You know what’s really hard to take pictures of, you guys? ICE CREAM.
I’ve made ice cream before for the blog, and I think I managed to pull off some pretty good photos. This time, however, I got cocky, and I tried to do my Mint Chocolate Chip Hot Fudge Sundaes photo shoot after I got home from work. Since I’m basically awake around 4:30am each day, doing anything after work that involves patience and a modicum of creativity is not the best idea.
I stalked other bloggers before and after my own shoot to see how they portrayed ice cream on their sites. Bewilderingly – and, now, unsurprisingly – most of the posts contain photos of the ice cream as its being made, or sitting nice and neatly in its little freezer container. There aren’t many photos of scooped ice cream on the blogs. Now, I get why. You basically have, like, one chance to get your perfectly scooped money shot, and then BOOM. Melt City.
So, Tartlets, please forgive me for these less than stellar photos, and please, please, PLEASE believe me when I tell you that these Mint Chocolate Chip Hot Fudge Sundaes are…
FREAKING. AWESOME.
I knew my book-inspired recipe for The Kiss Quotient would have to be – have to be – mint chocolate chip ice cream. Read the book, and you’ll know why. You’ll also never look at mint chocolate chip ice cream again without getting a luscious little shiver down your spine that has nothing to do with the frosty dessert. *wink wink, nudge nudge* We’re going to keep this post a little more G-rated than Helen Hoang kept Stella and Michael’s ice cream interlude, but be advised that how you choose to eat these sundaes once you make them is up to you.
*waggles eyebrows suggestively*
I’m historically not a huge mint fan; it took me years to get into anything peppermint or spearmint flavored. I find that most mint is too abrasive for me, but after much trial and error with the flavor, I discovered that I like my mint tempered with a bit of vanilla. And, that it’s always better mixed with chocolate. To this day, my favorite mint treats are really only Thin Mints, and a very select few varities of chocolate chip mint ice cream. I’m still very picky about my mint.
Which is why it was a great idea to make my own mint chocolate chip ice cream! This version uses peppermint extract for that fresh, signature taste, but it also blends in a healthy dose of vanilla extract to balance the sharpness of the mint. The end result is an ice cream with a subtle yet layered minty flavor. A generous sprinkling of semi-sweet mini chocolate chips keeps the ice cream from being overly sweet, as well as adds texture and crunch to each creamy bite.
To me, this recipe makes the PERFECT mint chocolate chip ice cream. I could eat bowlful after bowlful of this stuff, particularly when it’s drenched in decadently rich hot fudge sauce.
I know I could have just made the ice cream and stopped there, but I happen to love hot fudge. I know, for someone who doesn’t love chocolate, it seems weird. But, a bowl of ice cream smothered in thick, dark, melty hot fudge will make me just as weak in the knees as any, ahem, amorous encounter.
Rather than re-invent the wheel, I used Ree Drummond’s recipe for Hot Fudge Sauce from her Pioneer Woman blog.
(Hi, Ree! You’re one of my favorite bloggers and Food Network stars!! *waves like a crazed fan while desperately hoping that one day Ree will read her blog*).
And, that was absolutely the right decision to make. Her Hot Fudge Sauce is AMAZING. Sure, you should pour it over the mint chocolate chip ice cream, but, really, I think you should eat a spoonful a day just on its own to ward off – well, clearly not diabetes, but something.
The hot fudge is glossy and rich, and I love how it pours like chocolatey lava around the pale green ice cream. It’s also stupid-easy to make (yayyyy!) and tastes just as good as something you would get from a fancy ice cream shoppe – yes, the kind with two “p’s”.
Or, from Friendly’s. Don’t go knockin’ Friendly’s.
So, there you have it, folks: Mint Chocolate Chip Hot Fudge Sundaes. Get ’em while they’re hot. And cold.
What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream to make into a fudge sundae?
Mint Chocolate Chip Hot Fudge Sundaes
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS FOR DAY 1 (MAKING THE BASE)
- 5 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar, DIVIDED
- 1 cup 2% or whole milk
- 1 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
INGREDIENTS FOR DAY 2 (CHURNING THE ICE CREAM)
- 1 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 drops green food coloring
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, divided
UTENSILS YOU’LL NEED – DAY 1 (MAKING THE BASE)
- one fine mesh strainer
- one large heatproof bowl with a pouring spout (Batter Bowl #1)
- one medium heatproof bowl with a pouring spout (Batter Bowl #2)
- 2 large whisks
- one soup ladle
- one medium saucepan with handle
- one large bowl to fill with ice and water; Batter Bowl #2 should be able to rest inside this bowl without being full immersed in the water
- one rubber spatula
- 12 ice cubes
- 3 potholders or trivets (Potholders #1, #2, and #3)
- ice cream freezer bowl
UTENSILS YOU’LL NEED – DAY 2 (CHURNING THE ICE CREAM)
- Ice Cream Maker
- one freezer-safe container that can hold 1 quart of ice cream
- Aluminum foil
- one large hard spatula for scraping down the ice cream from the freezer bowl
- one whisk
Instructions
PREP INSTRUCTIONS – DAY 1 (MAKING THE BASE)
- Put Potholder #1 on the countertop. Place Batter Bowl #1 on top of Potholder #1.
- Put Potholder #2 on the countertop immediately next to Potholder #1.
- Place the fine mesh strainer on top of Batter Bowl #2. Place this combo on Placeholder #3 a little further away from Potholder #1 and #2.
- Place your cube cubes into the Ice Water Bowl and fill halfway with very cold water. Set aside in a cool place.
- Place your ice cream freezer bowl into the freezer for tomorrow.
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS – DAY 1 (MAKING THE BASE)
- In Batter Bowl #1, whisk together the eggs yolks and 6 tbsp of the granulated sugar until thick and slightly foamy, about 30 seconds. Set aside.
- In the saucepan, whisk together the remaining 6 tbsp sugar, milk, cream, and salt. The mixture will be slightly thick from the cream.
- Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and warm the mixture up until it’s just starting to simmer; this means tiny bubbles should just start appearing around the edges of the saucepan. The mixture will de-thicken right before it begins to simmer. This will take about 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and remove the saucepan from stove to Potholder #2, next to Batter Bowl #1 containing the egg yolks.
- Use the soup ladle to carefully scoop out some hot liquid from the saucepan. Whisk the egg yolks to break them up a bit, then slowly stream the hot liquid into the egg yolks, whisking briskly the entire time to prevent the egg yolks from curdling. Once the first scoop is thoroughly whisked in, repeat process two more times, whisking the entire time to prevent the egg yolks from curdling.
- Pour the egg yolk mixture from Batter Bowl #1 into the saucepan, once again whisking the entire time. All ingredients should now be in the saucepan.
- Return the saucepan to the stove on medium heat. While continuously stirring with a rubber spatula, heat the mixture until it thickens and thickly coats the back of the spatula, about 5 minutes. When it’s ready, you should be able to create a clear trail when you run your finger on the back of the spatula.
- Carefully pour the hot liquid into the fine mesh strainer placed over Batter Bowl #2, which is placed on Potholder #3. Push liquid around with the spatula to make sure it all strains into Batter Bowl #2.
- Place Batter Bowl #2 gently into Ice Water Bowl, making sure that the bottom of Batter Bowl #2 touches the ice water but does not allow any ice water to get into the Batter Bowl.
- Stir ice cream base in Batter Bowl #2 occasionally until the base has cooled, about 40 minutes.
- Once ice cream base is cooled, cover Batter Bowl #2 with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.
PREP INSTRUCTIONS – Day 2 (CHURNING THE ICE CREAM)
- Spread aluminum foil down on your countertop– this makes clean up a lot easier later on!
- Place ice cream maker and hard spatula on countertop
- Pop your freezer-safe ice cream container into the freezer to chill.
CHURNING INSTRUCTIONS – DAY 2 (CHURNING THE ICE CREAM)
- Remove Batter Bowl #2 containing ice cream base from refrigerator. Uncover and whisk in the peppermint extract and vanilla extract, then whisk in the green food coloring until ice cream base is completely green.
- Remove freezer bowl from freezer and fit into the base of your ice cream maker.
- Pour the base into the freezer bowl of your ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions.
- Meanwhile, measure out ½ cup mini chocolate chips and set aside.
- When ice cream is almost finished churning, gradually add ALMOST all the chocolate chips to the ice cream base while the ice cream maker is still going (reserve a handful of chips for later). Be sure to pause at regular intervals to make sure the chips are interspersed evenly throughout the ice cream.
- Once ice cream is done churning, use a spatula to guide ice cream into the quart container. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top of the ice cream, then freeze until solid, at least 4 hours.
YUM. I think your photos are great! Need to read this one….I have been eating a lot of gelato and sherbet lately and I lurve coffee-flavored gelato w/ chocolate sauce. My mom and I used to make these as a comfort food when I was a kid so def tastes like my childhood.
Thanks for the reassurance about my photos, Claire! 😊 I love coffee ice cream, but it does not love me, haha. Every now and then, tho, I throw caution to the wind and get Coffee Oreo ice cream from this amazing place that is dangerously near my house, haha. It’s always SO good!!
Wow, I didn’t know the Kiss Quotient was that steamy! Definitely one to read sooner rather than later 😂 Incidentally, I had a mint choc chip ice cream today, by the seaside, and it was delicious, rather like your photos!
Oh, yes! Kiss Quotient is VERY steamy…which is why it’s so fun. 😉 Glad you got to indulge in a little mint chocolate chip action of your own! Eating ice cream by the ocean is one of my fave summer activities.