Creamy Dark Chocolate Ice Cream Spiked with Orange Flavor and Roasted Walnuts
Ready for an unforgettable frozen treat? Let's dive into this decadent chocolate ice cream recipe, tweaked with a twist of orange and crunchy walnuts.
A while back, I embarked on a mission to uncover the best chocolate for ice cream. I whipped up three batches, each with a different brand - Baker's, Ghirardelli, and Dagoba. My husband and I conducted a taste test, and here's what we found:
- Baker's Chocolate: A classic, American favorite offering a simple, straightforward chocolate flavor. It added a touch of sweetness to the ice cream, perfect for traditional ice cream lovers.
- Ghirardelli Chocolate: Known for its high-quality chocolate with distinctive flavors, this brand delivered a richer, more deep-rooted chocolate taste. If you're after a more complex ice cream, opt for this brand.
- Dagoba Chocolate: This organic, fair-trade, and high-quality dark chocolate brand truly shined in our tasting. Its robust and earthy tones, accompanied by hints of fruitiness, contributed to a pure, bold chocolate flavor that complemented our decadent ice cream creation.
Now that we've settled on the chocolate, let's get cooking! Here's the updated recipe:
Chocolate Orange Walnut Ice Cream Recipe
- Yield: 1½ quarts
- Difficulty: Easy
- Total: 24 hours
- Active: 1 hour
Ingredients (10)
- 1/3 cup unsweetened dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1½ cup 1% milk
- 1 tsp instant coffee
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- 1 tbsp frozen, unsweetened orange juice concentrate
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup raw agave nectar
- 2 oz unsweetened dark chocolate
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup walnuts
Instructions
- Melt unsweetened chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water. Slowly whisk in the cocoa powder, and once clump-free, add the remaining milk, vanilla, zest, orange juice concentrate, and coffee. Combine and heat until blended.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into a medium saucepan and add the heavy cream.
- Whisk eggs in a bowl until light and fluffy, then mix in agave nectar. Gradually add 1/3 cup of the warm milk mixture to the eggs, while whisking continuously.
- Pour the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture and cook until the ice cream base thickens, reaching a consistency where it can hold a line when drawn with a spoon. The temperature should be about 160°F.
- Strain mixture into a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the ice cream base. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Churn the mixture according to the manufacturer's instructions, adding the walnuts during the last few minutes of churning.
- Let the ice cream harden in the freezer for at least 4 hours before serving.
Enjoy this marvelous chocolate ice cream that boasts a gorgeous fusion of chocolate, orange, and crunchy walnuts! A perfect dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth and impress your guests.
This recipe ingeniously incorporates Ghirardelli chocolate for a more complex and deep-rooted chocolate taste. Following the success of the taste test, we've decided to tweak our decadent chocolate ice cream by adding orange zest and crushed walnuts. To recreate this counterintuitive masterpiece, you'll need quality ingredients like unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder, Ghirardelli unsweetened dark chocolate, fresh orange zest, frozen orange juice concentrate, and a generous portion of walnuts. The instructions for making the Chocolate Orange Walnut Ice Cream involve melting the chocolate, combining the milk, vanilla, zest, and coffee, whisking eggs and agave nectar, and gradually cooling the mixture before refrigerating and churning. Enjoy this delightful fusion of flavors that merges chocolate, orange, and crunchy walnuts, making it an unforgettable frozen treat and an impressive dessert for any gathering.
