This is not the chocolate ice cream you used to eat as a kid, though no kid would say no to a big, fat dish of it. This has more depth thanks to brown sugar, and the tang of crème fraîche takes the edge off the sweetness. For an elegant richness, use the very best semisweet chocolate you can find. Please, no chocolate chips. Not only would the flavor suffer, but the emulsifiers added to chocolate chips would ruin the texture of the dessert.

　　

Ingredients

makes 1 1/2 quarts

　　2 cups heavy cream

　　2 cups milk

　　1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar

　　1 teaspoon Kosher salt

　　1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

　　8 large fresh egg yolks, at room temperature

　　1/3 cup cocoa powder (not Dutch process)

　　8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

　　1/2 cup crème fraîche or sour cream

　　1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

　　

Step 1

Combine the cream, milk, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Place the egg yolks in a large heatproof bowl. Add about 1/2 cup of the boiling mixture to the egg yolks and whisk furiously. Add another 1/2 cup, whisk, then add all of the cream mixture to the yolks and whisk until completely combined and smooth.

　　

Step 2

Place the cocoa powder and chocolate pieces in another large bowl, then add the cream mixture in three batches, whisking until smooth after each addition. Once the chocolate is completely incorporated, whisk in the crème fraîche and vanilla.

　　

Step 3

Cool the mixture in an ice-water bath, then pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions.

　　Ethan Stowell's New Italian Kitchen