What's For Dessert: Ricotta Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Perhaps the name of this blog should be "A More Dessert-Filled Life" rather than "A Less Processed Life," given all the dessert recipes I've posted of late? Clearly I have a bit of a sweet tooth. But heck, at least I'm making these things from scratch -- that's got to count for something, right? This dessert recipe comes from a recent episode of Everyday Italian -- I was quite intrigued by the idea of making an ice cream with ricotta cheese. To be honest, the resulting texture is a bit funky -- there's a bit of graininess from the ricotta cheese. If I make this again, I think I will whip up the ingredients in the electric mixer to try to smooth things out a bit more. However, I think the addition of the chocolate chips does help to draw attention away from the ice cream's odd texture a bit.

Ricotta Ice Cream

makes 12 servings

For the simple syrup:

1 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup water

15 oz part-skim ricotta cheese

1 cup organic whole milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

chocolate chips

1. Make the simple syrup by combing the water and sugar in a medium-sized sauce pot. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let simmer for about 5 minutes, or until all of the sugar has dissolved.

2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the ricotta cheese and whole milk. Stir in the simple syrup and vanilla.

3. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and follow the manufacturer's instructions to make the ice cream.

4. When the ice cream is nearly ready, add in a couple handfuls of chocolate chips.

5. Serve immediately.

 (adapted from this Everyday Italian recipe)