Brownie-Chunk-Vanilla-Mint Ice Cream

At work we always have these extra brownie scraps that we either sample or end up throwing out.  For months now I've been wanting to make this ice cream using the scraps, but by the time I get home it seems that all of my friends or family have eaten all of them.  I have to admit I am to blame for a small portion that manages to "disappear".  This time I vowed to use the scraps for ice cream that I wanted to make by adapting this recipe by David Lebovitz.

Makes about 1 Quart 

Ingredients:

2 cups (80 grams) fresh mint leaves (washed)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 cups whole milk

1 vanilla bean pod

pinch of salt

5 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups soft brownie chunks (SLIGHTLY under-baked is better)

1) In a large saucepan combine the mint leaves, sugar, 1 cup of the cream, milk, vanilla bean pod (first slice it down the middle and scrape the seeds.  Add the emptied pod along with the beans) and the pinch of salt. 

2) Bring the mixture to a boil then immediately remove from the heat, cover with a lid, and allow it to steep for an hour.  This is when I watched Game of Thrones ;-)

3) Strain out the mint leaves and vanilla bean pod into a bowl and make sure to squeeze out all the liquid before discarding them.  Return the mixture to the saucepan and warm it up.  Meanwhile put the egg yolks into a medium bowl.

4) Temper the yolks by adding some of the hot liquid to it while constantly stirring.  Then add the yolks to the saucepan and whisk constantly until it begins to thicken.  Strain (to make sure no scrambled eggs are in it) into a bowl containing the last cup of cream and place in an ice bath.  Stir constantly to cool.  Allow to cool completely.  I chilled mine overnight before spinning in the machine because this created a creamier ice cream.  

5) Spin in the machine according the the manufacturers directions.  

6) Put some brownie chunks into the container you are going to store the ice cream in then add some ice cream and then add more chunks.  Keep doing this until all of the ice cream is in the container and the brownies are throughout the mixture. Serve immediately or store in the freezer (duh) until ready to consume!  Enjoy!