Come into my kitchen for an Easy Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream, made of pure cacao chocolate, milk of your choice and a pinch of cinnamon makes for the easiest summertime chocolate ice cream.Â
Chocolate Ice Cream
Who doesn’t love chocolate ice cream! The most basic of all the ice cream flavors and yet the most loved world-wide.
Chocolate ice cream can be made from the richest of cream and pure raw cacao or from a variety of plant milks, such as Chocolate Almond Milk Ice Cream and carob as an alternative to chocolate.Â
Adding a pinch of cinnamon to the raw cacao adds an extra measure of spice that seems to bring a warmth the the chocolate flavor, since raw cacao is actually bitter.
Ice Cream Machine
While ice cream can be made in a loaf pan, frozen then shaped into balls before it becomes too solid to scoop, I would definitely recommend an Ice Cream Machine.Â
Ice cream machines are inexpensive, and they do all the work in under 20-minutes. The insert is stored in the freezer so it is always ready when you are to make a quick batch of ice cream.
Ice cream machines are also fabulous for making sorbets or slushies for a hot summer day, but by all means you’ve gotta try Gin and Tonic Sorbet Shooters! A totally adult summer cocktail!
Easy Homemade Ice Cream
The basic aspect of any ice cream is to mix the batter.
This can be a sweet or savory mix. It can be for creamy ice cream or fruity sorbets.Â
Once the batter is mixed and chilled in the fridge for an hour (or over night), the batter is poured into the ice cream maker and in 20-minutes, you’ve got homemade ice cream.
Once the ice cream is made, rather than store it in a large container, which needs to soften a bit before scooping, I will scoop the ice cream into cupcake papers, pop them into a muffin tin in the freezer until they freeze.
Once fully frozen they can then be transferred a closed container, or served right away.Â
So Many Options For Homemade Ice Cream
Once you have an ice cream maker in your possession and the bowl is always ready in the freezer, the options are endless!
From sweet to savory (yes, a savory ice cream is fabulous), dairy to non-dairy, even veggies from a farmers market!
- Fresh Fennel Pollen Ice Cream – steeped with fennel flowers, sweetened with honey and a splash of liquor, for a very grown-up ice cream!
- Beetroot Ice Cream – yes, sweet and earthy beetroots churned into a beautiful ice cream.
- Farm To Table Corn Ice Cream – sun ripened, naturally sweet corn ice cream with caramel popcorn sprinkled on top.
- Fun Dairy-free S’mores Ice Cream – with all the ingredients in your favorite s’mores, presented with a fiery marshmallow on top!
Ingredients Needed
- Raw Cacao powder
- Sugar
- Water
- Cinnamon
- Milk – or plant milk
- Cream – Not needed with plant milk
Equipment Needed
- Sauce pan
- Wire Whisk
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Ice cream maker – my favorite is below and I’ve had it for over 10-years!
- Cupcake papers (optional)
- Airtight container
Easy Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream
Equipment
- Ice-cream maker
- Small saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 cup Raw Cacao powder
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon optional
- 2 cups Milk your choice
- 1 cup Cream – with dairy milk or full-fat coconut cream
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil, add the cacao powder, sugar and cinnamon and simmer on low until the mixture dissolves, about 2-minutes. Cool.
- Pour the cooled chocolate mixture into a bowl and with a hand mixer or wire whisk, and whisk in the milk and cream until well blended. Chill at least an hour or overnight.
- Pour the chilled chocolate mixture into the ice cream machine (pre-frozen bowl, following manufacturer's instructions), and churn for 20-minutes. Serve or store.
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.