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I made this recipe for dark chocolate ice cream. I did a double recipe, using 3 egg yolks + 1/2 cup cream instead of 12 egg yolks, and I left the cocoa nibs in until right before churning to try to extract as much flavor as possible.

The taste was excellent but the ice cream had a somewhat gritty/sandy texture. I am fairly sure that the sugar was all dissolved, as I cooked the custard slowly and whisked constantly. I think the issue is either the cocoa nibs or the cocoa powder. I was originally planning to leave the nibs in for a crunch, but I tasted one after cooking the custard and it was not good - starchy and bland. Why did my ice cream turn out gritty?

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    What do you mean by "using 3 egg yolks + 1/2 cup cream instead of 12 egg yolks"? Did you just reduce your yolks to 1/4 of the needed amount *and* increased the liquid? Independently of the gritiness, this will produce a completely different texture, to the point where I wouldn't even call it the same recipe. – rumtscho May 27 '17 at 21:12

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I've had gritty chocolate ice cream when I didn't get the chocolate melted all the way. I was using a combination of unsweetened chocolate squares and cocoa powder. I've found that if I heat it on the stove with the milk until it starts to bubble (stirring often), it changes from looking like milk with little specks of chocolate in it, to smooth, consistent, chocolate-colored cream. That's the point to take it off the stove, and it's always super smooth.

Russell Gilbert
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  • Would it be gritty if I tasted it while still liquid? Because it seemed smooth when I sampled some right off the heat. Im inclined to think the chocolate was dissolved and the cocoa nibs had something to do with it. But maybe I'm wrong; I will certainly keep this in mind. Thank you for the advice, I'm glad I'm not the only person who has experienced this! –  May 28 '17 at 15:39
  • @NotNotLogical: I'd think it'd be smooth while still liquid, but I agree that it sounds like something related to the cocoa nibs if you're sure the chocolate was melted. Might try experimenting with more straining and less pressing of the cocoa nibs, or switching to unsweetened chocolate squares. I did a blog post about chocolate ice cream that might be helpful: http://www.icecreamgeek.com/?p=777 – Russell Gilbert May 28 '17 at 19:19
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Melt your chocolate nibs down first with some cream, making a ganache, then use some boiling water to the powder separately so its like a mud. Combine th two together well before aďding to the ice cream mix. That wil solve your problem.

Max
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    True cacao nibs do not melt or dissolve as far as I have experienced. Are you thinking more about chocolate chips? – user110084 May 28 '17 at 17:53