownie into the ice cream and fed the rest of it to my brothers. They pretty much eat anything, but when they rave about something they rave about it well. I mean, does that not look like it’s been licked clean to you?

Churn a round of this ice cream and join the rave party, why don’t you?

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