It’s summertime, which means my mind immediately turns to ice cream, like the Dark Chocolate Chip Orange Olive Oil Ice Cream you see above you. The beautiful thing about ice cream is that is a blank slate for flavor combinations. With the explosion of artisan ice cream shops featuring innovative options, ice cream is no longer limited to just chocolate, vanilla or strawberry. Nowhere has the small batch ice cream shop been more prevalent than San Francisco. Not that it hasn’t always been home to wonderful scoops shops, from Mitchell’s to Swensen’s to Double Rainbow. But in the past five years, shops like Humphry Slocombe, Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous, Three Twins and Smitten Ice Cream have opened up all over San Francisco, serving up fantastic flavors with fresh ingredients. Of course, leading the pack (in my mind at least, other San Franciscans swear their own allegiance) is Bi-Rite Creamery, where I’ve been a loyal customer since they opened.
Truth be told, though I swear brand allegiance to Bi-Rite, you really can’t go wrong getting a scoop of ice cream from any of the small shops I mentioned above in San Francisco. Each has their own sensibilities, from the edgy flavors of Humphry Slocombe (their signature flavor is Secret Breakfast, bourbon and cornflakes) to the fun and often boozy inspired scoops at Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous (Ballpark is a punch combo of red skinned peanuts, chocolate covered pretzels and Anchor Steam Beer, only available during baseball season) to the whimsical Three Twins (bright and comforting Lemon Cookie makes me warm fuzzy with each lick) to the near instant super smooth Smitten Ice Cream (liquid nitrogen frozen Tcho Chocolate ice cream is like chocolate silk on your tongue). However, Bi-Rite is my go to ice cream shop, and not just because it’s a block away from my apartment.
Bi-Rite Market, located across the street and the parent company of the Creamery, is a small grocery store that supports local farms and independent food producers. It’s also an anchor for the 18th Street gourmet corridor that I live adjacent to. Their first book, Eat Good Food, made it onto my list of the best of 2011 cookbooks (more than a cookbook, it’s a guide to buying produce and meat as well as how to store and cook the food you buy) and I was thrilled to hear the Creamery was putting out a cookbook, Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones as well. Even more thrilling was the fact that AJ and I got into their cookbook. Yep, we got our own side bar, we’re that obsessed with their ice cream.
One of the signature sundae’s at Bi-Rite Creamery is Sam’s Sundae, which features dark chocolate ice cream, a drizzle of Bergamot olive oil, a sprinkle of Maldon sea salt and whipped cream. It sounds odd, the idea of olive oil on ice cream, until you taste it. I took the mandarin olive oil ice cream recipe in their cookbook and adapted it with chocolate chips. The recipe itself sounds a bit fussy, as I melt the chocolate chunks down, add a little olive oil to it, refreezed it, then chopped it into tiny chips again, but it’s worth the effort, as the chocolate flakes melts luxuriously in your mouth. I’m all about the mouth feel (get your mind out of the gutter!).
So crack out of the ice cream freezer, buy some top-shelf cream and milk (I prefer the local Straus Family Creamery, a nonhomogenized milk and cream that is also the base that Bi-Rite Creamery and Humphry Slocombe uses, but find the best quality dairy product you have access to, it makes a difference) and enjoy the fresh churned goodness that only home made ice cream can give you. I’m going back for another spoonful as we speak…
If you are visiting San Francisco and are interested in any of the food related shops on the 18th Street corridor, check out my virtual tour on Rama Tours, an iPhone app, where I’ve included Bi-Rite Creamery, Bi-Rite Market, Tartine, Delfina Pizzeria, Mission Cheese, and 18 Reasons. Download the free Rama Tour app, then purchase the 18th Street Corridor tour (the first one when you search under “title”).
Special thanks to Ten Speed Press for sending me a review copy of Sweet Cream and Cones by Kris Hoogerhyde, Anne Walker and Dabney Gough (and for including AJ and me in the book). Though the book was provided by them, I was not compensated for anything I wrote above and all opinions are my own.
Dark Chocolate Chip Orange Olive Oil Ice Cream (naturally gluten free)
By Irvin Lin
Making your own custom chocolate chip flakes seems fussy, but I think it really make a difference. That said, if you don’t feel like doing it, just skip that step and chop the chocolate into really small chunks. Try to use the best quality dairy, chocolate, olive oil and oranges that you can as ice cream is a simple dessert that really only has a few ingredients, so each one should shine. Because I use the zest from the oranges in this recipe, I recommend finding organic oranges to cut down on the pesticides that may be sitting on the outside of the oranges. If you do use conventional oranges, just wash them thoroughly in warm water before zesting. Feel free to swap out the orange with a couple of tangerines, clementines, lemons or bergamot oranges if you can find them. Pretty much any citrus would be great in this ice cream.
Initial recipe adapted from Sweet Cream and Cones by Kris Hoogerhyde, Anne Walker and Dabney Gough. Cooling custard method adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer.
Ingredients
Ice Cream Base
5 large egg yolks
150 g (3/4 cup) white sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
zest from 1 medium Valencia orange
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (the more robust the flavor, the better)
Juice from 1 medium Valencia Orange (roughly 3-4 tablespoons)
Chocolate chips
115g (4 oz or 3/4 cup) chopped dark chocolate (I like something between 50 to 60% cacao, but use what you prefer to eat out of hand)
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Instructions
1. Fill a large metal bowl with ice and water and place on a damp towel or silicon heat pad to prevent it from moving. This is going to be your ice bath.
2. Make the base by whisking together the yolks and 75 g (14 cup plus 2 tablespoons) of the sugar in a heatproof bowl. Place the remaining sugar, cream, milk and sea salt in a nonreactive pan and heat on medium high, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar and salt, until the cream starts to form bubbles on the edge of the pan, barely simmering. Turn the heat down to low, and scoop about 1/2 cup of the cream out of the pan. Drizzle the hot cream over the yolks, whisking the yolks the entire time you pour the cream into it to incorporate. Repeat with another 1/2 cup of cream. Pour the entire heated yolk mixture back into the pan, and turn the heat up to medium. Whisking constantly, cook the custard until it thickens, coats the back of a spoon and holds a line when you draw a finger across the back of the coated spoon, about 2 minutes or so. Add the orange zest and stir to incoporate.
3. Pour the hot custard into a large gallon ziplock bag and seal it. Submerge the ziplock bag in the ice bath and let sit for 30 minutes under the ice or until the custard is cold. Add more ice if the original ice melts.
4. While the ice cream custard is chilling, make the chocolate chips by first lining a rimmed baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Melt the dark chocolate by placing the chopped chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and heating on high for 30 seconds. Stir and heat for another 30 seconds. Stir until melted, heating for additional 15 second intervals until completely smooth and melted (being careful not to overheat). Add the olive oil and stir until incorporated. Pour the chocolate onto the lined baking sheet and spread as thin as you can with a butter knife (or better yet, offset spatula if you have it). Sprinkle with salt and place in the freezer.
5. Once the ice cream custard is chilled, carefully open up the ziplock bag and add the olive oil and orange juice. Close the bag again and “massage” the bag to blend the oil and juice into the custard. Then cut off 1 inch of the corner of the ziplock bag and squeeze the custard out of the bag into your ice cream machine. Freeze according to the instructions of your machine. About five minutes before the ice cream is done freezing, pull the chocolate out of the freezer, chop it into small chips and pour the chocolate into the ice cream machine right before it is done. Let the machine stir the chocolate chips into the ice cream and then turn the machine off. Eat right away (it will be soft) or transfer to a freezer proof container and let firm up in the freezer for 4 hours or overnight then serve.
Makes 1 quart of ice cream.
Belinda @zomppa says
It’s so darn hot that I will take ALL those flavors. Chocolate and orange…heavens.
Jim @ True Confections says
Great combination; I also love that you made your own chocolate chips, very nice touch. Love the title card for this one; the chalkboard is a nice touch — makes it feel like a weekly or daily special at a cafe. I’m definitely adding that book to my wishlist.
Irvin says
Yay! Thanks. I decided to play around a little bit with my main photograph this time round. Glad you liked it!
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
This is one snazzy ice cream! It looks and sounds totally delicious, and the flavour is so unique!
Girl in a Food Frenzy says
Home made chocolate chips & olive oil with orange! I’m loving that combination. The detail is flawless in your recipe and I seriously think I need to introduce my fellow Aussies to bourbon & icecream now along with a myriad of other flavours you’ve mentioned there too 🙂
Irvin says
Booze in ice cream is never a bad thing! Humphry Slocombe, the awesome ice cream shop with Secret Breakfast (bourbon and cornflakes) also have a cookbook out. I would probably swear allegiance to them, except that BiRite happens to be a block away and they are more like 8 or 9 blocks away. I’m a lazy ice cream eater!
Brian @ A Thought For Food says
OMG… That picture of the two of you is too much. Amazing.
I need to get my hands on this book, but, more importantly, I need to get my butt back out to San Fran.
Irvin says
Yeah you do! Come back out to San Francisco Brian! I’ll take you on a ice cream tour of SF.
Kim says
I am definitely going to have to try this…we got the KitchenAid ice cream maker attachment as a registry gift.
Steve @ Grocery Alerts says
Irvin,
I am a passionate about making ice cream but this recipe seems really complicated!
I will let you know how it goes.
Dave M. says
Great combination of flavors! I’ve used the recipe in Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams for chocolate chunks which uses coconut oil instead of olive oil. It’s amazing how the chocolate just melts in your mouth while the rest of the ice cream is still cold.
Irvin says
Coconut oil and chocolate is an awesome combination. Have you seen my wordless recipe on how to make “magic shell” ice cream coating using chocolate and coconut oil? I love how easy it is, and the heady vanilla scent that that coconut oil adds to the chocolate.
Dave M. says
Thanks for the idea. I’ve been wanting to try making a chocolate shell for a while. I really love your wordless recipes, by the way. They’re probably a lot of work to put together, but they make the techniques look so wonderfully simple.
Jen @ Savory Simple says
I’m all about ice cream right now. Olive oil is one of my favorite additions!
Mary says
LOVE this.
Spencer says
Sounds like a real mouthful but looks absolutely delicious! I would love to try it.
baker in disguise says
I agree I am intrigued by the sound of olive oil ice-cream but i am inclined to take your word for it ..especially when you’ve gone ahead and flavoured it with one of my allt-ime fav combination of dark chocolate and orange!!
thelittleloaf says
I’ve been debating whether to buy this ice cream book – it was a toss up between this and Humphrey Slocombe…so torn! The olive oil ice cream looks and sound delicious though – I had olive oil on a chocolate dessert in Barcelona last year and it blew me away.
Irvin says
I actually don’t have the Humphry Slocombe cookbook yet so I can’t tell you which one to buy. But I really do love the Bi Rite one!
Megan says
This ice cream looks super dreamy. I love the orange, chocolate, olive oil combo!
Sophia says
And there I had been wondering what use to put my ice cream maker this week given that the bowl from the ice cream maker has been waiting patiently in the freezer for inspiration to strike, there is a box of free range organic eggs in the fridge and, very unlike me, I have cream in the fridge as well (initially intended for another batch of white-chocolate and fennel truffles). Oh and although I just bought some black sesame seed paste to make ice cream, I may just have to postpone this because the combination of orange, chocolate, olive oil and sea salt just sounds too good to be true!
All the best
Sophia
Carla @ Carlas Confections says
This looks really awesome. Love the pictures too!
Javelin Warrior says
More deliciousness for me to drool over! I’ve heard of using olive oil in ice cream before, but never tried it. It looks like it turned out marvelous… I’m featuring this in today’s Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution). I hope you have no objections and it’s always fun to be following along with your creations…
Irvin says
Thanks for including me!
Chef Dennis says
I wish we had the variety of home made artisan ice creams that San Francisco does. The folks in Philly are in love with the classic factory made varieties they have come to know, like Bassets, and Bryers…..sigh
Thanks for such a great recipe to follow!
Irvin says
I think it’s just a matter of time. There seems to be such an explosion of artisan crafted ice cream, not just in San Francisco, but across the country. From Molly Moon’s in Seattle to Jeni’s Splendid in Ohio to High Road Craft Ice Cream in Atlanta, artisan ice cream is working it’s way across the country.
Besides which, doesn’t Philadelphia have Capogiro Gelateria? I mean, it’s gelato, but it’s suppose to be pretty good…
Chef Dennis says
We certainly do have Capogiro and it is excellent, and there are a few of the better Italian Restaurants like Osteria that make their own, but the explosion of Artisan Ice Cream has yet to reach us. I’ll just have to keep making my own until then!
merri says
ive actually never tried bi-rite’s ice cream. their lines are soo long..the other weekend i was walking past, i think it was the wkend before pride, and the line was around the corner down the adjoining street, and we ate dinner, walked back, and it was STILL that long! ive tried humphry s’s twice, and its very good, but due to the fact that even before i stopped eating sugar, ice cream has always made me pass out, i don’t eat ice cream often, not unless i know i have time to literally be unconscious for a couple hrs (no exaggeration!). that sundae you described sounds yummy tho!
Daiquiri says
Wow that’s quite a recipe. I think I’ll give it a try this weekend. Thanks
joann says
holy-moly; I’ll be trying this one Irvin…. sounds fantastic!! Love the flavor combinations anyway….and now you just made it happen!
justcooknyc says
i have to get the book… and wow, SF really does have an amazing selection of ice cream places. especially with the heat wave here, this makes me want to get on a plane for SF right now.
Irvin says
Come out! And yes, SF has some awesome ice cream places. I didn’t even talk about the East Bay ice cream shops like Ici or Tara, or any of the gelato places around the Bay Area as well!
justcooknyc says
hmm, i’ve never heard of the East Bay places. it’s been way too long since i’ve visited SF!
Irvin says
Yes, clearly you are overdue for a trip. I rarely go over to the East Bay, but I could be convinced. I’ve actually never been to Tara’s Organic (though I’ve had ice cream from their pints that people have brought into San Francisco).
Also, just as an FYI, Tara offers gluten free brownie ice cream sandwiches. 😉
justcooknyc says
ooh nice, i’ve been thinking about taking the time to make gf cookies just for that purpose, since it’s been so hot here lately and ice cream sammies would be really nice. anyway, see you soon!
Phuoc'n Delicious says
Oh my, the combo is out of this world! And I love the addition of olive oil in ice cream as well, recently tried it and love the creaminess and flavour it provides. Oh how I miss Bi-Rite Creamery, I remember waiting in line and then heading over to Dolores Park to enjoy it. I really want to go back to SF (loved the city) and eat at all the ice creameries!
Kirsten says
Irvin,
Thanks for giving me the link to include in my upcoming Band Fruit Fundraiser Recipe Round Up! It will be published on 12/4/2013!
Heidi says
I just made this! I licked the bowl clean! Yum! I love the orange & dark chocolate!
Phu kien trang tri xe hoi says
My child’s are like to ice cream, when I have free time, I’ll give it a try . Thanks for sharing recipes.