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Dame Blanche - Belgian vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce

icecreamnation.org, faithfully after Pierre Wynants
The most Belgian of all ice cream desserts, but quite well-known in other parts of the world too! The combination of wonderful vanilla ice cream and a sumptuous chocolate sauce is classic combination that never gets boring! By the way, in certain other parts of the world, this particular combo is known as "Coupe Dänemark".
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Ingredients
  

  • 500 ml (about 2.1 cups) whole milk
  • 250 ml (a good 1 cup) cream (preferably about 45 % fat)
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 140 ml (3/5 cup) sugar
  • 1 vanilla pod (sliced and scraped; all to be used)
  • about 200-400 gram good quality dark chocolate (for the sauce; amount depending on how much ice cream you plan to serve)
  • (optional) some whipped cream (to use as topping at the time of serving)

For Pierre Wynants' chocolate sauce

  • 10 gram (about 1 level tablespoon) cocoa powder
  • 15 gram sugar
  • 15 gram butter
  • 15 gram coffee
  • 300 ml (about 1 1/4 cup) water
  • 100 gram bitter or plain chocolate

Instructions
 

  • Split the vanilla pod. Scrape out the seeds and mix both them and the pod with the milk.
  • Mix the egg yolks with the sugar and whisk well.
  • Bring the milk to the boil. The whisk it - little by little - into the egg yolk-sugar mix.
  • Return to the stove. Gently bring it to "Nappe stage" (= in the temperature bracket 82-84º C /180-183º F).
  • Take it off the stove and add the cream.
  • Let cool down and preferably chill.
  • Remove the vanilla bean. Churn in your ice cream machine, or still-freeze using your freezer.
  • When about to serve the dessert, melt the chocolate (for example in a water-bath) and drizzle over the vanilla scopes. If you like, add some whipped cream on top too!

Chocolate sauce à la Pierre Wynants

  • Bring the water to the boil. Grind the coffee.
  • When the water boils, add the coffee; remove from heat and let infuse for 10 minutes. Strain through a filter.
  • Gently melt the chocolate in a sauce pan.
  • Mix the (softened) butter and the cocoa powder in another sauce pan. Add the sugar and mix well.
  • Pour the coffee on the chocolate little by little, mixing and ensuring proper dilution of the chocolate.
  • Add the coffee-chocolate mix with the butter-cocoa-sugar mix: work them well together.
  • While whisking, bring it all to the boil. Strain through a sieve and allow to cool.
  • Before serving, stir well once again.