Mind Blowing Dark Chocolate Zin Ice Cream

Do you daydream during meetings, preoccupied by thoughts of the perfect ice cream cone? Imagine you are sitting outside on a warm summer evening, enjoying deep dark chocolate zinfandel ice cream! This is a recipe from one of my favorites, Jeni Britton Bauer, the founder of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams out of Columbus, Ohio. She is incredibly sweet, generous and passionate about creating the best possible flavor combinations, many of them quite unusual. Her ice creams are available across the nation in Safeway stores and specialty food markets or you can make them at home. 

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting her on one of my press trips to the Columbus area and sampled many of her unique flavor combinations. If you’ve ever been on a food-centric press tour, you will understand that by the time we arrived at our last stop of the day, we were filled to the brim with fabulous cocktails, wine, and food, certain that we couldn’t possibly take another bite of anything. And then we got to Jeni’s …

As we drove up, the line was out the door and snaked down the street outside the small shop. Brightly lit with a profusion of incredible flavors sparkling in their chilled containers, we filed in the back door full of anticipation and excitement. Even after an evening of incredible foods and drinks, we couldn’t wait to try Jeni’s highly touted ice creams. And she certainly didn’t disappoint!

Jeni is a delightful woman whose passion for her craft can’t help but overflow. She bubbles with enthusiasm, her eyes sparkling as she talks about ice cream. Her commitment to quality ingredients is inexhaustible and she only buys from other likeminded purveyors, supporting local vendors whenever possible. Her philosophy of controlling the ingredients “from the cow to the cream” is evident in every single bite.

Jeni started working in a bakery in high school and stayed there through her college years. She had found her passion – sweets – but needed to focus it. She tried out the concept of an American-style bakery with French techniques she had learned over the years, but something was missing. And then one day she decided to try making ice creams. Her first venture was to add a little cayenne oil to store bought chocolate ice cream and her guests went wild. They couldn’t get enough and Jeni had found her passion!

She created flavors such as Coriander Raspberry, Cherry Lamibc, Bacon Praline, and one of her most popular offerings, Salted Caramel. She has a slew of signature flavors that are always on the menu and a variety of seasonal combinations that change throughout the year. She loves incorporating ingredients she finds at the local farmer’s market to make Strawberry Buttermilk, Cucumber Creme Fraiche, and Backyard Mint among her many options. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams opened in 2002. She now has Scoop Shops in Columbus, Cleveland, Nashville, Chicago, Atlanta, and Charleston, Los Angeles, and St. Louis as well as national distribution in grocery stores, making it possible to find her ice creams and frozen yogurts more easy than ever! It has been wonderful to watch her dream grow.

Today’s recipe is from her 2011 cookbook “Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home”. With more than 100 artisanal recipes for ice creams, sorbets, frozen yogurts, and dessert sauces, you are bound to find dozens that you must try. The biggest challenge will be to decide which one to make first. This is a beautiful book with plenty to please everyone in your family and ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Don’t be shy, give Goat Cheese Ice Cream with Roasted Red Cherries, Kona Stout Ice Cream, or Sweet Corn and Black Raspberry Ice Cream a try. They may be unusual combinations, but you will walk away a true believer after just one bite.

Last year I was lucky to grab a seat in Jeni’s cooking class at Draeger’s when she was promoting her latest book, “Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream Desserts”. In this second book, she explores the many different ways that you can use ice creams as the main ingredient in other desserts. From fresh berry cobblers and Salty Graham Gravel topping, to sweet empanadas and corn fritters, Jeni thrills us once again with her creative inventions. Her chapter headings instantly had me longing to flip the pages: Flavors That Bloom, Ice Cream Parlor, Bakeshop, Sundae Bar – what’s not to love? With over 100 new recipes, I can’t wait to put it to good use. It will sit alongside her first book, in a place of honor in my cookbook library!

I hope you crack out your ice cream maker (or buy a new one) and give this flavor a try. You won’t be disappointed! The red wine adds a lovely fruity back note that is strong enough to stand up to the intense chocolate. It would also be good with cherries added for even more fruity goodness. 

Happy Chocolate Monday – I’m going to go get another bowl and celebrate! 🙂 

Gluten-Free Tips:

Make certain that the cocoa powder, chocolate, and cornstarch you use are gluten-free. If you need any help converting a recipe to gluten-free, email me and I can help you. Virtually all recipes can be converted successfully!

Dark Chocolate Zinfandel Ice Cream (Gluten-Free)

2016-06-06 05:28:12

Jeni’s Notes: Mouth-filling, palate-gripping, intense chocolate with a fudge-like texture and a pleasingly dry finish. This recipe is a result of a career-long quest: packing as much chocolate into without taking away the ice-creaminess. It is rich, bittersweet, and dense … like the inside of a chocolate truffle. Always use the best ingredients available, especially when making an ice cream with one singular flavor. Use the best-quality chocolate you can get your hands on. A high-cacao, full-bodied, fruity chocolate will cut through the cream, and the flavor will be more dramatic.

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Ingredients

1. Chocolate Syrup
2. 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably natural cocoa)
3. 1/2 cup zinfandel or other dry red wine (or brewed coffee)
4. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
5. 1-1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate (55% to 70% cacao), finely chopped, preferably Askinosie
6. Ice Cream Base
7. 2 cups whole milk
8. 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp cornstarch
9. 1-1/2 oz (3 tbsp) cream cheese, softened
10. 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
11. 1 cup heavy cream
12. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
13. 2 tbsp light corn syrup

Instructions

1. Prepare the Chocolate Syrup: Combine the cocoa, wine (or coffee), and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and boil for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat, add the chopped chocolate, and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir the syrup until smooth. Set aside.
2. Make the Ice Cream Base: Mix about 2 tbsp of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. In another bowl, whisk the cream cheese, warm chocolate syrup, and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.
3. Fill a large bowl about half full with ice and water.
4. Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
5. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture until smooth. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon resealable freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.
6. Churn the Ice Cream: Pour the chilled ice cream base into the frozen canister of your ice cream maker and spin until thick and creamy, following the manufacturer’s directions.
7. Pack the ice cream into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

Variation

1. Dark Chocolate Peppermint Ice Cream: Make the ice cream base as directed using coffee in place of the wine. When it is chilled, pour into the frozen churning canister and turn on the machine. Carefully add exactly 4 drops of pure peppermint essential oil through the opening in the top of the machine and spin the ice cream. Using an eye dropper lid for your essential oil bottles will help you control the flow so you don't add too much at once and ruin your recipes.

Notes

1. Yield: 1 generous quart

Adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer

Adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer

The Heritage Cook ® https://theheritagecook.com/

If you are from the Midwest or will be traveling there, you may be interested in my other articles on Columbus, Ohio, its people and the fabulous food we discovered there:

Three Great Inns, Part One – The Inn at Honey Run          

Three Great Inns, Part Two – The Inn and Spa at Cedar Falls

Three Great Inn, Part Three – Murphin Ridge Inn

The Artisans of Columbus, Part One, Food Purveyors

The Artisans of Columbus, Part Two, Distillers and Brewers

The Artisans of Columbus, Part Three , the Chefs and 5 recipes

Disclosure: My trip to Ohio was paid for by Experience Columbus. I was not compensated in any way for this or any other article. All thoughts, as always, are my own.

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