Even though I’m posting this recipe in January, I wanted to take hot chocolate, and turn it into something more California-friendly. Because let’s be real here, Southern California has two seasons: warm and slightly less warm. I personally love drinking hot chocolate in the winter – when I went to college in Boston, doing to L.A. Burdick and drinking their hot chocolate was one of the few ways I got through the New England cold. Well, that and not going outside for anything else. Hibernation was a very real thing over there. Since I wanted to enjoy hot chocolate in a warmer climate, I figured, why not turn it on its head, and make an ice cream sundae out of it? A chocolate ice cream with ganache/hot fudge sauce-kind of concoction emulates a similar texture to a creamy hot chocolate, albeit cold and frozen, while the marshmallows or whipped cream(I’m personally team marshmallow when it comes to that debate) can also be added as fun toppings for the ice cream just to complete that ice cream sundae vibe! I also adorned my sundae with a sugar-encrusted chocolate-cacao shortbread cookie, which I will link the recipe to a couple of times in this post for easy reference, but I am not listing out the cookie recipe in this specific post, just because of how technical it is, considering that I used one cookie per sundae as a garnish(though I highly recommend actually trying that recipe, because it is delicious and one of my personal favorite cookies to make now!).

The chocolate ice cream I made for this recipe was inspired by Turkish ice cream, which is known for having this stretchy, elastic texture to it. Turkish ice cream achieves its characteristic pull from using salep powder. Salep is a starch that is extracted from the root of the orchid plant. Now, before I went ahead and purchased salep powder, I remembered that I had a similar product, called kudzu. Kudzu is a starch extracted from a root vegetable, used as a thickening agent, and popular in making clear jellies in Japanese cuisine. Since I did not want to buy salep powder and subject it to the same sentence as my jar of kudzu starch(i.e. sitting in my pantry, slowly expiring away), I figured, why not just use the kudzu in place of salep? And so I did, and the end result was actually quite similar! I was still able to achieve the ice cream-equivalent of a cheese pull using the kudzu starch, and while I can’t necessarily call this ice cream Turkish because I went with kudzu, I can still call it stretchy, because it literally is! For the garnishes, the more technical ones would be the cookie, which has its own entire blog post, and the marshmallows. With the marshmallow, use a stand mixer to whip it. Your arms will thank me later. The recipe does require the marshmallows to be torched or toasted, so if you do not own a blowtorch, sticking the marshmallows onto a skewer and using a gas stove top works too. If you lack gas burners and a blowtorch, try a candle lighter. If you lack all of those things, then you can try the broiler setting in your oven, but I find that with homemade marshmallows, they tend to melt and lose their shape before they actually caramelize. You can always not torch the marshmallows, but if that’s the case, I recommend doubling up the ganache recipe and doing double the ganache in the assembly, just to offset the sweetness.

For the stretchy hot chocolate ice cream:
1 cup whole milk
1oz kudzu starch
2oz hot cocoa mix(I used the Godiva hot chocolate mix for mine!)
2oz granulated sugar
a pinch of salt

In a bowl, combine all of your ingredients. Whisk everything on medium heat for 5-6 minutes, or until the milk begins to thicken to the consistency of heavy cream. Optionally, using a stick blender, puree everything together until smooth. Pour the liquid into a shallow container and freeze for 30 minutes. Stir the mixture, then return to the freezer for another 30 minutes. Repeat this process three more times. After the fifth stir, freeze the ice cream for at least 5 hours.

For the homemade marshmallows:
1/2 tbsp gelatin powder + 2 tbsp cold water
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
cornstarch

In a bowl, mix together the gelatin and cold water and allow that to sit. In a pot, heat up the sugar, water, and salt, bringing that to a boil. Pour the boiling sugar syrup over the gelatin and begin whipping it for 8-10 minutes – the mixture should turn considerably thick, white, and fluffy, similar to a meringue. Whisk in the vanilla at this point. Pour the mixture into a shallow, nonstick container lined with cornstarch. Freeze the marshmallow for at least 20 minutes before attempting to unmold then. Cut into smaller cubes, dusting the newly exposed edges with more cornstarch so that they do not stick. Store in an airtight container until time to use.

For the ganache:
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp milk
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
a pinch of salt

Bring all of the ingredients to a simmer in a pot over low heat. Stir until everything is melted together and allow the ganache to slightly cool down before attempting to use.

For the chantilly cream:
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of salt

In a bowl, whip everything together until soft peaks form on your cream. Transfer to a piping bag and store in the refrigerator until time to assemble.

For assembly:
Start by blowtorching your marshmallows so that they are caramelized on the outside. Scoop into a cup or sundae glass a 2oz scoop of the ice cream. Layer on that of that 1 tbsp of ganache. Then repeat these steps again. Garnish the sides with the marshmallow, then the top with your cream, and optionally, a cookie as well.