Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream
Smooth and nutty, this chocolate hazelnut ice cream is delightful. It has toasted hazelnut and chocolate flavor in every spoonful - the perfect sweet treat.
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Equipment
- Ice Cream Machine
Ingredients
- ¾ cup roasted hazelnuts
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- 6 egg yolks
- ¾ cup sugar
Instructions
- Add milk and toasted hazelnuts to an air-tight container and soak overnight in the fridge, or for at least 8 hours.
- Add egg yolks and sugar to a medium bowl and whisk until light and fluffy. Set aside.
- Blend hazelnuts and milk in a high-speed blender until very smooth. If your blender won't get the mixture super smooth, strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove any hazelnut pieces.
- Add the hazelnut milk, cream, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt to a pot. Place over medium heat, stirring frequently, until warm and beginning to steam.
- Slowly pour some of the warm milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture, while whisking constantly to temper the egg yolks. Continue until all of the milk has been added.
- Pour the mixture back into the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon well.
- Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve (optional) into a heat-safe container. Cover and let cool slightly at room temperature for 20 minutes. Then, place in the fridge and chill overnight, or until completely cold.
- Churn ice cream according to manufacturer's instructions.
- Transfer to an air-tight container, cover, and freeze until firm.
Notes
Roasted Hazelnuts - If your hazelnuts are not already roasted, you'll want to do so to bring out their flavor. To roast: spread a single layer of hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake in a 350℉ oven for 10-15 minutes. Check on them periodically. You'll know they are ready when they are golden brown and fragrant. Hazelnut skin can be a bit bitter; to remove them: after roasting, lay out a clean kitchen towel and pour the warm hazelnuts onto the towel. Fold the towel over the hazelnuts and rub them around to remove the skins. You don't need to get all of the skins off, but you want to remove a majority of them.
Prepare Your Ice Cream Machine - If your ice cream machine has a bowl that needs to be frozen, remember to freeze it in advance so it's ready when you need it. I prefer to freeze it overnight to ensure it's fully frozen before using.
Incorporating the Hazelnuts - You'll want to blend the hazelnuts and milk until super smooth, which may take several minutes. If your blender won't allow the mixture to get super smooth, optionally strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve or a cheesecloth to remove the hazelnut pulp.
Can I soak the hazelnuts with the milk and cream? - Soak and blend the hazelnuts with the milk only. Blending the cream with the hazelnuts may separate the cream into butter and buttermilk, which is not what we want when making ice cream.
Cocoa Powder - You can use natural or Dutch-processed cocoa powder for this recipe. I personally enjoy using Dutch-processed.
Tempering the Egg Yolks - This step is important because it allows the eggs to heat up slowly, so they don't curdle and cause little egg lumps in your ice cream mixture.
Cooking the Ice Cream - When cooking the ice cream, you'll know it's done when it coats the back of a spoon well. If you want to use a thermometer, it should reach this point around 160 - 180℉.
Strainer - Pouring the cooked ice cream base through a strainer or fine-mesh sieve is optional, but it ensures that you don't end up with any lumps or pieces of cooked egg yolk in your mixture.
Chilling the Mixture - I prefer to chill the ice cream base overnight to ensure it's fully cold and allow everything to meld together. If you don't want to wait that long to churn your ice cream, you can move onto the churning step once the ice cream base is fully cold.
Serving - If the ice cream has been in the freezer for an extended period of time, you may want to let it sit out on the counter for a few minutes to allow it to soften slightly before scooping.
Churning without an Ice Cream Machine - If you don't have an ice cream machine, I show an alternate method for churning ice cream here (https://brooksidekitchen.com/how-to-make-ice-cream-without-a-machine/).