Ice cream is my favorite dessert and I just got an ice cream maker so things are looking up. This is mint chocolate chip ice cream, but with fresh mint and dark chocolate chunks. It’s taste is earthy and floral, and the mint naturally turns the ice cream a light green. I also use less sugar than most recipes so the mint can really stand out. Make this now and the ice cream won’t last more than a week.

 I used two types of mint here–one from my herb garden and one from the farmer’s market. If you can get different types of mint do so because they will bring different things to the table.Keep the chocolate chunks on the larger side for maximum effect.Garnish with fresh mint. Most importantly use good chocolate, it makes the dish.

INGREDIENTS
– 2 Cups Whole Milk
– 1 Cup Cream
– 1/2 Cup Cane Sugar
– 2 Large Bunches of Mint
– 5 oz. Dark Chocolate (About 1 1/2 chocolate bars)

DIRECTIONS

1) Place milk, cream, and sugar in a medium pan. Turn heat to medium and cook, stirring often. Cook until the sugar is completely dissolved but do not let the milk boil. Turn heat to low once sugar is dissolved.

2) Wash mint and remove leaves from stems. Dry leaves, then place them in the pan on top of the milk. Gently stir until all mint has been covered by the milk. Turn heat to medium-low. Don’t worry if your mixture seems mint heavy, it will cook down and the mint will be strained out eventually.

3) Let milk and mint leaves simmer for 30 minutes stirring every 5 minutes. Do not let the mixture boil, just let it simmer. After 30 minutes, the mint leaves should be very wilted and have released some of their color into the milk.

4) Pour mint and milk mixture into a large glass container or mixing bowl. Cover and place in the fridge for up to 24 hours. I recommend letting the milk and mint rest for at least four hours to release all the flavor.

5) Remove mint and milk mixture from the fridge after properly resting and pour it through a strainer into a mixing bowl or large measuring cup.

6) Pour milk into your ice cream maker and set timer and begin the cooling cycle.

7) While the ice cream is churning, break the dark chocolate into small pieces with your hands or a mallet. You want to have small bite pieces. Once the ice cream begins to thicken, slowly pour the dark chocolate into the ice cream. Serve and garnish with fresh mint.