How To Make the Best Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream

1. 1

   Chill the ice cream bowl, if needed. If your ice cream machine has a bowl that needs to be frozen before churning, put it in the freezer the night before you plan to make ice cream. (If you forget, you can make the base and refrigerate it overnight while the bowl is freezing, and churn the ice cream the next day.) Fill a large bowl halfway with ice and water; set aside. Fit a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl; set aside. Straining is optional but makes for a super-smooth finished ice cream.

2. 2

   Melt the chocolates. Place the milk and dark chocolates in a medium heatproof metal or glass bowl. Bring a large skillet of water to a boil. Turn off the heat and set the bowl in the water. Leave the chocolate to melt gently, stirring occasionally, while you prepare the dairy.

3. 3

   Heat the dairy, cocoa, sugar, and sweetened condensed milk. Place the milk, cream, sugar, condensed milk, and cocoa powder in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally, until smooth. Simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat. Check to make sure the chocolate is fully melted

   2 min
4. 4

   Combine the chocolate and dairy mixture. Pour a ladleful of the hot dairy mixture into the melted chocolate and whisk until thoroughly combined. Add another ladleful and repeat whisking until you've added about half of the dairy mixture. Add the remaining dairy mixture and whisk to combine.

5. 5

   Strain the base, if desired. Strain the ice cream base through the strainer if desired. Set the bowl of ice cream base into the ice water bath, but make sure no water gets into the base.

6. 6

   Chill the ice cream base completely. Leave the ice cream base on the ice water bath, stirring occasionally, until completely chilled, about 20 minutes. (Alternatively, skip the ice water bath. After the base cools slightly, cover and refrigerate until chilled for up to 1 day.)

   20 min
7. 7

   Churn the ice cream base. Transfer the ice cream base to the bowl of the ice cream machine. Churn until the base has thickened to a consistency somewhere between a very thick milkshake and soft-serve ice cream. In most ice cream makers, 20 to 35 minutes — check the instructions for your particular machine.

8. 8

   Freeze until hardened, about 4 hours. Transfer the thickened ice cream to a freezer container. Press a piece of wax paper, parchment paper, or plastic wrap against the surface of the ice cream to prevent ice crystals from forming. Freeze until solid, at least 4 hours.

Recipe Notes

1. 9

   Storage: Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.