
I’ve been sitting on this post for days now. Since I went so many years not writing, I have a backlog of recipes I’m dying to share here. Like the best of the best. And this ice cream is something you will probably want to make right now. The problem for me is that I’m really rusty at this writing thing and it’s taken me a while to just say, you know what?, let’s just talk about how good this is and how easy it is instead of telling you about the time when I was four and took a big lick of a chocolate ice cream cone and nudged the scoop directly onto the floor. (True story.) There are many jokes about how no one wants to read personal stories about food – JUST GET TO THE RECIPE ALREADY. I get it. But I’m not here to make money, I’m just here to share some of my favorite foods and get down some stories along the way. Sometimes though, it’s best just to talk about the food.

Have you made ice cream? Have you wanted to make ice cream? I can tell you, homemade ice cream will impress just about everyone. I could make you a ten course dinner and when you found out I made the ice cream, you will think I’m a rockstar. (This is also somewhat true of homemade salad dressing and homemade bread.) If you have been scared off by the idea that you have to purchase a piece of equipment, let me tell you, you don’t need an ice cream maker to make stellar ice cream.
Now allow me to digress from this point for a moment and tell you I am a big fan of my ice cream maker. I’ve had it for over ten years, it only costs about $70 (Cuisinart is the brand I have), and it consistently makes terrific ice cream. If you are using an ice cream maker, chances are you are making a custard based ice cream, meaning it contains egg yolks. Making custard based ice cream is not hard but it is a little fussy. You will also need to keep the bowl of the maker in your freezer at all times so you are ready to make ice cream whenever you want. The bowl takes a full 24 hours to get cold enough to freeze the custard so it’s best to keep it frozen always. This might be when your eyes glaze over and say making ice cream is too hard.
But it’s not! And you don’t have to make a custard or keep a large bowl in your freezer at all times! You can make no-churn ice cream for which you only need a few bowls and some kind of mixer to whip cream (or a person with a really strong arm.) Honestly, the hardest thing about making this recipe is that you have to wait about six hours before you can eat it. My favorite ice cream flavor ever is chocolate chocolate chip and this version is incredible. If you need more of a nudge than that, know that I make A LOT of treats and this is the absolute house favorite of the dudes living in my house. I could have a birthday cake sitting on the counter and a cookie jar full of their favorite cookies, and they will want this ice cream. Convinced?

Chocolate No-Churn Ice Cream
The Vanilla Bean Baking Book
Makes a lot
If you don’t have Sarah Keiffer’s book, I would highly recommend it to you, especially if you like to bake. There are several ice cream recipes in it, all no-churn, but there are many many other treasures. If you are interested in exploring making ice cream in general, the book to get is David Lebowitz’s The Perfect Scoop.
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
One 14-ounce sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups heavy cream
Chocolate sprinkles (optional and not in the original recipe)
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of boiling water, being careful not to let the water touch the bottom of the bowl, and stir constantly until just melted. Remove from the heat and pour 5 ounces (a little more than half) of the chocolate onto the prepared pan. Freeze until firm, 10 to 15 minutes. Let the other 3 ounces of chocolate cool to room temperature.
In a large bowl, whisk the sweetened condensed milk, the remaining 3 ounces of cooled chocolate, vanilla, and salt until completely combined.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, beat the cream cheese on medium until smooth. (DT: I am quite sure you could do this whisking with a hand mixer.) Turn the mixer to low and add the heavy cream in a slow steady stream, mixing until combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and whisk until stiff peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add half the whipped cream mixture to the sweetened condensed milk mixture and whisk until completely combined. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the remaining whipped cream mixture until no streaks remain.
Remove the chocolate from the freezer and chop into bite-size pieces. The chocolate will begin to melt as you touch it, so work quickly. Add the chopped chocolate to the ice cream and mix to combine. Pour into a 9-inch loaf pan or Pullman pan with a lid. Top with chocolate sprinkles if desired. Freeze until firm, 6 hours or, covered, up to 1 week.