White Chocolate Ice Cream

I was on the hunt for a new ice cream flavor and when I get in the mood to make ice cream my first stop is always to David Lebovitz's book The Perfect Scoop. I was flipping the pages of the book and came across a recipe for white chocolate ice cream. It was a French style ice cream (includes egg yolks) which I tend to like better than American which doesn't include eggs. The French style definitely produces a smoother finished product. The American styles that I have tried seem to get a little too icy for my taste after being frozen for a couple of days. I like white chocolate so I decided to give it a try. I had some Godiva chocolate liqueur at home so I decided to throw a little of that in to enhance both the flavor and the texture.

Ever since I created my Bailey's ice cream awhile back I am a big proponent of adding at least a little bit of alcohol to all of my ice creams. Since alcohol doesn't ever completely freeze, it helps the keep the ice cream silky and smooth even after it has been in the freezer for awhile.

This ice cream was fabulous. Perhaps the best batch of ice cream I have ever made. The flavor is wonderful and not too overpowering and the texture is by far the best that has ever come out of my ice cream maker. I love white chocolate and raspberries together so I am already trying to figure out a way to add raspberries to this recipe. I will keep you updated on my progress. In the meantime, make this ice cream!

White Chocolate Ice Cream
Very slightly adapted from The Perfect Scoop

Ingredients:
8 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 tbsp chocolate liqueur

Directions:
Put the chocolate pieces in a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top. Warm the milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan. Stir mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.  Pour the custard through the strainer over the white chocolate. Stir until the white chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth, then stir in the cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.  Just before adding the mixture to the ice cream maker, stir in the chocolate liqueur.  Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.