Chocolate Goat’s Milk Ice Cream

Last year I was fortunate enough to be sent some incredible chocolate by the Askinosie chocolate company (you can read about them on my post here). Of all the chocolates, my favorite one was their “Dark Milk” chocolate made with Goat’s Milk. I’d never had anything called “dark” milk chocolate nor had I ever had a chocolate bar made with goat’s milk. I was instantly smitten.

I love goat’s milk cheese, but my previous tasting of ice cream made with goat’s milk left me less than impressed. It was a vanilla flavor and honestly, was too “goaty” (is that even a real word?) for my taste. But as soon as I had the chocolate made with goat’s milk and knew I wanted to make something with that flavor profile in a dessert and decided to work with ice cream first.

When I looked online, I was surprised there weren’t that many recipes out there for ice cream made with goat’s milk so I figured I would just alter my tried and true standard ice cream recipe. This recipe is an egg based custard and usually has cream and whole milk. I didn’t want to use 100% goat’s milk however, because I was concerned about the texture coming out too hard or icy once frozen (who remembers “ice milk” from their childhood?). I settled on a ratio of 3:1 for goat’s milk to cream and the texture was soft enough to scoop once frozen.
I’m very happy with the way it came out. The chocolate is perfect and the goat milk flavor, while there, is not overpowering. I didn’t add any, but I think this ice cream would be great with chocolate chunks incorporated at the end or perhaps toasted hazelnuts.

Recipe: Chocolate Goat’s Milk Ice Cream

3 cups goat’s milk*
1 cup heavy cream
3.5 oz good quality dark chocolate, chopped
5 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar (split, 1/4 c. and 1/2 c.)
1 tsp. vanilla

*I used pasteurized goat’s milk which is why I think the flavor was so mild.

Put the goat’s milk, heavy cream, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and the chopped chocolate into a heavy bottomed pot. Bring to a simmer, whisking the chocolate so that it melts and incorporates into the milk. Turn off the heat.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and 1/2 cup of sugar. Whisk a cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks and sugar. This will temper the eggs and help prevent them from curdling (turning into scrambled eggs) in the hot milk. Whisk in another cup and then pour that mixture back into the pot with the remainder of the milk mixture.

Turn the heat back on medium-low and cook, stirring, until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat and strain though a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Whisk in the vanilla.

Cool thoroughly in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally until cold. This can be done the day before you want to make ice cream to ensure the mixture is ice cold before going into the ice cream machine.

Freeze according to your ice cream machine’s directions. I use a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker which has a freezer bowl.