Malted Chocolate Crunch Ice Cream

I’m not a fan of malted milk, or should I say my childhood self wasn’t. I mean I hated that stuff. I remember my mother buying some because they grocery store didn’t have my Nesquick chocolate milk powder, I know how would that have been possible. But she tried to fool me into drinking it, but failed. That morning sitting down to eat breakfast before school, this little girl spat out that malted milk, pouting ” This is NOT chocolate milk!” My mother insisted, unsuccessfully may I add, that it was the same thing, oh but it isn’t. And there was nothing getting between this girl and her chocolate milk. Even to this day, I love chocolate milk, choosing it as my preferred hangover drink of choice in college, I know weird, curing a night’s drinking with chocolate milk just doesn’t seem right. But I love the stuff!

But back to malted milk…I don’t know what it was either, the powder-like texture and taste, or the lack of richness. I’m not really sure, and honestly I don’t know if I could enjoy a glass even after all these years, but what I do somewhat enjoy are Whopper candies {chocolate malted milk balls}. Although I’ve got my candy favorites – Reese’s, M&M’s, and Almond Joy – I purposely bought Halloween candy this year that I don’t typically eat, as to not overindulge on the leftovers.

Yet, I couldn’t help myself from trying these not-so-popular chocolates that were neglected. I’ll say that between the Whoppers and Heath bars, they weren’t as bad as I had remembered. Still not the kind of candy I would eat to satisfy a sweet tooth, I decided to pop them in the freezer, hoping to make an ice cream with them come spring. Yes, I know it’s the middle of June and I’m making ice cream with Halloween candy, but I wasn’t going to let them go to waste, and I’m glad I kept them.

I considered buying a container of malted milk powder, but instantly thought of how it would sit there. I mean how many malted recipes could I make, especially since I just recently was able to somewhat accept the flavor of it. So I thought, well why not cook half of the malted milk malls in the cream and milk mixture. They melted down completely, giving an even denser chocolate flavor to the base. It was the perfect amount of malted flavor for me, just a hint of it with every bite, which included the remaining chopped whopper pieces I stirred into the freshly churned ice cream.
I couldn’t manage to add any toppings onto this decadent ice cream, but I guess if you’re in the mood for classic ice cream parlor flavors, because for some reason malted milk always reminds me of it, you could add old-time favorites, like hot fudge or wet caramel walnuts. One simple scoop is all you need to indulge a chocolate craving, yes it’s that rich.
Even if you don’t like malted milk, like me, this ice cream is still ice cream, and darn good chocolate ice cream at that. So eat it quick, I mean seriously, don’t you see, it’s practically melting away as you read this.

Chocolate Malt Crunch Ice Cream

Ingredients {Makes 1 quart}

5 large – Egg Yolks

3/4 cup – Sugar {I used raw cane sugar}

2 cups – Heavy Cream

3/4 cup – Milk {I used 2%}

1/4 cup – Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder {measure, then sift}

1/4 teaspoon – Coarse Salt

1 teaspoon – Pure Vanilla Extract

2 cups – Chocolate Malt Balls {coarsely chop 1 cup, set aside in freezer until ready to use}

1/2 cup – Coarsely Chopped Heath Bars {optional, or replace with preferred candy}

Recipe {Adapted from Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones}

Whisk the yolks in a medium heat-proof bowl, just to break them up, then whisk in half the sugar {6 tablespoons}. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, whisk the cocoa powder, and remaining sugar with 1/4 cup of milk, to create a smooth paste. {This ensures the chocolate will not be lumpy}. Whisk in the remaining milk, cream, salt and 1 cup whole malted milk ball candies. Bring to a simmer, whisking frequently to break up the candies. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, to infuse the flavor and ensure malt balls melt completely. Prepare a heat proof bowl, over an ice bath with a fine mesh strainer. Scoop out 1/2 cup of the heated cream-milk mixture and whisk rapidly into the yolks. Repeat with another scoop of heated cream-milk mixture. Stir the yolk mixture back into the pan.

Cook the base over medium heat, constantly stirring until it has thickened {It should coat the back of your wooden spoon or rubber spatula, about 2 minutes longer}. Strain the base through a fine mesh strainer into your container over ice-water bath. Stir until the base has cooled to room temperature, cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Place container you’ll be storing your ice cream into the freezer.

Stir the vanilla into your base, and freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturers directions {It can churn as quickly as 10 minutes, or up to 25 minutes}. Transfer half of the ice cream to your cold storage container, and stir in half of your frozen malt balls and heath bar pieces. Top with remaining ice cream, and candy pieces.

Enjoy immediately or freeze for at least 4 hours.