Choc Ices. Oh how they bring a smile to my face! Back in the day, a Walls Chunky Choc Ice from the ice cream man was a real treat for me when I was a tot. The thick layer of dark chocolate which cracked satisfyingly as my teeth broke through it’s shell into the soft, creamy vanilla ice cream centre. Oh my… What a taste and texture sensation it was to my young palate.
Hungry Hubby loves a choc ice, especially as a snack after a hard day’s graft of helping Daddums in the garden! As his most favourite ice cream in the world is Mint Choc Chip, I thought I’d share my recipe. I
‘ve been playing around with the proportions of double cream and condensed milk, and also have been adding in some thick Greek yogurt and I think I’ve really nailed the right amount of sweetness. No churn, condensed milk ice creams can be sickly but the yogurt with the peppermint extract here make this ice cream pretty bang on, if you ask me ๐
You can use any of my ice cream recipes to make yourself a batch of Homemade Choc Ices.
Once I’d championed my own Arctic Roll, it made sense to turn my hand to making Homemade Choc Ices. After sourcing these brilliant food safe silicone moulds (only ยฃ2.66 each at the time of writing!), it was an easy and fun project to make my own at home.
In the recipe development stage, I actually set some ice cream in a shallow dish, cut into blocks and attempted to coat in molten chocolate. The mess, egad the mess! Don’t be a hero, buy the moulds and enjoy a stress free way of making your own Choc Ices. The kids would absolutely love to have a go at these.
One of the best parts is you can whip up a batch of whatever flavour ice cream you like and use that to fill your chocolate shells with. When have you ever seen mint choc chip choc ices in the shops? Or cherry crumble ones? Cheesecake ice cream choc ices were, I am quite sure, the stuff of sweet dreams only until today!
The interesting thing I’ve noticed about homemade choc ices is that the ice cream seems to stay softer when encased in a chocolate shell so they keep better than ice cream in a tub does.
They barely need a few minutes to soften at room temp before eating. Bonus! Serve them wrapped in a square of greaseproof paper to keep your hands clean, although, when has it ever been bad to have melted chocolate to lick off your fingers?
And lastly, if you follow me on Facebook, you’ll see me wax lyrical about bulk buying Callebaut chocolate for both it’s economy and also the superior melting and stability properties it has. I find a blend of dark and milk chocolate gives the right amount of sweetness and richness for the shells but Hungry Hubby loves milk chocolate so I put their chips in the ice cream itself.
- 200 g dark chocolate chips
- 200 g milk chocolate chips
- 300 ml double cream
- 200 g condensed milk
- 150 g Greek yogurt or creme fraรฎche
- 4 tsp peppermint extract
- 1/8 tsp green gel food colouring
- 150 g milk choc chips
- Two 6 well silicone moulds sold for soap/food safe purposes - see post for link to the Amazon listing
- A spatula with a flat edge or a palette knife
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Check you have space for your choc ices in their mould in the freezer before you start!
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Start by melting the chocolates together for the coating in a medium sized bowl and mix well to combine. Put about a heaped tbsp in each well of your silicone mould and using a teaspoon, paint the chocolate in a 1-2mm thick layer along the bottom and up the sides of the mould. Try to keep it even but don't worry too much, you won't see the rough side when the choc ices are ready. At this point, you'll have about 1/4 of the melted chocolate left. Cover it and leave to one side.
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Chill for 10-15 minutes in the fridge to set then inspect for holes, and add more chocolate to patch it up if necessary and chill briefly before adding the ice cream.
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Next, whisk up all the ingredients bar the milk chocolate chips for the ice cream in a stand mixer until thick and voluptuous. Fold in the milk choc chips and then spoon it into the silicone moulds.
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Use the edge of a spatula with a flat edge or a palette knife to give a smooth, level surface to the ice cream and try to have it 1mm lower then the top of the mould to leave room for the final layer of chocolate. Freeze for at least 3 hours, if not overnight until solid.
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When frozen firm, re-melt your bowl of leftover chocolate (30 secs on high in the microwave should do it). Allow to stand for 5 minutes before using to fully coat the exposed ice cream - do one at a time and use your spatula/palettes knife to get it nice and smooth as it will set too fast on the ice cream to pour out all the chocolate, then try to smoothen it.
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Return to the freezer to set, which shouldn't be more than 15 minutes but you can certainly leave these as they are in the freezer for several weeks. They will soften within a few minutes at room temp and you will want to serve them wrapped in a square of greaseproof paper so the coating doesn't melt on your fingers as you eat (such hardship, having to lick it off when you're done ๐ ). I store them in a freezer bag once fully set until needed.
You can easily split up the processes here or quicken things up by chilling the chocolate in the freezer. It's not a hard process but you may want to make the base chocolate shells one day, fill with ice cream the next, coat with the last of the chocolate the third day and serve on the fourth! They are a brilliant make ahead summertime treat ๐
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Inspired, as always. ?
Thank you Frances ๐
I absolutely loved choc ices as a kid! And I love mint ice cream, so these look perfect!
I can’t imagine my childhood without them! Cheap treats made all the better at home ๐
This is pure genius! Why haven’t I tried doing it before ๐ I’m not a fan of mint choc chip. I’d probably do this with salted caramel ๐
Oh my. Salted caramel! What’s genius idea! Choc ices are much easier than you think to make and can be customised however you like ๐
WOW! That looks so beautiful and delicious. Lovely combo!
Thank you Kushi!
I have some chocolate mint growing and this looks like a perfect place to use it!
I didn’t even know there was a variety of it called chocolate mint! Wonderful ๐
This is just super clever and talk about easy! Pinned for my August party…how fun to pass these around!
Oooo they would be *so* much fun for a party! And a brilliant make ahead dessert. I hope you like them Kathi ๐
This looks so spot-on delicious! I’ve never attempted anything like this before, but you are inspiring me! My daughter adores mint chocolate chip – you nailed it!
Aw thank you Lisa! They are super duper fun – have your little miss help make some ๐
So many memories. This might be my favourite recipe of yours yet. I REALLY don’t need anymore silicone bakeware though so I’m imagining what strange shaped choc ices I can make with what I already have!
Aw thank you Laura! I bet silicone muffin cups would work well – they would be easy to pop the choc ices out of too.