Made with cocoa powder AND real chocolate, this Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream is deeply rich in flavor, and creamy and fudgy in texture.
This homemade chocolate ice cream recipe is super simple as there’s no scalding milk or tempering eggs. Just mix everything together and heat.
Chocolate is of course the yin to vanilla ice cream’s yang. It’s the second most popular ice cream flavor in the world for a reason. It’s a classic for a reason.
BUT, I haven’t always been the biggest fan of store-bought chocolate ice cream. They always feel like they are lacking in something. Lacking in substance, lacking in that rich, deep chocolate flavor.
Chocolate ice cream is not something I want to be “light as air”. I prefer my chocolate ice cream with a deep chocolate flavor, and a rich, creamy texture that doesn’t instantly melt into nothingness in my mouth. Unfortunately though, that’s what most standard chocolate ice cream recipes taste like.
This is where this Classic Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream recipe stakes its claim to distinction. This delicious ice cream recipe ticks all the right boxes.
- Rich, deep chocolate flavor.
- Just the right amount of sweetness, without tasting sugary.
- Creamy, but with a little fudginess.
So why is this chocolate ice cream recipe so fudgy?
You’ll find that most chocolate ice cream recipes are made with just cocoa powder, and sweetened with sugar. The end result is an ice cream that tastes like sweetened chocolate whipped cream, that’s been frozen – more like soft-serve. Don’t get me wrong, I do like chocolate soft-serve, but I also want my chocolate ice cream to have more character.
So this homemade chocolate ice cream recipe has cocoa powder, but it also has real chocolate! That real chocolate, along with the egg yolks make for a richer, thicker custard that makes a richer, fudgier, and altogether more delicious chocolate ice cream!
It’s PERFECT on its own, but you’ll find that this chocolate ice cream also makes the best chocolate shakes too! 🙂
How to make this chocolate ice cream recipe
Just like my other ice cream recipes that I’ve shared recently, this recipe is also super easy to make.
- No heating or scalding the milk.
- No “tempering” eggs.
- Just mix together and heat.
The first step is to whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until you have a thick, smooth paste. To make things even easier, you can add the cocoa powder and whisk it with the egg yolks too. This will remove any lumps in the cocoa powder as well.
Next, whisk in the milk and cream in a slow stream, to make sure the egg yolks are mixing in well with the milk. Also whisk in the vanilla and salt. Vanilla and salt further enhances that rich chocolate flavor.
Then finally, you heat the base to make the custard.
Once the custard is cooked, you let it cool down and chill in the fridge (for at least a couple of hours).
Then the chilled chocolate ice cream base is churned in your ice cream maker. I churn my chocolate ice cream in a cuisinart ice cream maker with a compressor, but you can use a freezer bowl ice cream maker too.
This recipe tastes like a deep, fudgy chocolate soft serve straight out of your ice cream maker. But freeze the ice cream in your freezer a little longer, and you’ll have that best homemade chocolate ice cream you’ve ever had!
I sometimes top it with whipped cream or nuts, or even a shot of espresso for a mocha affogato. Irresistible! 🙂
Chocolate ice cream variations
Here are some great ideas to upgrade your classic chocolate ice cream into something ever more exciting! Simply swirl in these add-ins during the last few minutes of churning to create even more spectacular flavors!
- Crushed Oreos – Chocolate cookies and cream ice cream
- Chocolate chips – Double chocolate chip ice cream
- Chocolate fudge sauce – Fudge swirled chocolate ice cream
- Roasted hazelnuts – Hazelnut and chocolate ice cream
- Raspberry coulis – Chocolate raspberry ice cream
- Crushed candy bars – Chocolate candy ice cream
- Mini marshmallows, peanuts and raspberry jam – Rocky road ice cream
- Mini marshmallows and crushed graham crackers – S’mores ice cream
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If you liked this recipe, then you may also like,
Vegan Cardamom spiced coconut ice cream
Amazing chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream
EQUIPMENT NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE
ICE CREAM MAKER – An inexpensive freezer bowl ice cream machine will be perfect for the average cook/baker. I have used & recommend this Cuisinart model. If you do constantly make ice cream in summer, then I would recommend investing in an ice cream maker with a built in compressor. These machines do not require to be pre-chilled and you can make many batches of ice cream over and over again. I currently own, and recommend this Cuisinart model.
THERMOMETER – An inexpensive Cooking thermometer or a more expensive instant read thermapen.
Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream
Homemade chocolate ice cream made with cocoa powder and real chocolate. Deeply rich in flavor, and creamy and fudgy in texture.
EASY - Great for novice cooks who want to make their own ice cream. Does require an ice cream making machine.
US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurement. Common Measurement Conversion
Ingredients
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 5 egg yolks add up to 2 more to make it extra fudgy
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder you can use natural cocoa powder or dutch cocoa powder (35 g)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 cup cream
- 4 oz semisweet chocolate chopped or chocolate chips (115 g)
Instructions
Add the 5 egg yolks into the saucepan, along with the ¾ cup (150 g) white sugar, 1 tbsp vanilla extract, ½ tsp salt and ⅓ cup cocoa powder.
Whisk until you have a creamy, smooth and thick paste (with no lumps in the cocoa powder).
Add about ½ cup of milk first and whisk to mix well. Add the rest of the milk and 1 cup cream and whisk to combine. Add the semisweet chocolate into the saucepan too.
Heat over medium heat while whisking frequently. Allow the chocolate to melt in the milk while whisking. Heat the custard until the temperature registers between 165 - 170°F. If you don’t have a thermometer, then heat the custard until it steams. This takes about 10 - 12 minutes. Do NOT let it come to a boil.
- Remove from the heat and let it cool down to room temperature. Whisk occasionally to prevent a skin from forming on top.
Chill the custard base in the fridge for at least a few hours (or overnight) until completely chilled.
Strain the custard to remove any lumps, and transfer into your ice cream maker.
- Churn the ice cream in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions. Transfer the churned ice cream into a container and freeze for at least 2 - 4 hours until the ice cream is completely frozen.
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