Greedy, inviting, creamy: chocolate ice cream is an evergreen that has refined its flavor over time. There are many variations able to further enhance its delicacy, satisfying even the most demanding palates with more or less simple recipes (and with very different tastes from each other).
Dark, gianduia, with milk, with hazelnuts, with almonds, with raisins, even with chilli pepper; but the basic raw material does not change: excellent dark chocolate or bitter cocoa.
A creamy chocolate ice cream to make at home? Here’s how it’s done – with and without an ice cream maker – thanks to the Tipsforwomens recipe!
Chocolate ice cream: perfect and like a “great classic”
Difficult to resist the delicacy of a chocolate ice cream, a great classic as well as one of the first cold desserts to appear on the market; when the ice cream parlors were charming blue and white striped carts that moved from square to square capturing the interest of the little ones.
Our beautiful country has always boasted excellence in the art of confectionery, also linked to this delicacy: just think of the chocolate of Modica, or that of Perugia. Chocolate ice cream is excellent consumed as a single flavour, perhaps with the addition of whipped cream or biscuits; but it also goes very well with other flavours, from creams to fruit.
It is also an excellent dessert after a meal, fresh and loved by everyone, and a nutritious and delicious snack. A break that is difficult to resist, also thanks to the virtues of chocolate which, by stimulating the release of endorphins, increases good mood.
Chocolate ice cream recipe
Chocolate ice cream
Ingredients
- 25 g bitter cocoa powder
- 115ml whole milk
- 90 ml liquid fresh panna
- 1 egg yolk
- 35 g granulated sugar
Instructions
- Pour the granulated sugar into a bowl, add the yolk and, with the help of an electric mixer, mix until the mixture becomes clear.
- In a saucepan, heat the milk and the liquid fresh cream over a moderate flame for about 5 minutes; then pour over the yolk and sugar mixture and mix very well.
- Return the dough to the pot and place over medium-low heat; cook, stirring with a wooden spoon. The temperature must never exceed 85°; that is, it must not boil, otherwise the yolk would create lumps.
- When the mixture creates a veil behind the wooden spoon, remove from the heat and add the cocoa which you will mix perfectly.
- Now pour the mixture into the bowl, which must be immersed in a container with ice, to cool quickly.
- Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours; then pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and follow the instructions for your appliance.
- Once ready, pour the ice cream into a covered bowl and let it rest in the freezer for at least 3 hours.
Note
- In the preparation of chocolate ice cream you can use both bitter cocoa and dark chocolate: the choice is yours!
- If you prefer to use dark chocolate, you will melt it together with the milk and cream over a low heat.
Chocolate ice cream without eggs
If you can’t eat eggs or want a lighter product, the result is still excellent.
Cocoa ice cream, between calories and diet
A normal dose of chocolate ice cream provides about 300 kcal. Some small tricks can decrease the contribution; such as, for example, using semi-skimmed milk, decreasing the amount of cream and sugar.
Taken in moderation it is a beneficial food thanks above all to the properties of chocolate. To be avoided for those suffering from diabetes or are overweight, given the lipid-type calories and the presence of sugars.
Properties and nutritional values
Bitter cocoa or dark chocolate: however many qualities
Chocolate is a food rich in precious properties for our body. It is obtained from bitter cocoa: the scientific name of the cocoa plant is Theobroma cacao and it belongs to the Sterculiaceae family. It was known since ancient times among the Toltec and Inca peoples of South and Central America and in Tropical Africa. It was imported to our continent by Christopher Columbus.
But where does the cocoa that we all know come from? It is extracted from its seeds which are found inside the fruits, to then be subjected to processes of roasting, shredding and fermentation.
Bitter cocoa is very rich in mineral salts, such as magnesium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, sodium and vitamins of group B, K and J.
It also contains substances that are very important for our health. First of all serotonin, but also tyramine and phenylethylamine. It is a natural energizer and has the ability to reduce bad cholesterol in the blood. The theobromine and caffeine present in it increase the ability to concentrate and the promptness of reflections. Serotonin, on the other hand, is a substance that counteracts depression.
It is also a precious source of flavonoids, antioxidants able to counteract the obstruction of the arteries, allowing for optimal circulation; and polyphenols, for the control of blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure.
The protective action of these substances has the ability to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke. Bitter cocoa is an elixir for youth because it is one of the richest sources of antioxidants in nature. Counteracts the action of free radicals responsible for skin ageing.
Milk and dairy products: caloric but precious presence
For those who follow the classic recipe, milk cannot be missing, which contains above all water (87.5%), but also proteins of high biological value (3.3%). It has several important mineral salts such as potassium, zinc and above all calcium, essential for bone growth and to ward off osteoporosis.
It also contains vitamins, such as A, D and those of group B. Whole milk provides 64 kcal per 100 grams, semi-skimmed milk (1.8% fat) 46 kcal, skimmed milk 36 kcal.
Cocoa and chocolate: an ancient delight
The raw material of this ice cream is chocolate, which – as we anticipated – is obtained from the seeds of the cocoa plant native to Central and South America. According to studies carried out, it was already present 6,000 years ago on the banks of the Amazon River and in the Orinoco.
The Spanish conquistadors learned from the Aztecs the technique of processing cocoa beans with a stone mill called “metate”, and imported this art into their western domains. It was Christopher Columbus in 1592, during his fourth and last trip to Honduras, the first European to taste the drink made from cocoa – very bitter since the locals did not know sugar.
Columbus brought the seeds as a gift to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain who did not give any importance to the product. Only with Hernan Cortéz, between 1519 and 1528, cocoa was widely introduced in Spain, remaining the prerogative of the aristocracy, nobles and clergy. It is said that it was a bishop who added sugar for the first time.
The Spanish dominations also brought the product to Sicily and to Modica, then the most important feudal state in the South, where the famous Modica chocolate was born. A unique cold process that does not involve “conching” (i.e. mixing for long times in special mixers); the product is thus more raw and rich in flavour. So much so that it was proudly named by Leonardo Sciascia, as well as earning the PGI brand from the European Union in 2018.
In America cocoa also arrived in Tuscany at the Medici court: after Florence, in Venice and Turin. In the 17th century, premises opened in Venice where coffee and chocolate were served. For cocoa and its products there are no more frontiers; however, many more decades will pass before it becomes an appreciated product within the reach of the less well-off classes.
