Preparation:
BROWNIE Line an 8" square pan with aluminum foil, shiny side up. Press out as many creases in the foil as possible. Set aside. Adjust rack to center of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In small heatproof bowl, combine chopped chocolate and butter. Place over simmering water on low heat (water should not touch bottom of bowl) and stir often until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and hot water; cool at least 10 minutes.
In medium bowl, combine eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla. By hand, beat until well-combined and smooth, about 30-60 seconds. Add chocolate mixture, which may still be slightly warm, and stir in. Stir in flour just until combined. Turn into prepared pan and spread level; it will be a thin layer.
Bake in preheated oven 14-17 minutes, just until toothpick inserted in center emerges with a few moist crumbs still clinging to it. Do not over bake. Cool to room temperature on rack.
Remove brownie layer, still in one piece and in foil, from pan. Slide into plastic bag, close bag tightly, and freeze until frozen solid, at least one hour.
When frozen, cut into 1/2" chunks with large, sharp, straight-edged knife. You'll need 1-2/3 cups of brownie chunks, about half the pan's worth. Cover tightly and freeze until needed (reserve remaining brownies for another use).
CHOCOLATE CHUNKS Chop the semisweet chocolate into chunks no larger than 1/3"-1/2" square (smaller is fine, too; it depends what you like). There will be many smaller pieces as well--OK. Place chocolate in a small bowl, cover airtight, and store at cool room temperature until needed.
ICE CREAM BASE In medium heatproof bowl, combine egg yolks and about half of the milk (reserve remainder). By hand, beat until well-combined. Add sugar and beat until mixed. Set aside near stovetop.
In two quart, heavy-bottomed, nonreactive pan, combine remaining milk and heavy cream. Place over low heat and stir occasionally until very hot. Remove from heat. While beating egg mixture constantly, gradually add about half of hot liquid. Still off heat, and stirring constantly, add egg-cream mixture back to liquid in pot.
Place over medium heat; stir constantly until custard reaches 175-176 degrees F on candy thermometer. Immediately remove from heat. Strain through fine strainer into pitcher or liquid When cold, remove top "skin" that will have formed; stir in vanilla. Chill at least 6 hours or overnight, covered first with a layer of paper towel and then with plastic wrap (the paper towel will catch any condensation that forms, preventing it from dripping back into the base).
CHURNING
You'll need a container of at least 1-1/2 quart capacity. Scatter about 1/3 of the frozen brownie chunks onto the bottom (replace remaining chunks in freezer), then cover loosely and place in refrigerator or freezer to chill. Follow manufacturer's directions for freezing the ice cream base. If you're going to add the liqueur, do so when the base is about three-quarters frozen.
Just before you decide that the ice cream is ready to stop being churned, add the chocolate chunks and mix in (even if they're only partly mixed in now, it's OK). Remove 1-1/2 quart container and brownie chunks from freezer/refrigerator. Stop the machine.
Quickly scoop about 1/3 of the ice cream onto the frozen brownie chunks in the bottom of the container. Continue to layer the frozen brownie chunks and ice cream, making three layers of each. WORK QUICKLY so you don't lose the air churned into the base. Still working quickly, stir the brownie chunks into the ice cream only until well-mixed. Cover and freeze.
Serve |
