Chocolate Ice Cream Recipes

This week, we’re making some chocolate ice cream! I’ll show you a few ways to do it, from super easy to a bit more work. The best part is you won’t need a special ice cream maker for any of these methods, making it easy to make delicious no-churn ice cream without a machine.

Banana-Based Chocolate Ice Cream

Ingredients

• Two whole bananas, sliced and frozen solid (about 2 hours)
• Whole milk, a few splashes
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (adjust to taste)

Instructions

1. Put your frozen banana slices into a blender.
2. Start blending them. Add small splashes of whole milk as you go, just enough to get them to liquefy, but keep the mixture as thick as you can if you want to create delightful homemade ice cream using common ingredients.

3. Once it’s almost smooth, add the cocoa powder. You can add more or less depending on how chocolatey you like it.
4. If you want it extra smooth, add another small splash of milk.
5. Blend until everything is fully mixed together.
6. Pour the mixture into a glass or metal bowl.
7. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Make sure the wrap is pressing down directly onto the surface of the mixture.
8. Freeze for about 4 hours.

Sweetened Condensed Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
• 14 ounce can sweet and condensed milk
• Optional: ½ stick melted butter
• A few heaping tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (adjust to taste)

Instructions

1. Whip the heavy whipping cream in a bowl until it forms stiff peaks.
2. In a separate medium bowl, pour in the sweetened condensed milk.
3. If you like, add the optional melted butter for extra richness.
4. Stir in a few heaping tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder. Remember, the condensed milk is already sweet, so no need for extra sugar.
5. Gently whisk these together until smooth and consistent. Taste it and add more cocoa powder if you want a stronger chocolate flavor, as it will be mixed with the whipped cream.
6. Carefully fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Be gentle to keep the whipped cream light and fluffy, which makes for a lighter ice cream, similar to how you might make creamy three-ingredient no-machine ice cream.
7. Once everything is mixed with no streaks, smooth out the top of the mixture.
8. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
9. Freeze for at least 4 hours, though overnight is even better.

Hand-Churned Chocolate Custard Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 cup white sugar
• ⅓ cup cocoa powder
• 1½ cups heavy cream
• Ice, for the ice bath
• ½ cup salt, for the ice bath

Instructions

Make the Custard

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the whole milk, eggs, and white sugar. Whisk everything together until well mixed.
2. Cook this mixture over medium-low heat, whisking constantly. Heat until it reaches 175°F.
3. Take the saucepan off the heat.
4. Stir in the cocoa powder.
5. Add the heavy cream and whisk until everything is combined. This also helps cool the mixture down.
6. Taste the custard. It should taste like a rich, melted ice cream base, similar to how you would enjoy a decadent homemade chocolate mousse.
7. Pour the custard into a bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly onto the surface.
8. Put the bowl in the freezer to chill completely.

Hand Churn the Ice Cream

1. Grab a large metal bowl and fill it halfway with ice. Break up any big chunks.
2. Sprinkle about ½ cup of salt over the ice. This makes the ice bath colder and helps the custard freeze faster.
3. Take your chilled custard out of the freezer and remove the plastic wrap.
4. Place the custard bowl into the larger bowl of ice and salt.
5. Whisk the custard mixture for 10 minutes straight, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl often.
6. After whisking, cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and put it back in the freezer for 30 minutes.
7. Take it out and repeat steps 5 and 6 three more times. This means you’ll whisk for 10 minutes and freeze for 30 minutes, four times in total.
8. By the end of the fourth round, the custard should be thick, like a very soft serve.
9. Remove the custard bowl from the ice bath. Cover it with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface.
10. Freeze for another 4 hours, or ideally overnight, until firm.

You can serve any of these on their own, or try them all together in one big sundae. For an extra touch, make some chocolate whipped cream by adding a few teaspoons of cocoa powder to regular whipped cream, and top with freshly shaved chocolate, or drizzle a rich homemade chocolate fudge sauce over your creation.