White chocolate isn’t correctly named. It is actually cocoa butter, milk, sugar, and an emulsifier. Missing the beautiful cocoa powder, I felt that white chocolate was both unnecessary and unwanted.
I was wrong. So wrong. Yes, eating it alone is gross and boring, but pairing a white chocolate block with the right ingredient turns a Taylor Swift into a Janet Jackson–multi-faceted, one of a kind, and amazing.
I think We Can All Agree White Chocolate Isn’t Chocolate
Personally making ice cream isn’t my favorite dessert to make, but after my long hiatus from selling I was itching to get back to the kitchen – even if it’s my personal kitchen. Since it’s summer and ice cream is a great way to keep my cool and my pastry skills sharp, I put my ice cream machine canister in the freezer and planned to make some frozen confections.
Bo Friberg was my first assigned cookbook in culinary school. Not shy of fat or sweetness, Chef Friberg’s “Cocoa Nib-White Chocolate Ice Cream” takes the bland white chocolate and bitter cocoa nibs and makes it one of my fondest desserts experiences.
I made some adaptions and halved the recipe. The original recipe made 9 cups of ice cream. That’s just too much of a good thing.
White Chocolate Ice Cream with Cocoa Nibs
Adapted from The Professional Pastry Chef: Fundamentals 4th Edition (Bo Friberg)
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups half-and-half
- 1/2 heavy cream
- 6 egg yolks
- 2 ounces granulated sugar
- 6 ounces white chocolate cut into small chunks
- 2 ounces cocoa nibs
- 2 teaspoons of Bicerin White Chocolate Liqueur
- a pot of simmering water
Instructions
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Combine the half-and-half and cream and heat until barely simmering (do not boil).
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Whisk yolks and sugar until fluffy and light. Slowly whisk the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture. Do it in four stages or you will scramble the eggs. You don’t want sweet scrambled eggs. If you manage to get lumps, simply strain the mixture.
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Place over the simmering water and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the ice cream base is thick enough to coat the spoon.
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Add the white chocolate and continue to stir until all the chocolate melts. Let cool to room temperate and refrigerate until it is completely cold. Do not rush this.
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Process the ice cream according to your manufacturer’s instruction. Remove the ice cream freezer just before it’s fully churned and thickened. Fold in Bicerin White Chocolate Liqueur and nibs, cover, and place in the freezer.
Buzzed White Chocolate Milk Shake
While churning the white chocolate ice cream base, I added three teaspoons of Bicern White Chocolate Liqueur. It did not make the finished ice cream softer which usually happens if you add alcohol.
French Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich
White chocolate with chocolate nibs between two French macarons. Extra nibs sprinkled on top.
When you are feeling extra (as the kids like to say) take 2 French macarons and sprinkle with cocoa nibs before baking. Pair it with a generous scoop of Buzzed White Chocolate Cocoa Nib Ice Cream.
Now with all my free time, I can focus on recreating many favorite recipes to accompany white chocolate. Food doesn’t have to be dull.
Story and photos by The Pastry Prophet
4 Comments
Thanks for making me drool all over my desk this morning. LOL
It looks delicious and I think I’m going to find a place near you so I can pop over for fantastic desserts.
You better!
PYT (now closed. They had the WORST service) had “adult” milkshakes (re: they had a shot or two of booze int hem). They were $10.00 each and weren’t half as imaginative as this. Now then, I need a moment alone with this.
The chef who designed the initial menu was once my chef at another restaurant. He was (and I’m sure still is) a major douche.