Summer Fun: Boston Ramblings and Homemade Ice Cream

Recently I had a whirlwind weekend in Boston that involved Redbones bbq, a little too much PBR, a night game at Fenway and a helmet full of soft serve.

But before that I made 'no machine' chocolate ice cream courtesy of America's Test Kitchen.

I suppose I've always liked the idea of owning an ice cream machine, but in reality it seems like one of those things best left to the professionals--like making sushi or playing the accordion. So when I read over the recipe I was intrigued by the promise of homemade ice cream with only ten minutes of work. This is achieved by the use of condensed milk and a nod to Italian semifreddo desserts:

America's Test Kitchen Chocolate Ice Cream

Makes 1 quart

If you plan to store the ice cream for more than a few days, place plastic wrap directly on its surface before freezing.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder
• 1 tablespoon hot water
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch salt
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, cold

Instructions

• 1. MELT CHOCOLATE BASE Combine coffee (or espresso) powder and hot water in small bowl. Let stand until coffee dissolves, about 5 minutes. Microwave chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, and coffee mixture in bowl, stirring every 10 seconds, until chocolate is melted, about 1 minute. Stir in vanilla and salt. Let cool.

• 2. MIX AND FREEZE With electric mixer on medium-high speed, whip cream to soft peaks, about 2 minutes. Whisk one-third of whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Fold remaining whipped cream into chocolate mixture until incorporated. Freeze in airtight container until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 2 weeks. Serve.

Tips and Tricks:

*I used German-imported dark chocolate from Aldi which I would recommend because it is good quality and cheap.

*I also added a few grinds of sea salt in a bid to make it like the Salted Fudge ice cream I had in Portland last month (hint: It didn't). I guess what I liked best about this recipe was that it provides a good base to work from and seems pretty conducive to add-ons.

*I don't think I'd add the espresso next time just because the flavor was quite strong. I've been told it helps to 'bring out the chocolate flavor' but all it seemed to do was make it taste like coffee. But hey, if that's what you're in to go for it.

*I would also try it with unsweetened condensed milk since it was a little sweeter than I'd like.

All in all though it was a fun recipe to make and resulted in some pretty tasty and surprisingly rich ice cream, though not as good as Red Sox helmet soft serve. Just kidding.