So, here’s the story on this ice cream. It was delicious, it has the subtle but unmistakable tangy taste of rhubarb, with chunks of dark chocolate to keep it from being too retiring. But my fresh rhubarb was on the pale side, and so the color didn’t come through in the finished ice cream as vibrantly as I’d hoped. It’s actually a little pinker
than it shows up in the photos, but without the visual cue you probably
can’t imagine the flavor. So from a blogging/photographic standpoint this was a failure, but otherwise, it was fun to make, and tasted really good. If you can find yourself some bright red rhubarb this spring, I recommend giving it a try.
The dark chocolate chunks were a last minute whim. I was watching the pale cameo pink ice cream churn around in the machine and my chocoholic side got the better of me. I grabbed a couple of dark chocolate bars, chopped them up and threw them in.
I broke out my new ice cream maker for this recipe. It’s the same one I used to have but got rid of in a fit of ‘lightening our load’ when we moved a couple of years ago. It’s so quick and easy and I love that you can watch the whole process through the open top. I dipped my spoon in a couple of times while it was churning.
Roasting the rhubarb brings out and intensifies the flavor. It only takes a few minutes in a hot oven. The puree is added to sugar, heavy cream and milk and then into the machine. If you don’t have an ice cream maker you can make this with a food processor or good blender. Check out my Blackberry Ice Cream post for details. Basically you freeze the mixture in a large zip lock baggie and then break it up into your processor and process till smooth and creamy. It works!
Roasted Rhubarb and Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream
oven to 400F
1 lb fresh rhubarb, washed, trimmed, and cut in 2 inch chunks.
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped, pod reserved
1 cup sugar
juice of half a lemon
10 oz dark chocolate, chopped
- Put the rhubarb on a silpat lined baking sheet and roast for about 15 minutes, just until it softens and starts to release its juice.
- Puree the hot rhubarb in a blender or food processor. Process until very smooth. Add the lemon juice and set aside.
- Heat the cream, milk, vanilla seeds, and pod to a simmer. Take off the heat and let steep until cool.
- Strain the cream mixture to remove the vanilla pods, and whisk it with the rhubarb puree. Chill in the refrigerator until very cold.
- At this point taste the mixture. Add a little more lemon juice if needed. Pour into the bowl of your ice cream maker and process according to your machine’s directions. When it is almost finished, add in the chocolate chunks.
I know most people would have started off with plain vanilla or chocolate for their first try. But I couldn’t resist jumping right in and experimenting. If you’re going to make flavors that you can easily find in every grocery store, what’s the point of having an ice cream maker?