Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream

Choooooocoate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream.  That’s right, that is what I said:  Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream.  Holy cow is this stuff un-freaking-believable too.

I mean sure, Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream, blah blah sounds like a familiar flavor you’ve surely had before, no big deal, what’s the scoop (ahhh ha, ice cream pun, hahaha), why bother with a ho-hum we’ve seen this before?

Because you haven’t had this one.

It is a well-known fact ‘round these parts that I am an ice cream fiend.  Big fan.  Mike is too.  Finn is not (he doesn’t get people ice cream, don’t worry).

Too, it is a well-known fact ’round these parts that I am a big fan of making ice cream.  Homemade ice cream is tough to beat.  You know what you’ve put in it (ahem, no multi-syllable chemicals or otherwise funky stuff), it’s fresh, filled with goodness and love.

Back when I was in my late teens/early twenty’s, I worked summers at a Ben & Jerry’s scoop shop which I believe I already mentioned, yes I did.

It was fun, or, well, the people I worked with were fun; the customers were not always fun.  You’d think going out for ice cream would be a happy experience but apparently it is not.

Anyway, one of the best aspects of the job, for me, was tasting new flavors that came in.  Or that day when I first started and got to taste allllll the flavors, yeah, that was, that was a good day.

One of the perks of the job was a spot of a discount too so I could buy a pint to take home or get a discount on the cakes (oh man, ice cream layered with brownies slathered in whipped cream…..?!  Sign me up.) or just stopping by with the family on a day off.  

The Vermonster!  Ever have one of those?  Ha, that was always fun!  Not always fun to assemble or clean up after but fun to devour.

On the regular, I was bringing home pints, eating a third to half a’ pint nightly.  Yeah I know.  I was a teenager, I burned it all off the next day at work with an hours-long line out the door.

My favorite…well, that’s tough I should say as I loved so many of their flavors and usually, my favorites would get canceled:  Chocolate Mystic Mint, yep.  Apple Pie Ice Cream.  Chocolate Raspberry Swirl.  Cinnamon.  Holy Cannoli.  Brownie Bars.  My stomach just growled, haha.

My all-time favorite, Dastardly Mash, got canceled too.  But, the recipe is in my Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream and Dessert Book* which, the book, weirdly, I think I have rarely ever used.

Another major favorite was Chocolate Fudge Brownie.  As it turns out, this recipe I’ve modified and am sharing today from Cravings of a Lunatic is a ridiculously spot-on copycat even though it doesn’t replicate a recipe out of the book.  Because I’m me, I did add eggs.  Neither the adapted recipe nor B&J’s call for them.   Feel free to leave them out or cut down; know the richness level will be affected which you may or may not fancy.

I have made this sans brownies and you can too but since I’ve got an awesome recipe for brownies, bake up a batch then toss them in.  Oh man, ok, I am adding this to my menu planner right now actually…..

This ice cream is riiiiiiiiich and so chocolatey and so perfect, I can hardly stand it.  It is the ultimate in creamy, ultimate in dreamy chocolate ice cream.  And as with the other ice creams I’ve offered up to you, it’s simple to make and follows the same general system. 

Start warming up the milk and part of the cream and then in the meantime, set up an ice bath.  Pour the rest of the cream into that bowl. 

In a medium-ish bowl, toss in the sugars and the eggs whisking that around until it’s that beautiful shade of pale yellow.

And we’re off to the races!  Whip all this together nicely!

Toss in the cocoa powder and salt, whisk that up and by now, your dairy products are likely warmed.

Now note, it will get super thick here…..

Stream some of the dairy into the eggy stuff while whisking to temper the eggy stuff.  This will be tricky as the egg/cocoa is pretty stiff but I have faith in you.  Ok, check and mark and pour that all back into the saucepan.

….which you’ll find pouring in warm liquid and whisking to be a spot of a challenge but you’ve got this, I know it.  These round coil types of whisks* are my go-to faves, much more efficient.

Pop the heat up a bit and whisk or stir constantly until it thickens up nicely. Pour that goodness into the ice bath bowl with the cream, cover and chill baby chill.

Brownies baked (I went with my Chewy Brownies per Mike’s request.  I love him.) and ice cream base chilled.

Once it’s cool, toss in the vanilla then churn it up.  Again, ice cream makers* are awesome and I think everyone should have one.  That’s my (very) biased opinion.

Right?!  I mean riiiight?!  Yum.  Holy cow yum.

Ok!  While that’s a-whirl, chop up the brownies if you haven’t already, try not to eat them all first, and pop ‘em in the freezer.  I know, some larger “crumbs” won’t make it.  The recipe below says 1 1/4 cups but I definitely tossed in easily like 1 1/2 and would personally toss in a bit more than that.  FYI.

Now, either throw the brownies in near the end of churning, scoop out the ice cream and then stir in the brownies by hand, or alternate layers of ice cream and brownie chunks in your freezer-safe container.

I found this easiest, scooping the ice cream into a large bowl then mix in the brownies. Yeah it does melt quick so work fast.

Good luck avoiding jamming an extra large spoon into that deliciousness.

And as you can see, scooping beautiful scoops is not like riding a bike, haha!

Freeze up and enjoy!  Oh and enjoy you will.  Oh yes, yes you will.

Note:  This content originally appeared on Flaky Bakers.

Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream

Yield

16

Prep time

15 Min

Cook time

25 Min

Inactive time

4 Hour

Total time

4 H & 40 M

The richest, creamiest, chocolate-y-est chocolate brownie ice cream ever. Just like the scoop shops used to make!

Ingredients

• 1 cup (237 ml) milk
• 2 cups (473 ml) heavy cream, divided
• 1/2 cup (99 g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (107 g) brown sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 egg
• 1 cup (84 g) cocoa powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup (160 g) brownie pieces, give or take

Instructions

1. In a saucepan over medium low heat, warm the milk and 1 cup of the heavy cream. While this is warming, set up an ice bath (a large bowl of ice with a smaller empty bowl set within it) and pour the remaining cup of heavy cream into the empty bowl.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the sugars, egg yolks, and egg. Whisk thoroughly until the mixture turns a pale yellow color. Add the cocoa powder and pinch of salt then whisk thoroughly.
3. Once the milk and cream mixture has begun to steam, slowly stream about half of the liquid into the sugar/egg mixture while whisking constantly to temper the eggs.
4. Pour the tempered liquid back into the saucepan. Turn the heat to medium and while stirring constantly, cook the ice cream base until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon or looks almost like a pudding. Remove from the heat, place a strainer over the bowl with the cream, and pour the cooked base into it.
5. Cover directly on the surface with plastic wrap to cool. If possible, place the entire ice bath in the refrigerator.
6. Once the ice cream base has chilled, add the vanilla extract then churn it in an ice cream machine following the manufacturer’s instructions. Chop the brownies into small bite size pieces and place in the freezer.
7. With about 5 minutes left until the ice cream is ready, add the brownie chunks. Other methods include churning the ice cream completely then stirring in the brownie chunks in by hand or alternate layers of ice cream with brownie bits in the freezer safe container.
8. Scoop the ice cream into a freezer safe container, cover with plastic or wax paper and freeze until hardened. Set out on the counter about 5-10 minutes before serving for ease of scooping.

Notes:

Adapted from Cravings of a Lunatic.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

269.79

Fat (grams)

17.55

Sat. Fat (grams)

8.64

Carbs (grams)

25.42

Fiber (grams)

1.00

Net carbs

24.42

Sugar (grams)

13.47

Protein (grams)

4.18

Sodium (milligrams)

91.38

Cholesterol (grams)

82.45

Please see the "info" section for nutrition details and information about gram weights.

ice cream, chocolate, brownie, fudge

recipes

American

*The Ben & Jerry’s cookbook, whisks, and ice cream makers are Amazon affiliate links.  Happy baking, thanks!  Please see the "info" tab for more, well, info.