The challenge of making a rich ice cream with all goat milk and no cow milk products, is that goat cream is hard to come by. You need either a cream separator or a lot of patience, because goat milk is naturally homogenized. For this recipe, I use only whole goat milk, so I found other ways to enrich the ice cream:

• I made a custard with a lot of egg yolks.
• I used melted chocolate instead of cocoa powder. Chocolate contains cocoa butter, which adds some fat to the ice cream.

The result is creamy and delicious, but admittedly not quite as rich as my chocolate ice cream made with cow milk and heavy cream. It’s also not quite as rich as my goat milk ice cream made with goat cheese, but the flavor is much milder without the cheese and powdered goat milk.

What to do with the left over egg whites? Use them for the yummy oatmeal cookie recipe below, and use the cookies to make ice cream sandwiches! That way there’s no wasting of egg whites.

About the ingredients for the ice cream

Goat milk

I’ve been trying goat milk from different sources, and I can say without a doubt that the flavor varies tremendously from source to source. Sometimes it has a strong, characteristically goaty flavor, and other times it’s hard to distinguish from cow milk. According to this site, the flavor of goat milk depends on the way it’s processed, as well as the diet of the goats. If you prefer mild goat milk, and you live here in Massachusetts, I suggest you try milk from Bedford Blueberry and Goat Farm. It’s very, very mild, and it’s what I used to develop this recipe.

Tapioca syrup and liqueurs

Both of these make the ice cream a little smoother and keep it a little softer in the freezer, but they are not necessary. I usually use one or the other, for almost all my ice cream recipes, because I’m fanatic about texture. But you can skip them both if you prefer.

Chocolate

I recommend using chocolate that is either Fair Trade or Rain Forest Alliance Certified. These are shade grown in a polyculture type system, rather than in a monoculture. Polyculture systems support greater biodiversity and require less pesticide use. Endangered Species chocolate and Green and Black chocolate are two examples. I use them both.

Chocolate goat milk ice cream

Makes about 1 quart of ice cream

• 7 ounces 70-75% dark chocolate
• 5 – 8 yolks of large eggs (I like to use just 5 yolks, because the cookies need only 5 whites. Use more yolks if you like; the ice cream will be richer.)
• 3 cups whole goat milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• optional: 1 and 1/2 tbsp tapioca syrup (corn syrup is OK as a substitute, but not HFCS)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• optional: 1 tbsp of creme de cacao, or other liqueur

1. Melt the chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside
2. Whisk the yolks in a small-medium sized bowl and set aside.
3. Add the milk, sugar, salt, and tapioca syrup (if using) to a 4 quart saucepan, and heat on medium-high, stirring frequently, until it is reaches a bare simmer. Remove from heat.
4. Temper the eggs by slowly drizzling about 1 and 1/2 cups of the hot milk mixture into the yolks, while vigorously whisking the yolks.
5. Carefully pour the hot yolk mixture into the 4 quart pan with the remaining hot milk mixture.
6. Cook on medium-low, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan (preferably with a heat-proof spatula, though a spoon is okay).
7. Cook until the mixture thickens and reaches a temperature of 170-180 degrees F, which should take 7-14 minutes. (Note: It should become obviously thicker than raw milk. This recipe doesn’t thicken well for me until it reaches about 180 degrees, even though many other stirred custards thicken well by 170 degrees F.)
8. Remove from heat.
9. Gradually whisk about 1 cup of the hot custard into the melted chocolate.
10. Pour the chocolate mixture into the 4 quart pan containing the remaining custard, and whisk until well blended.
11. Pre-cool in an ice water bath for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
12. Cover, and refrigerate until completely cooled, at least 4 hrs, and preferable overnight. It will continue to thicken as it cools.
13. Stir in vanilla extract and liqueur (if using), and churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s direction.
14. Transfer to 1 quart container and store in freezer.

Oatmeal cookies

These cookies stay soft enough to bite even when frozen. Recipe adapted from a buttermilk oatmeal cookie recipe, from Take A Megabite.

• 2 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  

  Oatmeal cookie dough balls, flattened into about 3/8 inch thick discs

• 3 and 1/2 cups rolled oats, either old fashioned or quick cooking
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 5 egg whites from large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Blend first 4 ingredients in a medium-large bowl and set aside.
2. Beat butter and sugar together in a large bowl until smooth.
3. Add egg whites and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar, and beat until smooth and well blended.
4. Fold dry ingredients into butter mixture until well blended.
5. Chill for a few hours, to make the dough easier to handle.
6. Roll dough into 1 and 1/4 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Flatten balls to no more than 3/8 inch thickness. (Make them thinner than that if you want them thinner than the ones in my photos.)
8. Bake in a preheated, 350 degree F oven for about 9 minutes, or until lightly golden on top.
9. Cool completely on wire rack.

Assemble chocolate goat milk ice cream sandwiches

1. Allow ice cream to soften until it’s very easy to scoop.
2. Divide cookies (which should be at room temperature) into pairs, matching them up by size.
3. Put one scoop of ice cream on a cookie, and put the other cookie on top of the ice cream, pushing down gently to spread the ice cream. Repeat for rest of cookie pairs.
4. Wrap ice cream sandwiches in wax paper and store in freezer.

Shared on: Homestead Barn Hop, Thank Goodness It’s Monday, Backyard Farming Connection, Tuesdays with a Twist