Deep Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream

Remember these brownies?
The brownies of thick, chewy glorious chocolate heaven?
I made them for our Valentine's celebration.
But I froze half of them. For such a time as this.

We have both been craving ice cream something crazy recently.
And we've indulged ourselves a few times with our favorite local ice cream parlour.
But.
I remembered the ice cream maker Kevin's parents bought for us.
And I decided to put all apprehension aside and go BIG.
Forget about the heavy whipping cream.
The cost and the calories.
And go for it.
Come on, Mel, you know it's going to be aaaamazing.

Boy, was I right.
I took a few ideas from Annie's ice cream recipes.
And looked up the options in our owner's manual.
And tweeked until I came up with this.
A cup of rich chocolately, fudgy ice cream that you will never forget.

It's so rich that even I couldn't finish it. 
Wowzers. 
You must make this.
It's totally worth every calorie.
(Although I might take that back in five or ten years.
But let's just pretend it really is worth it. :D)

Ingredients

2 cups whole (or 2%) milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup sugar

½ cup cocoa powder

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped 

OR ½ semisweet and ½ unsweetened
1/4 to 1/2 pan crumbled thick and chewy fudge brownies (or other favorite variety)

Directions

In a large sauce pan, combine the whole milk and heavy cream over medium low heat. Add vanilla. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. 

Combine the sugar, cocoa, eggs, and egg yolks in a medium bowl; using a hand mixer on medium speed, beat until thickened like mayonnaise. Measure out 1 cup of the hot milk/cream mixture. With the mixture on low speed, add the cup of hot milk/cream to the cocoa mixture in a slow, steady stream and mix until completely incorporated. Stir the chopped chocolate into the saucepan with the hot milk/cream. Stir the cocoa/egg mixture into the hot milk/cream. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and begins to resemble a chocolate pudding. Transfer the chocolate mixture to a bowl (or a 9x13 inch glass pan). Cover with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface of the chocolate mixture, and refrigerate until completely cooled. 

Pour the chilled custard into the freezer bowl of an ice cream maker, turn the machine on and let mix utnil thickened, about 25-30 minutes. Add in chopped/crumbled brownies. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving. Keep the remaining mixture sealed in an airtight container in the freezer.