Chocolate Ginger Ice Cream

Rich and smooth custard based ice cream. Use the best chocolate you can. The ginger offers a lovely tang with the rich chocolate.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Yields: 4 Cups

Ingredients

• 1⁄4 cup  dry crystallized ginger
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 2  cups milk
• 2  cups  whipping cream
• 4  egg yolks
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 3  tablespoons  orange liqueur
• 6  ounces chocolate (bittersweet or semisweet)

Directions

1. Process ginger with sugar in work bowl of food processor until it is very fine.
2. Place milk, cream and ginger sugar in heavy saucepan and bring to a boil.
3. Remove from heat an steep for 5 minutes.
4. Beat egg yolks with a wire whisk in a bowl and slowly stir in the ginger milk mixture.
5. Return to saucepan and cook gently, stiring constantly, until it thickens slightly. Do not boil or overheat.
6. Add vanilla and liqueur.
7. Cut chocolate into chunks and add to work bowl of food processor. Pulse 15-20 times or until finely chopped.
8. Add about half of the hot custard and process until the chocolate is completely melted.
9. Stir chocolate mixture back into remaining custard and blend well with a whisk.
10. Cool mix in fridge for several hours or overnight.
11. Transfer to ice cream freezer and after a little time, voila! YUM is ready.
12. If you have no ice cream freezer, place in flat metal dish or cake pan and freeze for about 2 hours.
13. Puree in 2 or 3 batches until smooth to prevent large ice crystals from forming. If you freezer is not very cold or is very full, this may take longer.
14. Freeze again fofr about 1 hour.
15. Time does not include freezing time as you don't have to stand there and watch it.