Milk Chocolate-Black Pepper Ice Cream

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   1. Put the pieces of milk chocolate in a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top. Then make an ice bath in a larger bowl (or the sink), that you'll rest the bowl of milk chocolate within later.

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   2. In a medium-sized saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.

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   3. Once the milk is warm, slowly pour about half of it into the yolks, whisking constantly, to warm them. Scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof utensil, until the custard thickens and coats the spatula.

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   4. Immediately strain the custard over the milk chocolate, and stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the creme fraiche or heavy cream (or combination of the two), the cognac, then the ground peppercorns.

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   5. Rest the bowl of milk chocolate custard in the ice bath, and stir until cool. Chill thoroughly, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Should the custard get very thick once chilled, whisk it vigorously before adding it to your machine, which will thin it out so it's pourable.

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   Note: If using creme fraiche, chill the ice cream within eight hours of adding the creme fraiche; letting it rest in the refrigerator overnight will turn the whole batch a bit too-tangy. If using heavy cream, it's fine to chill overnight.

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   If creme fraiche is unavailable, you can use full-fat sour cream

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.