Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream

Today I was assured, "It's soooo good." This is possibly one of the most unhealthy desserts I've made in a while, but who am I kidding - all dessert should be unhealthy! I'm referring to the most decadent chocolate ice cream with brownie chunks. Mmmm. My mouth is watering just thinking about it... silky chocolate ice cream with loads of pecan-studded, fudgey brownies. I had to keep myself from eating some every night this week. I left most of the ice cream for Michael and my father in law (visiting SF for a nerd conference as he likes to say) but I did cut myself a rather large slice of brownie one of those nights. Shhh, don't tell.

I've told you before how I adore David Lebovits. He's witty and silly and an incredible writer. This time, I made his basic chocolate ice cream recipe and added some brownies (another recipe of his). If you have an ice cream machine, I highly recommend his book, The Perfect Scoop. It has so many different recipes I can read for hours without making a decision. A while back I posted a Pumpkin Ice Cream and a Mint Ice Cream, both originating from his cookbook - both delicious.


The Chocolate Ice Cream is no where near low-fat and it contains both cocoa powder and dark chocolate. I changed it to dark chocolate instead of bittersweet/semisweet which by definition is hard to decipher. Dark chocolate may have less sugar and more chocolate"liquor" than bittersweet which is somewhere near this definition but probably contains more milk or sugar. Some brands may try and trick you, but a true dark chocolate should be at least 60% and my personal preference is 72%. Anything less and your ice cream will be very sweet. I used dark chocolate for the brownies too, making this a sophisticated ice cream I suppose. The brownies stayed deliciously chewy after freezing and alone are one of the best brownies I've had in a while.

Chocolate Ice Cream
Adapted (very slightly) from The Perfect Scoop, David Lebovitz

3 T cocoa powder

2 C heavy cream divided

3/4 C sugar

pinch of kosher salt or sea salt

5 oz dark chocolate chopped

5 egg yolks

1 C whole milk

1 tsp vanilla

Warm one cup of cream and cocoa powder in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, pour over the chocolate pieces and stir with a spatula until melted. Set a strainer over the top of this bowl and set aside. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks and prepare a bowl for an ice bath. 

Rinse the saucepan and add the remaining 1 C cream, and sugar over medium heat. Once warm, pour into the egg yolks in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly to temper the yolks. Return the pan the burner with the eggy mix and cook over medium heat (stir constantly with a heatproof spatule) until the mixture coats the back of the spoon. To test, run your finger along the spoon vertically. If the custard runs back over your swipe, keep cooking. If not, it's ready. Pour through the strainer into the chocolate mix. Stir over an ice bath until cooled. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours until the mix is very cold. If you let it go overnight your ice cream will have a pudding consistency and be quick to churn. DL says to whisk it until you can pour it into the machine but I did not and the ice cream was still tasty. Whisking just lends itself to a more airy ice cream, mine was a little more dense. 

Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's recommendation. 

Chocolate Pecan Brownies

Adapted (very slightly) from The Perfect Scoop, David Lebovitz

1/2 C butter

4oz dark chocolate chopped

1 scant C sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 C flour

pinch of kosher salt

1 C chopped, toasted pecans

Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line an 8 inch square pan with foil. Spray the foil and set aside. 

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Turn off the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until melted. Add the sugar and then the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and stir, then the flour. Stir until the flour is just incorporated and add the salt and nuts. 

To toast the nuts, sprinkle them into a dry pan and cook on medium heat until they become fragrant or taste like you want them to (my preferred method for checking doneness). 

Spread the batter into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. Mine came out at 27 and I could have taken them out just a bit earlier. Cool in the pan. Remove the foil with the brownies and set on a cutting board. Chop the brownies into little pieces and refrigerate until your ice cream has churned. You'll want about 2 cups roughly chopped for the ice cream and the rest is up to you.