Decadent and Easy Chocolate Fudge Swirl No-Churn Ice Cream
It’s hard to ignore the appeal of no-churn ice cream. Essentially, with just two ingredients and a loaf pan, you can make any flavor that your heart desires.
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Well, raise your hand if your heart desires chocolate fudge swirl no-churn ice cream? 🙋🏻♀️
C️ool! Because that was what my heart was asking for, too!
How Does No-Churn Ice Cream Work?
Well, with regular ice cream, you do the whipping and churning in a super cold ice cream maker. It doesn’t take that long, honestly, but not all of us have an ice cream maker.
No-churn ice cream works by getting the mixture super fluffy and aerated before putting it in the freezer. It separates out the steps of whipping and freezing and allows anyone with a mixer to make fresh ice cream.
If you have the strength and patience to whip a pint of cream by hand, God bless you. A hand mixer is also great. I just like my stand mixer because it frees up both my hands to keep my daughter’s fingers out of the bowl.
Once the cream is whipped, you just fold in condensed milk and freeze. It’s so simple!
It’s Still Velvety Smooth
I kind of expected the texture to be off, but surprisingly, it was just right. See, when you use an ice cream maker, the act of freezing and whipping at the same time makes the ice crystals finer for a smooth creamy ice cream.
Somehow, when you whip your cold cream up first and then freeze it, you can still get fine enough ice crystals for velvety ice cream. Who’d have guessed?
The secret is using sweetened condensed milk. Condensed milk has had the majority of water boiled out of it which means that your ice cream base doesn’t have water to form big clunky ice crystals (Source).
Chocolate Fudge Swirl Ice Cream Time
Like I mentioned, the 2-ingredient recipe for no-churn ice cream allows for you to make just about any flavor you could ever dream of. So, when I decided I need some fudge swirl, I just needed 4 more ingredients:
- Cocoa powder
- Vanilla
- Chocolate Chips
- Butter
I start by sifting the cocoa powder into my whipping cream as it mixes on low. This gets it mixed in without chunks of powder floating around. Then, in goes the vanilla (with a pinch of salt). This all gets whipped up into a very bitter chocolatey whipped cream.
The sweetness comes in when I fold that sweetened condensed milk in. So, don’t be surprised when you go to lick the beater and it tastes gross. It’s not done yet.
How to Make a Fudgy Ganache Swirl
The second part of this is to make a chocolate ganache. You want something that will kind of solidify but will also stay kind of fudgy when you scoop it out. So, I add a high ratio of butter to chocolate chips. 2 tablespoons of butter for 1/2 cup of chocolate chips is about right.
I just melt it in the microwave for 30 seconds, give it a stir, and microwave again for another 30 seconds. By this point, it just needs a good stir to finish melting and get the butter incorporated. Set it aside and let it cool just a little bit.
At this point, I return to the ice cream base. Dump half into your loaf pan. Then, use a spoon to drop chocolate ganache around the surface. You want to swirl it in, not stir. The goal is to have bits of chocolate in your scoop.
Dump the rest of the ice cream base on top, and repeat the ganache dotting/swirling step.
How to Freeze it Correctly
I write this heading with a sly grin because it sounds overly complex. You just have to do 3 things to freeze your no-churn ice cream the right way.
- Cover the top with plastic wrap. This keeps it from absorbing the odd freezer odor and messing up your flavor (plus, it deters toddler fingers from digging in while you make space in the freezer).
- Set it on a level surface where it’s not going to slide around. So long as you keep it level, it will freeze evenly. You also don’t want it to accidentally fall over or, worse, fall onto the floor.
- Leave it alone for 5 hours. I say five because I want my ice cream totally frozen. Not just “eh… I guess we’ll pretend it’s soft serve.”
Ice Cream Needs Cake, Right?
Maybe it’s someone’s birthday or maybe it has just been a really hard week and your ice cream needs a cake friend. We’ve all been there.
Your chocolate fudge swirl ice cream will go great with one of my favorite cake recipes:
- Texas Sheet Cake: Dallas Sized
- Browned Butter Vanilla Texas Sheet Cake
- Lime Bundt Cake with Chocolate Drizzle
- Elegant + Easy Chocolate Cake
Or you can get funky and make some ice cream sandwiches with one of these awesome cookie or brownie recipes:
So, whoever you’re partying with, even if it’s just yourself (dogs and cats count, but don’t give them chocolate), do up your ice cream night right and consider a little baked treat on the side, too.
Comment below and tell me how yours turned out and what you served it with! If you share pictures on Instagram, please tag me so I can see (@ellejayathome)! And don’t forget to subscribe!
Chocolate Fudge Swirl No-Churn Ice Cream
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with whisk attachment
- Small Microwave-safe Bowl
- Large Loaf Pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder loosely scooped and leveled off
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- Mix the cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt into the heavy whipping cream. Then, beat on medium-high speed until a stiff whipped cream forms.
- Fold in the sweetened condensed milk. Set aside.
- Microwave the chocolate chips and butter for 30 seconds and then remove to stir. Microwave an additional 30 seconds and stir smooth.
- Pour half of the whipped cream mixture into a loaf pan. Dot the surface with half of the chocolate ganache. Swirl the chocolate with your spatula. Cover with the remaining whipped cream mixture. Dot the top again with the remaining chocolate ganache, and swirl it in.
- Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 5 hours before serving.
3 Comments
Julianne
Yum! This sounds amazing! I’ve never tried making my own ice cream but this definitely sounds like a good place to start. Pinning for later!
Tommie Jean Loftin
This looks FANTASTIC! My daughter would have a blast making this with me. I pinned it for later, too!
Elle Jay
Let me know if y’all try it!