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If you’re looking for a bowl of sweet nostalgia, you don’t have to look much further than homemade chocolate ice cream. Maybe we love it because someone always made a batch on the summer holidays of our childhoods — or maybe it’s because the fresh-churned frozen dessert is just that good. And if you’re going to continue the tradition of making your own silky, rich chocolate ice cream, you should choose a type of chocolate fit for the job.
There’s a lot of chocolate out there, from cocoa powder to fudge and everything in between. It can be tempting to just reach for whatever chocolatey substance you have in the pantry, especially when you’re making some impromptu ice cream. But, there are certain kinds of chocolate that are best for homemade ice cream, and we got the details from an expert on the subject: Tyler Malek, co-founder and head of innovation at the ice cream shop Salt & Straw, and co-author of “America’s Most Iconic Ice Creams: A Salt & Straw Cookbook.”
For a fudgy flavor that’s dripping with chocolatey goodness, use a high-quality cocoa powder (here’s how to judge cocoa powder quality). Specifically, Malek suggests using high-fat Dutch process cocoa powder in homemade ice cream. Dutch cocoa is usually more expensive, but has almost twice the fat content of other cocoa powders, helping keep the texture of your ice cream smooth and the flavor rich. “We love Valrhona cocoa powder,” Malek says. “It’s best to dilute that with some sugar and water to make a syrup, then add that to your ice cream base.”
How to add chocolate to your homemade ice cream
Adding cocoa powder (or any kind of chocolate) to ice cream isn’t rocket science, but there are a few techniques you can use to create a beautiful product. If you’re making homemade ice cream in a Mason jar, you won’t have to worry as much about how you add the chocolate — just dump some cocoa powder in and start shaking. The same goes for basic chocolate ice cream. But, you can be more strategic about adding chocolate to machine-made ice cream and get some interesting results — like adding a chocolate swirl to vanilla ice cream.
The best kind of chocolate to use for a decadent chocolate swirl in homemade ice cream is fudge. Make it yourself with sweetened condensed milk or pick some up at the store. Tyler Malek suggests searching for an all-natural brand with a thick consistency that you can still pour at room temperature. He says, “If you use melted chocolate, you’ll get a freckled appearance — in that case, mix it with a little coconut oil or some kind of neutral oil to thin it out first.” Between Dutch cocoa powder and fudge, there are multiple ways to achieve the sweet, chocolatey treat of your dreams.
