Chocolate curls or thickly grated chocolate flakes provide the ideal texture for using in ice cream and are a great complement to many different flavors. When stirred in, they break up into smaller pieces to form delicate chips that won’t overwhelm the flavor of the ice cream.
For 1 quart/1 liter of ice cream, add up to 128 grams/1½ cups of the chips.
1) To produce thick enough curls or pieces, the chocolate needs to be softened slightly. Set a block of chocolate, about 3 inches square, in a warm place, such as under a lamp, or heat it in a microwave using 3-second bursts, turning it over several times. Hold the chocolate block in a towel when curling or grating it to help keep it from melting in your hand.
2) To make chocolate curls, use a sharp vegetable peeler. Hold it against the upper edge of the chocolate block. Dig the upper edge of the peeler into the chocolate and pull it toward you. To grate the chocolate, use the large holes of a box grater.
3) In either case, allow the chocolate to fall onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate the chocolate, covered, until it is firm. Then transfer it to a covered container and keep it chilled until ready to add it to the ice cream.
4) Add the chocolate during churning when the ice cream mixture has reached the consistency of soft serve and begins to ball up around the dasher. If using chocolate curls, add them to the mixture and continue spinning just until they are mixed in. If using grated chocolate, remove the dasher and mix them in gently with a spatula.
Store
Airtight: cool room temperature, several weeks (If there is a wide fluctuation in temperature, it is best to freeze them to avoid “bloom,” the grayish color that results from cocoa butter rising to the surface.)