Week 12 - Ice Cream and Dessert Book - Ben and Jerry

When I was growing up, a friend and I found a pint of Ben and Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk in his parent's freezer. I don't think I had ever tasted anything so wonderful. Less wonderful was getting caught after we tried to shift the blame onto the (very elderly) babysitter. Sorry Margaret.

You can no longer buy NYSFC in the UK, but, thanks to their Ice Cream and Dessert Book, you can make your own version at home. In fact, theirs was the first ice cream book I ever bought after getting an ice cream machine and, despite buying several more since then, it's pretty much the only one I have used since. Their Peppermint Oreo ice cream has the honour of being one of the first recipes I blogged about, over nine years ago.

According to their website in 1985, a food pundit for New York Magazine named Gael Greene wrote a review of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, stating: “The ice cream is pleasant enough, but not thrilling, and the chips and bits seem rather sparse.” So they decided to make a ice cream choc-full of add ins; 'a flavor tailor-made for the New York state of mind'.

Weirdly, while the description on the side of the carton says 'Chocolate Ice Cream with White & Dark Fudge Chunks, Pecans, Walnuts & Fudge-Covered Almonds' the recipe in the book doesn't include any fudge, subbing in chocolate-covered almonds instead. I used a mixture of the milk chocolate and au naturel almonds I had in the cupboard, plus pecans, walnuts, cheap white chocolate and some chopped up chunks of fudge.

High Wycombe Super Fudge Chunk 

Based on Ben and Jerry's New York version

1 cup milk

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup double cream

100g dark chocolate

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 pinch salt

50g chopped white chocolate

50g chopped milk chocolate

50g chopped pecan halves

50g chopped walnuts

50g chopped almonds

50g chopped fudge

Combine the coarsely chopped chocolates, pecans, walnuts, almonds and fudge in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate.

Melt the plain chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot, but not boiling, water.

Whisk in the milk, a little at a time, and heat, stirring constantly, until smooth; remove from the heat and let cool.

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.

Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more.

Add the cream, vanilla, and salt and whisk to blend.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the cream mixture and blend.

Cover and refrigerate until cold, I usually leave overnight.

Transfer the cream mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions.

Just before the ice cream is ready stir in the chocolate and nuts.

Place in a container and freeze until ready to serve.