Fresh Mint Ice Cream with Fudge Ripple

My sweet mother-in-law gave me several fresh herb plants. One of the herbs was chocolate mint. It smells so fresh, but I didn't know what to do with it UNTIL I saw this recipe for mint ice cream. I gave my mint plant a huge haircut and whipped up this ice cream in no time. I was very pleased with it, and Aubrey couldn't believe how good it was, too! I made a fudge ripple to swirl through the ice cream because I think chocolate pairs perfectly with mint. However, it would be good without the chocolate, too!

Fresh Mint Ice Cream

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream, divided
Pinch of salt
2 cups lightly packed fresh mint leaves
5 large egg yolks

Directions:
Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of the cream, and salt in a small saucepan. Add the mint leaves and stir until they're immersed in the liquid. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

Strain the mint-infused mixture through a mesh strainer into a medium saucepan (the milk will be a lovely shade of emerald, per Lebovits.... however, mine was not... I had to add a few drops of green food coloring). Press on the mint leaves to extract as much of the flavor as possible, then discard the mint leaves. Pour the remaining 1 cup heavy cream into a large bowl and set the strainer on top.

Rewarm the mint-infused mixture. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mint liquid into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.


Fudge Ripple

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
6 Tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to bubble at the edges.

Continue whisking until it just comes to a low boil. Cook for 1 minute, whisking frequently. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let cool. Chill in the refrigerator before using.

Mixing it in the ice cream: The Fudge Ripple should be thoroughly chilled, as it's easiest to use when very cold. Just before you remove the ice cream from the machine, spoon some of the Fudge Ripple onto the bottom of the storage container. As you remove the ice cream from the machine, layer generous spoonfuls of the sauce between layers of ice cream. Avoid stirring the Fudge Ripple, as it will make the ice cream muddy looking.

Storage: Fudge Ripple can be stored for up to 2 weeks, covered, in the refrigerator.

Source: The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz