Dark Chocolate Ice Cream with Candied Ginger

So, I've been on an ice cream making kick, so here's another one.

This ice cream is a wonderful rich dark chocolate ice cream with chunks of ginger throughout. As usual I used Green & Black's Organic Chocolate and used Woodstock Organic Ginger Chunks with Raw Sugar to stir into the finished ice cream.

Oh, make sure your ice cream maker’s freezer bowl has been in your freezer for at least 24 hours (or whatever the instructions advise for your ice cream maker) in advance or your ice cream base will not freeze properly.

Dark Chocolate and Candied Ginger Ice Cream & Juniper Botanical Ice Cream

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Chocolate paste blended with the cream cheese and salt.

Bubbling base.

Chocolate Paste

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

1 1/2 ounces ginger chocolate 65%, finely chopped

1 ounce dark chocolate 85%, finely chopped

Ice Cream Base

2 cups whole milk

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) cream cheese, softened

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

75g Candied ginger chopped into small even pieces (I used Woodstock Organic Ginger Chunks with Raw Sugar)

For the chocolate paste:

Combine the cocoa, sugar, and water in a small saucepan, bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and boil for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate, and stir until smooth. Set aside.

For the Ice Cream Base:

1. Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.

2. Whisk the cream cheese, warm chocolate paste, and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.

3. Fill a large bowl with ice and cold water.

4. Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, slowly bring up to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, stir to help dissolve sugar and corn syrup and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, while stirring, until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

5. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the chocolate and cream cheese mixture until smooth. Add the ground ginger and stir well.

6. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.

7. Chop the candied ginger into small even pieces and set aside.

8. Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy. Or just follow the instructions from your ice cream maker. I use the ice cream the 2 Quart Ice Cream Maker Stand Mixer Attachment for my kitchenaid.

9. Fold in the chopped pieces of candied ginger to combine.

10. Pack the ice cream into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment paper directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.