Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cherry Stevia Ice Cream

Yes! It was wild, delicious, ridiculous, and tasty!

My Valentine's Delight. Here's the recipe.

2 eggs
2 cups cream
3/4 cup milk
3 squares baking chocolate
1/3 cup cocoa powder (non sweet)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp Stevia (I prefer Kal)
1 cup chopped cherries
3 more squares of chocolate
1/4 tsp Stevia for that
*Melt the chocolate on the stove or in the microwave.
*Add the cocoa powder to it- it seems awkward, just trust me.
*Add the milk SLOWLY to this mix.
*Then beat the eggs in another bowl.
*Add the cream to the eggs, whip that...
*Add the chocolate to the egg and cream mix
*Mix in the Stevia and vanilla...

Put in the ice cream maker and wait.

While you are waiting:
Chop up the cherries into small pieces.
When the ice cream is getting firm and rising to the lip of the maker (I use the Cuisinart maker with the gel cylindar, you can get it at Linen's) begin to make your 'chocolate chips'.
Basically, melt the chocolate and add stevia; do this far enough in advance that it cools a bit but is still liquid when you add it. It takes finesse and is an art, sorry- that's the best I can do to describe it.
So when the ice cream rises to the lip, add in the cherries and the chocolate; I had help and it made it go better- one person was sprinkling in cherries while I spooned in the chocolate, allowing the maker to swirl it away. It breaks up into flakes and chunks when it cools. I love the texture.

Voila! Valentine's Delight!

Stevia Ice Cream

One of the hardest things for me to have to give up in my journey was ice cream. I don't enjoy suffering, no matter the cause; and so for years I was making 'alternative' ice cream in my cute little Cuisnart ice cream tumbler. Alternative meaning not cane sugar but substitutes I felt were healthier such as maple syrup, brown rice syrup, barley malt and so forth.

I always recognized that these are still sugars though!

Ice cream is not an exact science and is in fact very forgiving with experimentation, so here is what I have come up with in a bold stroke of genius if I do say so myself...
(Don't forget, milk is still a sugar! But one I'm willing to live with for now)

I use a Cuisinart gel tumbler ice cream maker, you can get them for $50 these days at many stores that sell kitchen goodies.

Ingredients:
2 eggs
*2 cups (light) cream (you can use heavy; I prefer to make Light)
*1 cup (skim) milk (again, use what you like)
1/2 tsp Stevia
1-2 tsp extracts (optional)
4 oz unsweetened (baking) chocolate (optional)
nuts, berries, whatever...

*you can substitute soy milk or nut milks- they have enough fat that it's ok if there's no cream. There is also a great book called Vice Cream that uses Stevia, and is vegan if that's what you're after.*

Beat the eggs.... beat in the cream, then the milk... beat in the stevia. Remember to mix the stevia well, it gets funny with fatty ingredients.
I like Mint Chocolate Chip myself, so here I add 1 tsp vanilla and 2 tsp peppermint extract.

Pour the mix into the machine, follow the manufacturer's instructions.
I wait to add nuts or berries (best if prefrozen) into the mix when it's nearly ice cream (when it's churned up to the top lip of the blade and cover).

For 'chocolate chips':
Melt the chocolate before the ice cream reaches the lip. Add 1/4 tsp stevia, stir well. Add to the ice cream when it's reached the top; the chocolate should be warm enough to flow and make little blebs, but not so hot that it's turning it all back to milk- melt, wait 5 minutes, add. It takes a little finesse, and is tough to explain, sorry... I cook like my granny did...

Freeze, and enjoy!!!