Was this page helpful?
Help improve this recipe for others.
Send this recipe to your inbox.
We'll email it straight to you - plus weekly cooking inspiration.
Ingredients
Some product links may be affiliates. If you buy through them, you're supporting the site and Pekin may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Chocolate Ganache
Tahitian Vanilla Ice Cream
Assembly & Finish
Method
Chocolate Ganache
- 1
Prepare chocolate
Place the finely chopped dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside.
- 2
Heat cream
In a small saucepan, combine 300 ml heavy cream, corn syrup and sea salt. Heat over medium until just simmering (small bubbles forming at edges), do not boil.
- 3
Combine
Pour the hot cream mixture in three additions over the chopped chocolate, gently stirring with a spatula after each pour to emulsify. Continue until smooth and glossy.
- 4
Finish ganache
Whisk in the room-temperature butter until fully incorporated and the ganache is silky. Let cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap touching the surface and chill until slightly firm but still spreadable, about 1–2 hours.
Tahitian Vanilla Ice Cream
- 5
Infuse milk and cream
Combine 250 ml whole milk and 500 ml heavy cream in a medium saucepan with the split Tahitian vanilla pods and scraped seeds. Warm over medium heat until it begins to steam and small bubbles form around the edge, then remove from heat. Cover and allow to steep for 30 minutes to extract maximum vanilla aroma.
- 6
Whisk yolks and sugar
While the milk is steeping, whisk together 140 g granulated sugar (and optional 20 g glucose) with 6 egg yolks in a bowl until pale and slightly thickened.
- 7
Temper eggs
Remove the vanilla pods from the infused cream (scrape any remaining seeds back into the liquid). Reheat the cream to a gentle simmer. Slowly pour about one third of the hot cream into the yolk mixture while whisking constantly to temper the eggs. Then slowly pour the tempered yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining cream, whisking.
- 8
Cook custard
Cook the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula, until it thickens slightly and coats the back of the spoon (target temperature 78–82°C / 172–180°F). Do not boil.
- 9
Cool and strain
Remove from heat, stir in 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp fine sea salt. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl to remove any coagulated bits and vanilla pod remnants. Place bowl in an ice bath and stir occasionally until the custard is cold (about 20–30 minutes).
- 10
Chill
Cover the cold custard with plastic wrap pressed on the surface and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight to mature flavors and ensure it is thoroughly chilled.
- 11
Churn
Freeze the chilled custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions until it reaches a soft-serve thickness.
- 12
Harden
Transfer the churned ice cream to a container, press a piece of plastic wrap on the surface, and freeze at least 4 hours to firm up.
Assembly & Finish
- 13
Portion ice cream
Scoop or portion the firm Tahitian vanilla ice cream into individual serving bowls or molds.
- 14
Top with nama chocolate
Spoon or cut pieces of the chilled but pliable ganache (nama chocolate) and place on top of each ice cream portion. For a clean presentation, warm a knife or offset spatula in hot water, dry it, and slice the ganache into neat squares or shave thin slices to lay over the ice cream.
- 15
Finish & serve
Dust lightly with cocoa powder and sprinkle optional chopped toasted nuts for texture. Serve immediately so the ganache remains soft and the ice cream cold.
