I made this ice cream because I had an extra container of mascarpone cheese in the refrigerator.  I bought some mascarpone when I attempted to make these Blueberry and Mascarpone Turnovers last week and they were a total disaster.  As a result, I had an extra container.

I’ve never made ice cream using cheese before;  this was a first for me.   Although the resulting product was very good, it was a bit challenging to get there.   For some reason, the ice cream maker didn’t like this recipe very much.  When I turned the ice cream maker on, the ice cream mixture started to freeze to the sides of the bowl and as a result, the mixer wouldn’t spin anymore; it got stuck.   I tried to scrape the ice cream off the sides and start the churning again, but it would immediately freeze and stop.   The chocolate got stuck also.   I was lucky to have my sister visiting when I made this.    She offered to stir the mixture by hand until it froze, and that worked fine.

My favorite flavor of ice cream is Denali Moose Tracks.   I love how it has long pieces of chocolate in it.    Now I know how they do it.   As with this recipe, they must pour in molten chocolate while the ice cream maker is on, resulting in nice, long pieces of hardened chocolate.    I’ll definitely make this again.

Chocolate Freckle Ice Cream
Recipe from Ice Cream by Liz Franklin

8 oz. mascarpone cheese
1 cup milk
1/2 cup superfine sugar
3 1/2 oz. bar best-quality dark chocolate

Put the mascarpone, milk and sugar in a bowl and beat until smooth. Churn in an ice cream machine until almost frozen.

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water (or microwave on HIGH for 1 – 2 minutes, stirring halfway through.) Let cool a little. When the mascarpone mixture is almost frozen, lift the lid from the ice cream machine and slowly pour in the cooled chocolate in a thin, steady stream. The chocolate will harden as it hits the cold ice cream. You may have to give it a little jab or two with the end of a skewer or the prongs of a fork, just to break up any large pieces of chocolate. Continue to churn until the mixture is completely frozen. Transfer to a freezer-proof container and freeze until ready to serve.

Yield: 4 – 6 servings