Chocolate Ice Cream
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Get ready to indulge—this homemade chocolate ice cream recipe combines three kinds of chocolate for a flavor that’s rich, fudgy, and unforgettable.
Picture the richness of a milk chocolate bar, but cooler and creamier—that’s the magic of this chocolate ice cream, adapted from Hello, My Name Is Ice Cream: The Art and Science of the Scoop by pastry chef Dana Cree. Trust me when I say it will ruin you for all other chocolate ice creams—even the premium store-bought brands.
So, what makes it so special? This recipe combines the fudgy depth of American chocolate ice cream with the creamy, luxurious texture of European gelato. While American-style ice creams often rely on cocoa powder, European gelato takes it up a notch with melted chocolate. But this recipe goes even further, using three types of chocolate—cocoa powder, dark chocolate, and milk chocolate—for an ultra-rich flavor that’s hard to beat.
“l made the recipe today and my grandson said this was the best chocolate ice cream he’s ever had, and this kid is a chocolate fiend!”
What You’ll Need To Make Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream
- Milk Chocolate & Bittersweet Chocolate: Adds depth and richness with a slightly bitter undertone to balance the sweetness of the milk chocolate. For the best flavor, be sure to use good quality chocolate, such as Ghirardelli, Guittard, or Lindt. If you’d like a deeper chocolate flavor, you can replace the milk chocolate with more bittersweet chocolate.
- Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder: Intensifies the chocolate flavor without adding extra sweetness.
- Milk Powder: Also referred to as dry milk. Enhances creaminess and adds depth to the flavor.
- Sugar: Sweetens the ice cream base, balancing the bitterness of the cocoa and bittersweet chocolate.
- Cornstarch: Acts as a thickening agent, contributing to the ice cream’s smooth and creamy texture.
- Corn Syrup: Adds sweetness and helps prevent crystallization, resulting in a smoother ice cream.
- Whole Milk: Provides creaminess to the ice cream base.
- Heavy Cream: Adds richness and contributes to the smooth, creamy texture of the ice cream.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
In a medium bowl large enough to hold the entire ice cream mixture, combine the milk and bittersweet chocolates. Microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring between each, until about 75% melted. Then stir until fully melted from the residual heat. (You can also melt the chocolate in a bowl over a double boiler if you prefer.) Once melted, mix in the cocoa powder and salt until smooth.
In a small bowl, mix the milk powder and sugar. In another bowl, stir the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold milk until smooth (dissolving cornstarch in cold liquid prevents lumps). Set both aside.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, cook the remaining 2 1/4 cups of milk, cream, and corn syrup, whisking occasionally, until it boils. Whisk in the milk powder and sugar mixture, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes, whisking often. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook for 1 more minute.
Pour about a third of the hot milk mixture into the melted chocolate and whisk until smooth. Gradually add the rest, whisking well after each addition to ensure it’s fully incorporated. Adding the milk mixture slowly prevents unmixed chocolate flecks, which can turn grainy when frozen.
Fill a large bowl with crushed ice and a little cold water, a few inches deep. Place the warm chocolate ice cream base into the ice bath and stir occasionally for 15 to 20 minutes, until it cools to room temperature. Make sure the bowl is stable. Once cooled, cover the base with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. The colder the base, the better it will churn.
Pour the chilled mixture into your ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. It’s ready when it reaches a soft-serve consistency and holds its shape, about 25 minutes, depending on your machine.
Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent ice crystals. Cover and freeze until fully hardened, 6 to 12 hours. The ice cream will keep for up to 1 week if tightly sealed. Before serving, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften for easy scooping.
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Ingredients
- 2 oz milk chocolate, chopped (see note)
- 2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (see note)
- 3 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder, such as Hershey's
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons milk powder (dry milk)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2¼ cups + 2 tablespoons whole milk, divided
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup corn syrup
Instructions
- Melt the Chocolate: In a medium bowl (large enough to hold the entire ice cream mixture), combine the milk chocolate and bittersweet chocolate. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring in between, until about 75% melted. Stir, allowing the residual heat in the bowl to melt the chocolate completely. (Alternatively, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan containing about 1 inch of barely simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.) Add the cocoa powder and salt and stir until completely smooth.
- In a small bowl, stir together the milk powder and sugar. Set aside.
- In another small bowl, combine the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold milk and stir until completely smooth. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, cook the remaining 2¼ cups (540 ml) milk, the cream, and corn syrup, whisking occasionally to prevent scorching, until it comes to a rolling boil.
- Whisk the milk powder and sugar mixture into the pot, reduce the heat to a low simmer, and continue cooking for 2 minutes, whisking frequently to prevent scorching. Add the cornstarch mixture and continue cooking and whisking for 1 minute more.
- Pour about one-third of the hot milk mixture into the melted chocolate; whisk until completely smooth. Gradually pour in the remaining milk mixture, stopping to whisk until smooth as you go, until fully incorporated (adding the milk mixture slowly prevents flecks of unmixed chocolate in the ice cream, which turn grainy when frozen).
- Fill a large bowl with crushed ice and a bit of cold water, a few inches deep. Next, place the warm chocolate ice cream base into the ice bath, stirring occasionally until it reaches a cool room temperature, 15 to 20 minutes. (These ice baths can be a little wobbly; be sure your bowl is stable. It's fine to use less ice and water if necessary.)
- Remove the chocolate ice cream base from the ice bath, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. (The colder the mixture is when you churn it, the better.)
- Pour the ice cream mixture into the bowl of an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. The ice cream is ready when it reaches a soft-serve consistency and holds its shape; it should take 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the machine.
- Immediately transfer the ice cream to a container with an airtight lid. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the ice cream to prevent ice crystals from forming, cover, and freeze until it hardens completely, 6 to 12 hours. Scoop and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Is there a dessert bread (warmed) you think would be good with this ice cream on top of it
Hi Cynthia, the first thing that comes to mind is banana bread because I love the pairing of bananas and chocolate. It would be nice on this basic banana bread or this marbled one. Hope that helps!
Hi Jenn, the only milk powder I have access to is Instant fat free skim milk powder. Would that work?
Yep 🙂
We really enjoyed this! We particularly enjoyed that after freezing overnight, the remaining ice cream doesn’t turn rock hard but is entirely “scoopable. Yummy!
Question: you mentioned that the original recipe used 4 oz of bittersweet chocolate. Was this in addition to the milk chocolate or did you decrease the bittersweet and add the milk chocolate? Thanks.
Hi Janice, It was in addition to the milk chocolate. 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe and instruction help, Jenn! Can this recipe be doubled with success?
Sure Kellie, although you’ll likely have to freeze the ice cream in batches. Enjoy!
I plan to make this tonight. What can be substituted for dry milk as the store around me don’t carry the product. Thanks!
Hi Jane, You can just use additional milk (and add it with the milk).
What is the purpose of the milk powder? Could more regular milk be used? I hate to have to purchase a whole box of milk powder for just 3 tablespoons.
Hi Cynthia, The milk powder helps stabilize the ice cream, making it smooth, dense, and rich. It does this by absorbing extra water in the ice cream mixture, so there’s less water to freeze into ice as the ice cream churns. You can replace it with more whole milk; the ice cream won’t be quite as creamy, but it should still be delicious. 🙂
l made the recipe today and my grandson said this was the best chocolate ice cream he’s ever had, and this kid is a chocolate fiend! I took a lick well ok more than a lick and yes it’s really creamy and not icy like the normal ice creams l make.
To get to my question because you have an extensive background in cooking if one wanted say to make vanilla ice cream could l just follow the recipe and ingredients minus the chocolate and add vanilla extract or add a bean to the milk/cream cooking mixture.
I really like the ice cream base and would like to try to make other flavours instead of just chocolate. Do you think that would work?
Thank you Jenn for sharing, l look forward to getting your weekly newsletter, your recipes are very delicious and never fail.
So happy you and your grandson enjoyed! If you want to try a similar style ice cream in vanilla, I would use this recipe. I’d love to know how it turns out if you try it. 🙂
I’m not much of a fan of chocolate ice cream, but this recipe makes it tempting indeed! My only caution is, I fear some readers may be confused by the first step (as I was, until I went over it at least 3 times). I interpreted the instructions as putting ALL the liquid milk AND the bittersweet bar chocolate chunks into a bowl to melt. The photo of course shows only the bar chocolate chunks in the bowl (no milk) so I knew something was weird. But I still had to re-read the instructions a few times before I realized, Jen, that you’re referring to the milk chocolate chunks where it says “…combine the milk and bittersweet chocolates.” The plural in “chocolates” is what I finally paid attention to, and then interpreted correctly. But – excited ice-cream makers beware – if you dive into this recipe too fast, you may sabotage the whole effort right at the outset in step 1! Now that I have un-confused myself 🙂 I’m going to give this recipe a try. I made your caramelized banana ice cream last night and it was divine, as are all your recipes — not just ice cream! — so I can’t pass this one up. (I only gave zero stars because I haven’t tried it yet. I hope that doesn’t bring down the average!)
Thank you for pointing that out, Teresa – looking at it again, it is confusing! I fixed it. Hope you enjoy! 😊
Does this recipe work without an ice cream machine?
Thanks, Anna
Hi Anna, Unfortunately you really need the ice cream machine for this recipe. Sorry!