ICE CREAM, CHOCOLATE

Place the cocoa powder along with 1 cup of the half-and-half into a medium saucepan over medium heat and whisk to combine. Add the remaining half-and-half and the heavy cream. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat.

Whisk the egg yolks in separate bowl until they lighten in color; gradually whisk in the sugar. Add a about 1/3 of the cream mixture in small amounts to the whipped egg mixture to temper. Pour in the remainder and return the entire mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat, cooking and stirring until the mixture thickens and slightly coats the back of a spoon (about 165-175F)

Pour the mixture into a  shallow container to cool about 30 minutes. Add vanilla. Place into refrigerator 5-8 hours before putting into ice cream maker. (Before freezing, strain through sieve for smoother custard) Freeze according to ice cream maker directions.