Chocolate Magic Shell

One of the many useful pieces of culinary knowledge that my grandmother introduced to me at a younge age was Nutella and the other was Magic Shell. Babi kept both in the house and Magic Shell was mine and my Grandpa’s favorite ice cream topping. Every time we shared a bowl the ice-cream eating order of operation consisted of pouring as much Magic Shell over our ice cream as was necessary to cover all of it, let it freeze and then try and peel it off the ice cream and eat it whole. Yeah, I sure was a classy kid back in the day. It was heaven.

The one time that Magic Shell made an appearance at my parents house my sister thought it needed to be refrigerated and put it back in there only for me to find and and throw an absolute temper tantrum at the fact that it was now RUINED! Ohhh the ice cream-anity! I devised a way to tear apart the plastic bottle and just chow down on the solidified chocolate like Huck on a stick, but thankfully my mom stopped me before I went all Rambo on the bottle and stabbed myself with a pair of scissors trying to extract all the chocolately glory, which was a fairly likely scenario. That was the day I thought I gave up on Magic Shell.

But no more!!  America’s Test Kitchen DIY Cookbook  is here to enlighten us all to DIY’ing out life and making our own Magic Shell! Not only making it on our own, but making it better than the stuff of our childhood.

From making your own Maple Bacon, to mozzarella cheese, Sriracha and Ritz style crackers this book seriously has it all. I know, I know – of course it’s easier to pick it up in the store, but DIY’ing isn’t always about whether its cheaper or easier, it’s about how it tastes and knowing that you knocked it out of the park better than a mass manufacturered mechanical implement.

It’s empowering!

Magic Shell is easy to make on your own and takes all of ten minutes – tops. That’s if you get distracted by a bumble bee.

Start with 4 ounces of chopped Semi-Sweet chocolate. I used Ghirardelli for mine. Add it into a microwave safe bowl with 1/3 cup of Coconut Oil.

Coconut oil is the magic ingredient that makes the whole shell crack. The melting point of coconut oil is 74 degrees and its solid state is at 70, so with a rapid fluctuation in temperature you can get it really solid, really quick and it crakcs like a dream unlike other emulifiers, like butter.

Melt it in the microwave for about 2 1/2 minutes on 50% power until the chocolate has just completely melted. Stir occassionally to be sure it all mixes together properly while nuking.

Once it’s all melted, whisk in 1 additional teaspoon of cocoa, 1/4 tsp vanilla extract and 1/8th teaspoon of espresso powder, with a pinch of salt. The espresso powder and salt deepen the flavor of the chocolate without adding too much of a coffee taste to it.

And that’s it! Wait thirty painfully long minutes and let it rest – then it will be ready to use. Seriously – it’s as simple as that.

Store it in an air tight container in a cupboard for up to two months. Just reheat it gently to make it pourable and you’re ready to go every time.

Beats the stuff out of the bottle any day.

America’s Test Kitchen recently released their new DIY Cookbook that is chock full of delicious recipes that you can make at home, with great photos that illustrate each step of the process and make it a cinch. And because it’s ATK you know they have done all the hard work for you, testing all of their recipes to perfection and using techniques that are easy to replicate in your own home. This makes a fantastic gift for your favorite DIY’er!

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For other decadent frozen treats give these a gander!

Fluffernutter Ice Cream with Peanut Butter Sauce – Country Cleaver

Mango Mojito Sorbet – Country Cleaver

Pumpkin Cheesecake Gelato – Country Cleaver

Spring Bouquet Popsicles – Marla Meredith

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*fine print* A copy of the new DIY cookbook was provided to me by America’s Test Kitchen. And one copy will be given to giveaway winner. I was not compensated for this review or post. All opinions are my own – because ATK rocks.