Backyard Mint Ice Cream

When I got engaged, I set up a registry - as you do - and put things like plates, bowls and pitchers on there, almost completely ignoring any fancy kitchen gadgetry. At my shower, my cousin Barbara got me something special and unexpected: an ice cream maker! I didn't even think to add something like this to the registry, and at first I wasn't sure how much use I'd get out of it. Now I can say with confidence that it is one of the best gifts I have ever received. I have used it to make all kinds of ice creams, frozen yogurts and sorbets. It really is an amazing tool. I have only made two ice creams so far this summer (roasted strawberry and dark chocolate) so I made a vow to increase that number before the summer is over :) I almost exclusively use recipes from Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream book.

Since my garden is overflowing with herbs, I decided to make use of the mint for Backyard Mint Ice Cream.

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1½ ounces (3 tablespoons) cream cheese, softened
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1¼ cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
A large handful of fresh mint, leaves roughly torn into small pieces
1/2 cup chocolate chips, melted

Directions

Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

COOK

Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, 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, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

CHILL

Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Add the mint. Pour the mixture into a bowl and set into the larger bowl (filled with ice and water). Let stand until cold, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate to steep for 4-12 hours (mine steeped for about 4 for this recipe, resulting in a pleasant and not overly strong mint flavor)

FREEZE

Strain out the mint. Pour ice cream base into the frozen canister of your ice cream maker and spin until thick and creamy. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips - you can use a double boiler or the microwave. When the chocolate is liquid but slightly cooled, pour into the canister as it is churning.

Pack the ice cream into a storage container,  and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

Again, no picture :( But this ice cream is a hit on a hot night!