THE BEST Chocolate Ice Cream

Tips for making The Best Chocolate Ice Cream

1.  Chill, chill, chill!  Chill EVERYTHING!  Chill the ice cream custard, chill the ice cream maker drum, chill the dasher that churns the ice cream.
2.  Using Cocoa powder gives the ice cream an earthy rich flavor.  Dutch-processed cocoa is a good choice for less acidic ice cream that has a richer and darker color.
3.  Be sure to strain the cooked ice cream custard.  This helps eliminate any lumps from cocoa or possible cooked egg pieces.  
4.  Don’t skip the “ripening” process.  Resist the temptation to scoop into freshly churned-batch ice cream because the best is yet to come. The flavor improves and the product melts more slowly when it has ripened.
5. Have plenty of crushed ice on hand especially if churning the ice cream on a hot day.  It’s best to have MORE than you think you’ll need.  

Mixing the Custard

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1. In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat eggs and 1/2 cup sugar together.  Mix it very well then set it aside.
2. In a  larger bowl add the sugar, cocoa, salt, and cornstarch. 
3. Whisk or sift together.
4. Stir in 3 cups of whole milk. Whisk until smooth.

Cooking the Custard

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1. Pour the chocolate mixture into a large saucepan.
2. Cook over medium-low heat stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.  Using a wooden spoon instead of a wire prevents too much air in the ice cream mixture.   This will help make the ice cream smoother and creamy.  If I wanted airy and foamy ice cream, I’d go buy some at the grocery store. 😉
3. Cook over medium/low heat until the mixture starts to boil and thicken.
4. Ladle a small amount of the hot chocolate mixture into the beaten egg/sugar mixture. Whisk until blended. Repeat until you have added 2 cups of the chocolate mixture.
5. Pour the egg mixture back into the hot chocolate mixture. Stir together and cook until the mixture begins to boil then cook for an additional 2 minutes. Stirring constantly so that it doesn’t scorch on the bottom.  Remove from the heat then stir in vanilla. 
6. Pour the liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into a heat-proof bowl just in case there are any lumps or cooked eggs.

Chilling the Custard

• Add the 4 cups of heavy whipping cream. Stir until completely blended.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.
• Don’t skimp on the chill time.  You will get greater volume in your ice cream if you refrigerate it overnight.  You want the custard to be cold.  Even if you are using a “no-cook” recipe, it’s still a good idea to refrigerate your mixture overnight.

Bucket Ice Cream Maker

For large batches of ice cream, a bucket-style ice cream maker is perfect.  These types of churns church as much as 4 to 6-quarts of ice cream.  The downside is they require the use of crushed ice and rock salt for freezing.

White Mountain Ice Cream makers are the Granddaddy of all ice cream freezers.  As you can tell mine has been very well used. I LOVE IT!!!!!  This is what makes it so great?

• for starters, the motor is more like a jet engine (12,000 RPM).  It’s loud!  Very, very loud but powerful.  
• The dasher that churns the ice cream.  As you can see it is metal (not plastic) the sides of the dasher are wood. The metal dasher gets very cold.  This can chill the ice cream from the center as well as the outside of the metal container.  Helping the custard to freeze quicker.   
• They are NOT cheap (about $200).  Worth every penny.  The motor is so heavy-duty that I don’t think I could possibly burn it out.  Yes!  I have burned out several motors in my days of ice cream making.  Seriously!  I LOVE IT!!!!!! 

Churning the Ice Cream

• Pour the cooked mixture that has been refrigerated OVERNIGHT into the chilled ice cream drum.
• Put the chilled dasher in place.
• Place the lid on the metal ice cream container.   Carefully lift the cylinder and place it into the bucket. 
• Attach the motor of the ice cream maker. 
• Fill the wooden bucket with ice to the top of the canister. Plug the cord into an outlet and run your motor for about 2 minutes so that the canister chills evenly.
• Add 2 cups of rock salt to the top of the ice. As the ice melts down to 2 to 3 inches, add more ice and 2 more cups of rock salt.
• The White Mountain ice cream freezer generally freezes the ice cream in just 15-20 minutes.  The motor will begin to sound slower as the ice cream begins to thicken and freeze  **It’s best to read the directions that come with your particular ice cream maker.  
• Have plenty of crushed ice and rock salt on hand.  (3 large bags of crushed ice and 4 cups rock salt)

The Ice Cream is Churned…Now What?

• After about 15-20 minutes you should start to hear your motor slowing down a bit.  This means the ice cream has become thick and the motor is struggling to churn.  At this point, unplug the motor and remove it.  Wipe away any ice and rock salt.  Carefully lift the lid making sure that non of the ice or rock salt falls into your beautifully churned ice cream.
• Carefully lift the center dashing and scrape off the ice cream that has stuck to the dasher back into the churned ice cream.
• Clean up the edges of the ice cream by scraping the sides of the cylinder.  Replace the lid.  **NOTE:  the lid has a hole in the top of it.  Most ice cream makers come with a cork that should fit snuggly into that hole.  Plug up the hole and replace the lid.

Ripening The Best Chocolate Ice Cream

• After the lid has been corked and placed over the ice cream, cover the lid with more crushed ice and rock salt.  
• Wrap the entire ice cream maker with a couple of towels, large beach towels, or a small blanket.  Let this sit for about an hour or so.  The ice cream will continue to harden up a bit.  This will allow the ice cream to “ripen”.  Carefully unwrap and remove the ice and rock salt from the top.  Lift the cylinder out of the icy/brine solution and serve.

*NOTE:  After the ice cream drum has been removed from the bucket, DO NOT dump the ice/salt mixture on the lawn or any other place where vegetation is growing because it will kill it!!  My first churn resulted in a large dead spot on our lawn for weeks…maybe the entire summer???  🤦‍♀️

5 from 2 votes

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‘THE BEST’ Chocolate Ice Cream

Homemade churned smooth and creamy chocolate big batch ice cream.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword churned ice cream, homemade chocolate ice cream, homemade ice cream

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

overnight refrigeration 20 hours

Servings 16 servings

Calories 352 kcal

Author Janet Barton

Ingredients

• 2 eggs beaten
• ½ cup sugar
• 2/3 cup cocoa Dutch-processed
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 cups whole milk 2% milk may be used
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 4 cups cream heavy

Instructions

Ice Cream Custard

1. Combine eggs and ½ cups sugar in a medium-size mixing bowl. Beat well then set aside.

2. Combine the 1 ½ cups sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan. Whisk in the milk until the cocoa sugar mixture are well combined and smooth. Using a wooden spoon, cook the mixture and stir over medium-low heat until the mixture boils.

3. Remove from the heat. Slowly add about 1 cup of chocolate mixture in with the egg mixture stirring constantly. Return the egg mixture into the hot chocolate mixture. Continue to cook until the mixture begins to boil and coats the back of the spoon. Cook an additional 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla the 4 cups of heavy cream

4. Pour the cooked custard mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a heat-proof bowl. Cover the custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.

Churning the Ice Cream

1. Pour the cooked mixture that has been refrigerated OVERNIGHT into the chilled ice cream drum. Put the chilled dasher in place. Place the lid on the metal ice cream container.  Carefully lift the cylinder and place it into the bucket. Attach the motor of the ice cream maker.  Plug the motor into an electric socket and begin churning.

2. While the motor churning/spinning layer with ice and rock salt. The White Mountain ice cream freezer generally freezes the ice cream in just 15-20 minutes.  The motor will begin to sound slower as the ice cream begins to thicken and freeze  **It’s best to read the directions that come with your particular ice cream maker.  Keep the ice level even with the bottom of the lid by adding more crushed ice and needed along with rock salt.

Ripening the Ice Cream

1. After about 15-20 minutes you should start to hear your motor slowing down a bit.  This means the ice cream has become thick and the motor is struggling to churn.  At this point, unplug the motor and remove it.  Wipe away any ice and rock salt.  Carefully lift the lid making sure that non of the ice or rock salt falls into your beautifully churned ice cream. Carefully lift the center dasher and scrape off the ice cream that has stuck to the dasher back into the churned ice cream. Clean up the edges of the ice cream by scraping the sides of the cylinder.  Replace the lid.  

2. After the lid has been corked and placed over the ice cream, cover the lid with more crushed ice and rock salt.  

3. Wrap the entire ice cream maker with a couple of towel large beach towels or a small blanket.  Let this sit for about an hour or so.  The ice cream will continue to harden up a bit.  This will allow the ice cream to “ripen”.  Carefully unwrap and remove the ice and rock salt from the top.  Lift the cylinder out of the icy/brine solution and serve.

Recipe Notes

1.  Chill, chill, chill!  Chill EVERYTHING!  Chill the ice cream custard, chill the ice cream maker drum, chill the dasher that churns the ice cream.
2.  Using Cocoa powder gives the ice cream an earthy rich flavor.  Dutch-processed cocoa is a good choice for less acidic ice cream that has a richer and darker color.
3.  Be sure to strain the cooked ice cream custard.  This helps eliminate any lumps from cocoa or possible cooked egg pieces.  
4.  Don't skip the "ripening" process.  Resist the temptation to scoop into freshly churned-batch ice cream because the best is yet to come. The flavor improves and the product melts more slowly when it has ripened.
5. Have plenty of crushed ice on hand especially if churning the ice cream on a hot day.  It's best to have MORE than you think you'll need.  

*NOTE:  After the ice cream drum has been removed from the bucket, DO NOT dump the ice/salt mixture on the lawn or any other place where vegetation is growing because it will kill it!!  My first churn resulted in a large dead spot on our lawn for weeks...maybe the entire summer???  🤦‍♀️

Nutrition Facts

‘THE BEST’ Chocolate Ice Cream

Amount Per Serving (1 g)

Calories 352 Calories from Fat 225

% Daily Value*

Fat 25g38%

Saturated Fat 15g75%

Trans Fat 1g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 7g

Cholesterol 107mg36%

Sodium 88mg4%

Potassium 169mg5%

Carbohydrates 32g11%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 28g31%

Protein 4g8%

Vitamin A 978IU20%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 98mg10%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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