Double Dark Chocolate Shake with Scratch Ganache Syrup

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A soda-fountain shake built on real melted dark chocolate instead of bottled syrup. A quick cocoa-and-70% ganache gets chilled, then blended with just-softened vanilla ice cream and a splash of cold whole milk until it's thick enough to hold a spoon upright. Frozen glasses, a dense chocolate ribbon down the sides, and a cocoa-dusted whipped cream cap.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 3 tbsp whole milk
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 3 oz 70% dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 pints good vanilla ice cream (dense, low-overrun style)
• 1/3 cup cold whole milk, plus more as needed
• 1 pinch flaky sea salt

• 1/2 cup heavy cream, very cold
• 2 tsp powdered sugar
• cocoa powder or grated dark chocolate, for dusting

• 2 maraschino cherries

Instructions

1. Put two 16-ounce glasses and your blender jar in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. A frozen glass is the difference between a shake that lasts five minutes and one that lasts twenty.
2. Make the ganache syrup: in a small saucepan, whisk the heavy cream, 3 tablespoons whole milk, sugar, cocoa powder, and kosher salt until no dry cocoa lumps remain. Set over medium heat and whisk constantly until it steams and just barely bubbles at the edges, about 3 to 4 minutes (about 180°F). Do not let it boil hard.
3. Remove from the heat, add the chopped dark chocolate, and let it sit undisturbed for 1 minute. Whisk from the center outward until glossy and completely smooth, then stir in the vanilla. You want a thick, pourable syrup — like warm hot fudge.
4. Chill the syrup fast: scrape it into a small bowl set in a larger bowl of ice water and stir occasionally for 8 to 10 minutes, until cool to the touch and thickened. Warm syrup will melt your shake, so don't skip this. (Syrup can also be made up to 2 weeks ahead and refrigerated; let it sit at room temperature 10 minutes to loosen.)
5. Set the ice cream on the counter for 5 to 8 minutes to soften to the texture of thick frosting — a spoon should push through with light pressure but the ice cream should never look wet or glossy.
6. Whip the finishing cream: beat the very cold 1/2 cup heavy cream with the powdered sugar to soft peaks, 60 to 90 seconds with a whisk or 30 seconds with a hand mixer. Refrigerate until serving.
7. Streak the frozen glasses: spoon about 1 tablespoon of the chilled ganache syrup into each glass and tilt and rotate the glass so the syrup ribbons down the inside walls. Return the glasses to the freezer.
8. Blend: add the cold 1/3 cup milk to the frozen blender jar first, then 1/3 cup of the ganache syrup, then the softened ice cream and the pinch of flaky salt. Blend on low, or pulse in 5-second bursts, for 20 to 30 seconds total, stopping to push the ice cream down with a spatula (blender off) as needed. Stop the moment it's smooth — over-blending melts it thin.
9. Check the texture: it should mound on a spoon and fall slowly. If it's stiff and grabbing the blades, add cold milk 1 tablespoon at a time. If it's loose, add 2 to 3 more spoons of ice cream and pulse twice.
10. Pour into the streaked frozen glasses, top with the soft whipped cream, dust with cocoa or grated chocolate, drizzle with a little more ganache syrup, and add a cherry. Serve immediately with a thick straw and a long spoon.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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