Brownie Batter Ice Cream
With a brown sugar vanilla base, and packed with edible brownie batter, this traditional churned ice cream is about as good as it gets.
Making traditional custard style ice cream has become a summer love affair that I didn’t see coming. It started as a tumultuous relationship, but quickly grew into something I enjoy. There are so many benefits to making homemade ice cream: control over ingredients, endless flavor combinations to explore and a freshness and quality that can’t be matched. There is a learning curve to making ice cream, but hopefully this blog post can help speed up the learning process.
This recipe was love at first bite for my entire family, and I immediately wanted it on the blog. It has a brown sugar vanilla base, with a generous amount of brownie chunks swirled into the ice cream and most importantly, has a wonderful creamy texture.
Below are tips and tricks for finding homemade ice cream making success.
Choosing An Ice Cream Machine
Linked here is the machine I use. This isn’t an affiliate link, but Cuisinart ice cream machines are highly recommended, and are perfect for homemade ice cream. Other models can be researched if a larger unit is desired, or if you’d like a model that doesn’t require prep. I may upgrade eventually, but for now, I am content with my current machine, and can recommend it with confidence.
Freezing The Ice Cream Bowl
This is CRITICAL.
I repeat.
This. Is. Critical.
Don’t rush this process, don’t skip this process, or I promise, the ice cream will not be the correct consistency. Put the ice cream bowl into the freezer for 48 hours before churning the ice cream. For the Cuisinart model, there is liquid inside the bowl, and when frozen properly, there will be NO movement of liquid when the bowl is inverted. Before getting started, make sure the bowl is frozen completely. If you take anything away from my experience, this is the most important piece of information.
Making A Custard And Letting It Rest
When making homemade ice cream, there are three processes that are most common. There is no churn ice cream, made with condensed milk, ice cream that is churned, but doesn’t have a custard base, and then the traditional type, which requires making a custard, with several egg yolks. The third process is the one found here, and in my opinion, superior to the other two methods.
When I first started making ice cream, I avoided making a custard, because I was intimidated by the process, but what a difference it makes regarding flavor and texture.
Making a custard-based ice cream involves heating cream and milk to just before a boil, and then tempering eggs into the hot milk. This process makes for a creamy, rich, delicious ice cream. Once the custard is made it’s stored in the fridge overnight, allowing the fat to emulsify, making for a superior ice cream. It also insures the custard is thoroughly chilled before being churned—the colder the better.
Don’t Dilly Dally
Once the ice cream is churned—resembling that of soft serve—it is imperative the ice cream is swiftly removed from the machine and transferred into the desired storage container. Have the container, with a proper lid, ready and set aside. Further, make sure a designated spot is ready for the ice cream in the freezer. The goal is to keep the ice cream as cold as possible, because if it gets soupy during transfer, crystallization can begin, which disrupts the ice cream texture significantly.
A Note On The Brownie Batter
The brownie batter is eggless, to prevent possible salmonella contamination. The eggs in the custard itself are heated and therefore harmful bacterium is killed.
The brownie batter is thicker than normal brownie batter to ensure it won’t disintegrate in the ice cream. When adding the brownie batter to the ice cream, use a spoon, and slowly add one spoonful at a time, into the churning ice cream. The brownie batter should be added the last couple of minutes of the churning process. By adding the brownie batter a spoonful or so at a time, it’s distributed evenly into the ice cream, varying in size and texture. Do not stir in the brownie batter by hand, as it will take too long, likely melting the ice cream before storing in the freezer.
Final Tip
Once the ice cream has been properly placed in the freezer, it will take several hours before it’s ready to enjoy.
When making homemade ice cream, I always buy sugar cones at the local grocery store. They are inexpensive and make the whole experience feel fun and special.
Brownie Batter Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups whole milk
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 5 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 1/4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate, chopped small
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, throughly whisk together the sugars and egg yolks. The mixture will seem very thick at first, but as it's whisked, the mixture will break down a bit, lighten and become looser in consistency. When ready, the mixture should fall off the whisk like a ribbon when lifted.
- Using a medium sauce pan, heat the heavy cream, milk and generous pinch of salt on medium heat until hot and steamy, but NOT boiling. Stirring regularly with a spatula.
- When the milk is hot and steaming, using a ladle, slowly transfer, and whisk, a ladle full of the hot mixture into the egg and sugars, tempering the egg. Do this with one more ladle of hot liquid.
- Once tempered, slowly add the tempered liquid back into the hot pot, stirring constantly. Stir the liquid until it becomes a custard. Meaning, the liquid has thickened enough to coat a spatula. During this time the sauce pan should always stay under a boil. Be patient, as this process can take 10 minutes or longer, but watch carefully, in case it thickens faster than usual.
- Once thickened, and generously coating the spatula, strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl, catching any bit of cooked egg. Stir vanilla into the strained custard. Let the custard cool for a few minutes before transferring the mixture into a large zip lock bag. Store in the fridge for several hours. Best overnight.
- Once the custard has properly chilled, set up the ice cream mixer, and churn the ice cream according to the manufacture's instructions. Have a container with a lid set aside and a designated spot in the freezer, for the ice cream to finish chilling.
- While the ice cream is churning, prepare the brownie batter. Using a medium microwave safe bowl, heat the butter and chocolate in 10 second intervals, until melted.
- Once melted, thoroughly mix in the sugars and vanilla. Stir in the flour. The batter will be thick so it will hold up in the ice cream. Finish by mixing in the chopped chocolate.
- When the ice cream has formed the consistency of soft serve, slowly spoon the brownie batter into the ice cream, letting it churn and distribute a bit, before adding the next spoon full. Repeat this process, until all the brownie batter has been added. The amount of ice cream made is the max for my ice cream maker. Don't be alarmed if the ice cream begins to brim at the top, once the batter is added.
- Swiftly transfer the churned ice cream to a container with a lid, placing it in the freezer for several hours, to firm up. For a nice firm ice cream, this process could take five to six hours, or even longer depending on the temperature of the freezer.
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