Mint chip ice cream is hilariously enough, my earliest memory. My mom, when we first immigrated to America, would take me and my sister to the Baskin Robbins nearby where we lived in Torrance(hilariously, that Baskin Robbins is STILL in business to this day, I now as an adult live walking distance from there, and we still go there from time to time), We would only ever get one of two flavors from there back when I was little, being either Rainbow Sherbet or Mint Chocolate Chip. I get that some people associate mint with toothpaste, so mint is not necessarily their cup of tea. But I still remember going to Baskin Robbins with my mom, and ordering it because I loved the color green as a kid, so that flavor always stood out to me. And unlike those toothpaste-associating mint dislikers, I actually loved the contrast between the refreshing, cooling mint flavor against the crunchy bits of chocolate running through the ice cream. So mint chip is always going to have my heart. With this recipe, I wanted to tip my hat to another ice cream. store, being Sweet Rose Creamery in Santa Monica, where they are known for steeping fresh mint into their cream for 24 hours before making mint chocolate ice cream out of it. So I did the same for this recipe as well, because it gave the cream this surprising peridot-green color, and I also quick-tempered a thin sheet of chocolate, and cracked that directly into the churned ice cream to give it that stracciatella-chocolate flake textural contrast! And for the best part, I was testing out making ice cream using dry ice. And the TLDR of it is that you can indeed make ice cream using dry ice, and while it is not as instant as liquid nitrogen, it can still be done, and is a slightly more-accessible or instant alternative to trying to make ice cream in one of those ice cream makers that requires the buckets to be frozen for 24 hours!

For the components, we have the mint chip gelato, some whipped cream, and we are adding some other crunchy garnishes for textural contrast round out the sundae experience. Honestly, this recipe is all about that gelato. The fresh mint needs to be steeped in the milk and cream mixture for at least a whole day to really impart that natural mint flavor through the entire ice cream. Then, and this is where you need to be careful, that mint cream will be heated with egg yolks, sugar, salt, and vanilla to form your ice cream base. This is the single most crucial step of the recipe, and it is important that the egg yolks in the base do not curdle, or else you just wasted a day steeping the mint on what will be sweet, minty scrambled eggs. I included measurements if you wanted to attempt the dry ice method(if you do this, please be sure to use small pieces of the dry ice since big chunks will sink to the bottom of your mixing bowl and will cause the ice cream base at the bottom to freeze solid when the rest of the ice cream may not be chilled down enough. For the chocolate aspect, I made a thin chocolate bark by tempering chocolate with cocoa butter(this guarantees that the chocolate will have a nice snap to it), and then smashing the set bark into the churned ice cream. The bark, to get it evenly thin, I spread it between two pieces of parchment, because I want each bite of the chocolate to be consistently crisp – it gets unpleasant for large, cold chunks of chocolate to get stuck in yours molars, so I found that thinner pieces of chocolate gets you that pleasant crispy crunch, but the chocolate will basically melt before it can get stuck in your teeth, so the best of both worlds there! This gelato is one of my new favorites to make, and I was pleasantly surprised at how green it came out without needing artificial coloring, how intense the mint flavor was, and that you CAN indeed use dry ice to make ice cream in the stand mixer, just like liquid nitrogen!

Makes 6-8 servings:
For the mint chip gelato:
1oz fresh mint leaves
8oz whole milk
4oz heavy cream
3 egg yolks
3/4 cups granulated sugar
a pinch of salt(can substitute with 1/4 tsp green spirulina powder)
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1g freeze-dried cocoa butter
10oz dry ice, finely smashed*

Steep the mint leaves into milk and heavy cream on medium-high heat until the liquid begins to simmer. Then transfer the mixture into an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Strain out the mint at this point, and return the dairy to a pot on medium heat. In another bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and sea salt. Pour half of the warmed dairy over that while whisking the egg yolk-sugar mixture. Then pour the egg yolk-sugar mixture into the pot with the rest of the warmed dairy. Whisk everything on medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes. Then pass everything through a sieve and add to that the vanilla. Allow the ice cream base to cool down before attempting to churn.

With the dark chocolate chips, melt half of them over a double boiler completely. Then add to that the rest of the dark chocolate, cocoa butter, and a pinch of salt, stirring until everything is melted together. Pour the chocolate onto a sheet of parchment and fold the parchment in half to cover your dark chocolate. Using a cylindrical object(I used a rolling pin, but a wine bottle or thermos works here too), roll out and flatten the chocolate into a thin, even layer. Refrigerate the chocolate for at least 10 minutes before attempting to remove from the parchment, as you will be mixing this into the churned chocolate.

If you are using an ice cream maker, follow your maker’s instructions. If you want to use a food processor, freeze the ice cream base solid, then puree in the food processor, then re-freeze the ice cream for another hour. If you are using dry ice, crush the dry ice into a fine powder. Whip the ice cream base in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment on low speed and add into that the dry ice, whipping everything together until all of the mist dissipates. Regardless of which method you chose to churn the ice cream, once it is churned, add your dark chocolate to the ice cream, mixing it in, and freeze the ice cream for at least 1 hour before attempting to serve.

For the whipped cream:
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3 tbsp confectioner’s sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a bowl, whisk everything together until stiff peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream into a piping bag and keep refrigerated until time to use.

For garnish:
1/2 cup Cocoa Krispies
2 tbsp crunchy chocolate balls
1 tbsp cacao nibs
Fresh mint leaves

In a bowl, mix the Cocoa Krispies, crunchy chocolate balls, and cacao nibs together. Place that onto the bottom of a bowl, and place on top of that a scoop of the gelato. Pipe a dollop of the cream on top of that, and garnish with the mint leaves to finish.