Recipe: homemade super dark chocolate frozen custard with pomegranate syrup

Ingredients

For the Super Dark Chocolate Frozen Custard:

• 5 egg yolks (save the whites for an omelette or something)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch processed for a super smooth custard)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (vanilla sugar if you have it)
• 1 1/4 cup whole or 2% milk
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Pomegranate Reduction :

• 1 fresh pomegranate, sliced and seeded (save the seeds, pitch everything else)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons agave syrup

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Preparation

• For the Super Dark Chocolate Frozen Custard:
  Sift the cocoa powder and break up any lumps. When the milk is hot, pour about 1/4 cup into the chocolate mixture at a time- whisking to incorporate. Do not pour all the milk in at once- this will cook your eggs. Once they are combined, return the mixture to the sauce pan and put over low heat. You’re going to want to stir this sauce constantly to prevent burning and cook it over low heat to prevent your eggs from cooking too much. If the mixture comes to a boil, remove from the heat immediately and continue to stir. Remember that we can sieve the cooked egg out prior to the custard setting. Cook the mixture for 5-6 minutes or until nappante (it thickly coats the back of a metal spoon).
• This custard thickly coats the back of a spoon (nappante). Take it off the heat and pass through a fine mesh sieve. Now, take the custard and pour through a fine mesh sieve (even if you don’t think you cooked any eggs- it is precautionary) into a bowl that will be covered with cellophane and leave in the refrigerator for the next six to eight hours (this is the resting period). You have just made a delightful and chocolaty custard base. If you wanted, you could have poured this mixture into some mini martini glasses for a fun dessert idea. Use a silicone spatula and lightly run it over the sieve to allow the custard to pass through easily. After the custard has set, remove from the fridge and take off the plastic wrap. Pour in the cream and vanilla. Mix gently. Pour the mixture into the ice cream carafe- make sure that you don’t go much above the halfway point! Remember that the ice cream will expand as the molecules freeze- just about doubling in size. Start the ice cream maker.
• Lightly whisk in the cream and vanilla, then pour into the ice cream carafe. This is what it should look like right after it is poured into the ice cream machine. This is what your frozen custard should look like after about 15 minutes in the machine. This is just about ready to come out of the machine. Thirty minutes flies by and it is time to put the custard into a bowl that will go back in the freezer. Although you have some soft-serve directly from the ice cream maker, it will melt quickly. If you need it more quickly than this, make sure that your bowls and utensils are chilled to slow down the melting process. Toss it in to a bowl and into the freezer to firm up.
• Pomegranate Reduction :
  Add the sugar and water together in a small sauce pan. Turn on medium heat and bring to a simmer. Add the agave and 1/2 the pomegranate seeds. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Strain out the pomegranate seeds (these are now candied, but the seeds themselves are bummers in the teeth) and cool the syrup in the fridge or freezer. Pour over the Super Dark Chocolate Frozen Custard and smile, cause it’s just that good.