Having trouble finding a homemade fresh raspberry ice cream recipe with a smooth, creamy texture that stays that way even after a week or more in the freezer? Lucky for you, you’ve stumbled upon one! It took a bit of experimentation on my part, but finally, here it is: super smooth, fresh raspberry ice cream. This one has homemade dark chocolate chips that add just the right amount of crunch before melting in your mouth. No rock hard, jaw breaking chips in this one!

Raspberry ice cream with dark chocolate chips

Many recipes for raspberry ice cream involve cooking the berries, because cooking softens the flesh, resulting in a higher yield after pureeing and straining out the seeds. But raspberries are very delicate, and even brief cooking at a low temperature begins to impart a jammy flavor. For this recipe, I wanted a totally fresh raspberry flavor. To improve the yield and reduce waste, I use a strategy similar to that in my strawberry ice cream recipe.  I puree the berries with the sugar, let the puree sit for a while in the food processor as the sugar softens the fragments and draws out the juice, and then puree again. The yield is excellent, with little more than a wad of seeds left behind in the strainer. The fresh, tart flavor of the raspberries shines through and blends beautifully with the sweet custard and dark chocolate chips. The color is a beautiful rich pink, and if the custard is thickened properly, the texture is silky smooth.

If you’ve had homemade ice cream with chocolate chips, you’ve probably noticed that you practically break your teeth when you bite into the chips. Here’s a little trick I learned from Bi-Rite Creamery’s ice cream book: Lower the melting point of the chocolate by mixing in a bit of vegetable oil. I use a little less oil then they do, because I want a little crunch, and their recipe yields chocolate chips that are somewhat soft even when frozen.

Raspberry Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate Chips

Makes about 1 quart

Prepare the berries:

• 2 ½ cups fresh raspberries berries (frozen berries may be used, but allow them to thaw completely)
• ¼ cup sugar, plus more if desired

1. Puree berries and sugar in a food processor or blender and let sit in the processor at room temperature for 20-30 minute.
2. Puree again.
3. Taste the puree and add more sugar a tablespoon at a time, to taste.
4. Strain the puree, stirring and pushing it through the strainer, and occasionally scraping the underside of the strainer into the collecting bowl with a clean spoon (one that’s not coated with raspberry seeds). You should have between 1 and 1 ½ cups of puree (a little more, if you added extra sugar).
5. Cool it completely in the refrigerator prior to blending it into the custard base.

For the chips:

• 4 oz. dark chocolate
• 1 ½ tsp mild flavored vegetable oil

1. Line a large plate or small cookie pan with parchment paper.
2. Melt the chocolate in small bowl in microwave on 100%, stirring every 20 seconds until smooth.
3. Add the vegetable oil, and stir until well combined.
4. Pour onto baking sheet covered with parchment paper, and spread into 7 inch diameter circle. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or freeze for a half hour.
5. Break into small pieces and store in refrigerator until ready to use.

For the ice cream base:

• 3 eggs
• 1 ¾ cups heavy cream
• ½ cup milk
• ¾ cups sugar
• 3 Tbsp corn syrup
• Pinch salt

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs to break up yolks and blend them well with the whites. Set asideAdd cream, milk, sugar, corn syrup, and salt into a 4 quart saucepan and heat over medium-high, stirring frequently, until it just reaches a simmer. Remove from heat.
2. Temper the eggs by slowly drizzling about 1 – 1 ½ cups of the hot milk/cream mixture into the eggs, while whisking the eggs vigorously.  If you need to rest your whisking arm, be sure to stop pouring the hot mixture while you rest. This very slow addition of the hot mixture into the eggs helps prevent the eggs from scrambling.Carefully pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk/cream, while whisking the contents of the saucepan. (You do not need to drizzle it, since the eggs are already tempered, but do not dump it in all at once, or you might scramble the eggs.)
3. Place the saucepan on medium-low heat, and cook, stirring constantly (preferably with a heat-proof rubber spatula, but a spoon will do), scraping all portions of the inside bottom of the pan, until the mixture thickens, and reaches a temperature of 170-180 degrees F (use a candy thermometer). It should take about 7-14 minutes to reach that temperature range, depending on your heating element, and how good the contact is between the element and the bottom of the pan (i.e., a too small heating element, or a warped pan will make this take a long time). The mixture should be noticeably thicker than the raw milk/cream mixture. Do not be tempted to crank up the heat to hasten the process, as you will risk scrambling the eggs, UNLESS you have made stirred custards before, and know that you need a little higher heat to reach the desired thickness with your particular saucepan and your particular heating element.
4. Remove from heat, and immediately pour the hot custard through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl. This removes any little pieces of scrambled egg, ensuring a super smooth ice cream.
5. Put it straight into the refrigerator, or cool it somewhat in a cold water bath first, and then refrigerate. Stir occasionally for the first half hour, or so, of cooling.
6. Allow it to cool completely for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator, or overnight. It will thicken considerably while cooling.
7. Blend the cold raspberry puree into cold custard.
8. Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.
9. Stir the chocolate chips into the ice cream as you transfer it to a 1 qt container
10. Store in the freezer until ready to eat.

Shared on: Weekend Re-Treat #48, Freedom Fridays, Motivation Monday #93