Food Blog:
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Eat Out.
Miss Tenacity.
New Mexico.
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Monday, January 30
Godiva Never Saw Me Coming....
A while back, I had a huge dark chocolate craving after eating rather light earlier in the day, and I sated that craving with a pint of Godiva's Belgian Dark Chocolate ice cream. It was tasty. It was rich. I had a sugar high for a good hour afterwards.
Many months later, a similar craving led me to a deep dark chocolate brownie from an Italian pizza joint in Los Angeles. I swear the thing was 4 inches across and probably weighed nearly half a pound. One could hardly call it a brownie - it was somewhere in between fudge and ganache: chewy, overly sweet, and highly addictive. On their website it is described as a secret recipe "chock full of chocolate", which I confirm. Again I was trapped in a bouncy sugar rush after eating that thing - literally yabbering, giggling, and bouncing up and down in the backseat of my brother's car as we cruised around town. It was disgraceful but I was very happy.
Take all of this and then apply it to my love of homemade ice cream (with or without an ice cream maker - lately without), and THEN apply that to my love of tweaking recipes so that they are lower in sugar but still decadent, and we arrive at this:
You can make this silky seductress of a frozen confection at home EASILY - but not without advance planning, a little bit of patience, and tolerance for spending a little money. There are many steps, but each one is simple and straightforward. I can make the batter and have it in the fridge in less than 10 minutes (I've had practice, of course). You don't even need an ice cream machine, but that would simplify some of the final steps.
Note that each ingredient plays a part. The salt & coffee accentuate the cocoa flavor. The evaporated milk adds body, while the condensed milk adds a bit of caramel undertone, and the half & half adds richness and a few stabilizers. Cornstarch thickens without adding flavor. The lack of eggs and vanilla keeps the chocolate flavor front and center without any interference.
Here's how to go about it:
One or more days before you freeze/eat the gelato:
Purchase VERY GOOD cocoa powder. Barest minimum level is Droste, but non-dutched varieties will give you more complex chocolate flavor as well as just make the gelato even better. I love Scharffen Berger, but have heard Callebaut is also great so I have some on order. This is not cheap - the Scharffen Berger cocoa powder alone costs $2 per batch of gelato. Be forewarned....
One day before you freeze/eat:
Prepare the batter. Instructions below. It must rest/chill overnight to allow the flavors to develop. Trust me.
Day of eating:
Churn and freeze. This will take either 2 minutes of active time plus 2-3 hours hardening if you have an ice cream machine, or it will take 2 hours of beating by hand every 30 minutes, plus 2-3 hours to harden.
Ready? Here's the recipe plus all the dirty instructions, in metric weights for ease & accuracy.
Tres Leches Ganache Gelato
(makes a scant pint, you determine the servings)
1/2 cup (121g) fat-free half & half
1/2 cup (121g) evaporated milk, 2% or skim
1 fluid ounce (38g) sweetened condensed milk
1 TBSP cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (43g) natural cocoa powder (dutch processed if you must)
1 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder
1/4 cup (7g) granular Splenda
1. Combine the 3 milks plus the cornstarch in a microwave safe container, whisk to combine well. (Or just do this in a small saucepan on the stove)
2. Heat at until steaming, whisking occasionally to make sure the cornstarch stays incorporated.
3. When boiling, the mixture should start setting up like loose pudding. Let it boil without boiling over for at least 30 seconds, until it is nice and thickened.
4. Stir in instant coffee and salt, and then whisk in the cocoa powder. After this is complete you should having something pretty thick like pudding.
5. Whisk in the granular Splenda, combining well.
6. Chill OVERNIGHT.
7a (with ice cream maker). Transfer to your ice cream maker and process until mostly firm (do either this step or 7b, not both).
7b (no ice cream maker). Transfer to metal bowl and place in freezer with a whisk. Take out every 20-30 minutes and beat like crazy until smooth. Repeat until just short of firmly set. Transfer quickly to food processor and puree for 20 seconds (this will make sure there are no remaining lumpy bits), or use a hand-held immersion blender to do the same thing (do either this step or 7a, not both).
8. Transfer to 1 pint container. Stick back in freezer and let it harden for at least 2 hours, depending on your freezer and how liquidy it got while in the food processor.
9. NOW, you can eat it. Sit in front of your picture window or just in a quiet chair and savor each and every bite. Don't you dare eat this in front of the TV or the computer. You've worked hard for this gelato, you are going to enjoy every last molecule of it. When finished, sigh with the oncoming theobroma rush and shiver with the chills coming from your tummy. All is well when you've eaten a shitload of frozen ganache.
*10. Contemplate the nutrition stats (for the whole batch): 426 calories - 11g fat, 81g carb (13g fiber, 45 sugar), 22g protein. 57% of your daily calcium, 1300mg of theobromine, and antioxidants out the yin-yang. Woo hoo!
Time posted: 09:22 [permalink]
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CONTACT ME: tenacity -at- gmail.com
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