Lora's Dark Chocolate Ice Cream

I've been working on perfecting my chocolate ice cream recipe. I tried using real melted chocolate. The result? Chocolate frosting ice cream. Not what I was looking for. I tried dutch processed cocoa in place of the regular cocoa. The result? Chocolate cake batter ice cream. Again, not what I was after. I replaced the sugar with dark brown sugar and cut the amount of sugar. I like a deep dark chocolate flavor, which you get with less sugar. I also liked a mixture of the two cocoas. It adds a depth of flavor. Hershey's special dark cocoa is a dutch cocoa found in many supermarkets. (That's not the brand I have.) I liked the recipe at that point, but I thought I needed more chocolate flavor and a deeper chocolate flavor. Next I added a tsp of espresso powder for depth of flavor. This is enough to add low notes, but not enough to make it taste like mocha. I also added the dark chocolate candy bar. This made the ice cream chocolaty enough. The problem now is that when you refreeze the ice cream base, the melted chocolate turns into minuscule chocolate chips and that gives it a gritty texture. I'm not really sure how to fix that. I like the more chocolaty flavor more then I'm offended by the gritty texture. If I come up with a solution, I'll edit the post. (if you like the recipe as is, you should print it, because it might change). My ice cream maker only holds and irksome 3 cups of ice cream instead of a quart. The amounts in parentheses at the end are the amounts to make a quart (plus a bit more) of ice cream if you prefer to make a quartish.

LORA’S DARK CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 c milk (2c)

3 egg yolks(4 egg yolks)

3/4 of a 3.52 oz 60% chocolate, chopped. I used Hershey's special dark chocolate (the whole bar)

3/4 c dark brown sugar (1 c)

1/4 c+ 1 1/2 tsp natural cocoa (just regular cocoa)(1/4 c + 2T)

1 T +1 1/2 tsp Dutch processed cocoa( 2T)

pinch of salt (pinch is about 1/8 tsp)

3/4 tsp vanilla (1 tsp)
1 tsp espresso powder (1 1/3 tsp espresso powder)
1 1/2 c cream (2 c)

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside. Whisk egg yolks until they are a pale yellow. Whisk in sugar. Gradually whisk in milk over a double boiler.(it goes faster if the milk is prewarmed) Continue to stir until slightly thickened and coats the back of a spoon. The eggs are safe at 160 degrees which is also the temperature when the mixture thickens. Pour the mixture over the chopped chocolate. Let set for 5 minutes and then stir. The chocolate should be completely melted. Cool several hours in the refrigerator or over night. Whisk remaining ingredients together, except the whipping cream. It takes a bit of work to whisk in the cocoa powder. Keep at it and it will eventually mix in. Then whisk in the cream. Process in ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. .