We are back with Dairy Farmers of Canada's cheese of the month club! May's cheese is an award-winning blue from That Dutchman's Cheese Farm called Dragon's Breath (which hails all the way from Nova Scotia!) Stay tuned as I show you that dark chocolate blue cheese ice cream needs to be on your dinner table!
This is a sponsored post. I was fortunate enough to receive products and/or monetary compensation from Dairy Farmers of Canada. Though products were received, all opinions are my own and I would not recommend a product that I did not enjoy!
We are already into our second month of Dairy Farmers of Canada's cheese club and again I am blown away!
Today we travel to That Dutchman's Cheese Farm in Nova Scotia. Their Dragon's Breath Blue is phenomenal! Uniquely encased in a black wax, this blue cheese has a hint of spice, yet still delicate and slightly milky. Depending on its age, Dragon's Breath can range from soft and creamy to hard and buttery 🙂
In this case, my batch was super creamy! I had a friend immediately play off that and suggest ice cream. Yes, ice cream!!!
Before you go turning your nose up at my dark chocolate blue cheese ice cream, sit down and think about how versatile cheese is. It is not uncommon at all to find it in every meal of the day, even dessert! Cheesecakes, Tiramisu, cookies, you name it, cheese is there.
When I first went to try Dragon's Breath, I was hesitant. With a name like that you cannot help but think it is going to knock your socks off! Doing some research, the creator himself states that he believed it needed a "fierce name like dogs breath," but his better half suggested otherwise! (source.) I think that story is not only adorable, but one filled with passion and love for the awarding winning Dragon's Breath!
And you know what?! The taste was amazing! Milky, still strong, but not overwhelming. I thought the aroma would be eyeball-melting, but I found it very pleasant. At this point I knew ice cream was to be made!
Like I said, I'll have to thank my friend for the idea! Dark chocolate, fresh and dried fruits, and honey are always a winning pair when it comes to cheese so I had a basic idea of where I wanted to go. I usually use granulated sugar in my ice cream bases, but this time I went full-out with honey! The mixture of top-of-the-line chocolate and high-quality honey paired with Dragon's Breath created a perfectly creamy and flavorful dark chocolate blue cheese ice cream!
Of course, for added texture and pizzazz I mixed in chopped chocolate. When serving, I drizzled some extra honey on top with more dark chocolate (have I said how much I love chocolate and cheese?!)
My two biggest concerns when creating this recipe were either putting so much cheese in that it overpowered, or not enough cheese where you feel it is kind of wasted and not used to its potential. Thankfully I found balance! You can adjust your ratios accordingly when it comes to this dark chocolate blue cheese ice cream, but I really do feel I found the sweet spot 🙂
Still not convinced? My 5 year old daughter, who immediately turned her nose up at the idea of a cheese ice cream, was SHOCKED at how delicious this recipe turned out. Her exact words were "mmm, it tastes milky!" And it definitely does. Dragon's Breath not only adds a hint of spice to this ice cream. but its creamy texture adds smoothness and flavor (and let's be honest, ice cream needs to be creamy!) It's that refreshing after-taste that really makes Dragon Breath stand out in this dark chocolate blue cheese ice cream 🙂 Talk about one fancy #CanadianCheese (I encourage you to use that hashtag on social media!)
📖 Recipe
Dark Chocolate Blue Cheese Ice Cream with Honey
A rich and decadent ice cream that has the perfect balance of cheese and chocolate! The amount of chocolate used is all up to you!
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup high-quality liquid honey + more for topping
- 4 oz That Dutchman's Cheese Farm's Dragon's Breath Blue, crumbled
- 5 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp. cornstarch
- Pinch of salt (remember, cheese is salty!)
- 6.8 oz (195 g) high-quality dark chocolate (I used a blend of 100% cocoa and 70% cocoa), roughly chopped + more for topping
Instructions
- Add egg yolks to a large mixing bowl. Whisk until paler in color. Add blue cheese and mix until coated. Set aside.
- Place a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Stir in 1 cup cream, milk, salt, and honey. Whisk occasionally until mixture is hot but not boiling.
- Slowly and carefully whisk cream-mixture into egg-cheese bowl, making sure to take your time so you don't scramble the eggs. Whisk until smooth. *Pour through fine sieve if needed.
- Return mixture back to stove top. Combine remaining cream and cornstarch and pour into pan. Stir in 5.5 oz of chocolate.
- Whisk occasionally until reheated, but do no allow to boil. Remove from heat and allow to come to room temperature (stirring occasionally.) Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Churning
- Follow the directions on your ice cream machine. I churn my mixture until it is almost set, and stir in the remaining chopped chocolate (1-2 oz) in the last 5 minutes of the cycle.
- Pour into container, top with additional honey and chocolate if desired, and freeze!
Notes
Before serving ice cream, allow it to sit out for 10 minutes or so to soften enough to scoop 🙂
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 573Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 22gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 201mgSodium: 152mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 2gSugar: 50gProtein: 9g
Dragon's Breath is only available in Nova Scotia, but you can order it online from That Dutchman's Cheese Farm.
This is a sponsored post. I was fortunate enough to receive products and/or monetary compensation from Dairy Farmers of Canada. Though products were received, all opinions are my own and I would not recommend a product that I did not enjoy!
Love this dark chocolate blue cheese ice cream?! Try some of these recipes:
Caramelized Onion-Mushroom Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Apple
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
I would total love to try this ice-cream - two of my favourite things combined - chocolate and cheese 🙂 That blue was amazing! So creamy and milky so I bet it is absolutely wonderful in this ice-cream. Two scoops for me please 😉
Kacey
Thank you, Dawn! I would totally have shared 🙂 Great dessert after a cheesy mushroom pasta 🙂
Megan | Strawberry Blondie Kitchen
I'm literally salivating at the description of this blue cheese. It's my favorite thing ever and has been since I was a little girl (gotta blame my dad for good taste in cheese) This ice cream looks absolutely amazing and I can't wait to try it!
Kacey
Thank you!! It is funny because my dad was the one to introduce me to different cheeses as a kid (I always start off slow, but eventually I love the cheese so much I add such THICK layers into anything!) You so need this in your life 🙂