Radically Natural Recipe: Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream

What do you do when summer arrives early, you live in an attic with no A/C, and you have goat milk coming out your ears because all four of your does ended up kidding at the same time?

You make ice cream!

Of course, it helps when you have a friend with a Guernsey cow that provides luscious, luxuriously thick cream.  Raw grass-fed cow's cream in combination with raw browse-fed naturally homogenized creamy goat milk makes deliciously decadent ice cream.

I purchased a Cuisinart 2 quart ice cream maker last month so we could put all our goat milk to work.  I really prefer the density of gelato to the air-whipped lightness of ice cream.  I also desire that my ice cream remain raw and contain multiple pastured egg yolks, so I can use it as a nourishing health food.  I'm working on creating a gelato consistency using the Cuisinart, and I'm getting close to a consistency I like.  But to achieve said consistency, a cooked custard must be created for the gelato base.  So I'm experimenting with various times and temperatures for the custard phase to balance my dual desires of consistency and rawness.

I've experimented with a completely raw vanilla bean ice cream, raw egg nog ice cream, and chocolate gelato-like ice cream.  Since I rarely measure when I create in the kitchen, the batches vary in flavor consistency.  But no one has complained yet!  I did promise a dear friend, however, that I would develop and share our current favorite, a dark chocolate, cinnamon-spiced gelato-like ice cream.  So I made a batch with measurements, and I now share with you my current working recipe.  Your consistency will vary depending upon the type of milk you use (if you don't have access to goat milk, you will need to add more cream and less milk for a thick, creamy ice cream), and your ingredient amounts may vary depending on your taste and the quality of your inputs (I recommend purchasing cinnamon and vanilla from Mountain Rose Herbs and I love the Earth Circle Organics raw cacao powder).

[Caveat number one:  I have found that my "DIY at home" ice cream maker doesn't produce ice cream of store-bought consistency.  But I much prefer a natural raw ice cream to the adulterated products offered commercially.  Maybe mine is softer, but it's so much healthier and so delicious...so who cares about stabilizer-filler-induced consistency?  If you can't afford a commercial compression machine, this isn't a bad alternative.  Caveat number two:  If you purchase through product links here, I can earn a small commission.  And I thank you, because that would be a great help to me.]

Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream

In a medium-sized saucepan, gently heat (just under a simmer) until well mixed and slightly thickened:

• 3 cups raw goat milk
• 1 cup raw cacao powder
• 1 1/2 Tb. cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla bean powder
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 1/3 cup coconut sugar
• 2 eggs (lightly whipped with fork before adding)
• dash salt

In a separate bowl, whisk together:

• 2 1/2 cups raw cream
• 4 pastured egg yolks

Pour cacao custard mixture into cream/yolk mixture, whisk well to combine.  Your custard will be liquid-y, but thicker than milk consistency.  Place custard into refrigerator for a few hours to chill, or place in freezer for a shorter period of time...check to make sure it is chilled quite cold before you make the ice cream.

To make the ice cream, follow your machine's instructions, pouring the appropriate amount of custard into your machine (mine is 6 cups) and running it for the requisite time (about 25 minutes).  You'll need to understand how your machine works to decide when your ice cream is finished, but the consistency will likely be soft like frozen yogurt, or like a really thick milk shake.  When the process is complete, remove the ice cream from the bowl into another container and place in freezer for a little while to firm it up before serving.  If you freeze the ice cream completely, it will become much harder.

Play with the ratios and flavors and Enjoy!