Last updated on December 13, 2023
We are Italians and we share our original chocolate ice cream recipe with the ice cream maker; without eggs, with only milk, whipping cream and cocoa powder. Delicious and very easy to make, we prepare it with you step by step 👌
Most chocolate ice cream recipes you find on the internet are made with eggs. Eggs can thicken homemade ice cream, but they are not always necessary and do not always improve the taste; the preparation is also slightly more complicated.
We like chocolate ice cream with just the taste of cocoa and milk, without eggs, lighter and more balanced: and of course buonissimo.
On this page we make cocoa ice cream with our Italian recipe and the ice cream maker, ready in less than an hour; and we show the preparation step by step.
The Italian words of this page:
| 🔊 Cioccolato | Chocolate |
| 🔊 Gelato al cioccolato | Chocolate ice cream |
| 🔊 Cono gelato | Ice cream cone |
Aside from eggs, there are two ways to make chocolate ice cream: you use cocoa powder, or you melt a bar of chocolate.
Of course, melting the bar of chocolate means heating the mixture, melting the chocolate, and then waiting for it to cool. The chocolate takes less time to cool than the egg ice cream mixture, but you still have to wait 40 minutes.
The recipe that we make on this page is with cocoa powder: easy and very fast.
👉 Of course, to make some flavors you necessarily need a chocolate bar: for example for white chocolate ice cream, which must be dissolved in the ice cream mixture; we show it well in our ice cream recipe book.
We make chocolate ice cream with whole milk, whipping cream, sugar and cocoa powder.
| Ingredient image | Ingredient name | Cups | Grams | Ounces |
|
Whole milk | 1.4 cup | 12.35 oz | 350 g |
|
Whipping cream | 0.5 cup | 4.6 oz | 130 g |
|
Cacao powder | 0.4 cups | 1.41 oz | 40 g |
|
Sugar | 0.5 cup | 3.17 oz | 90 g |
To make Italian ice cream, we use fresh whole milk 3.5% fat and fresh whipping cream 35% fat.
It is not needed to whip the cream while preparing the ingredients: just add it to the mixture.
For each ingredient we indicate both the volume in cups and the weight in ounces and grams.
👉 To be accurate we prefer to weigh all the ingredients: both solids and liquids before pouring them into the ice cream mixture.
For this you need a kitchen scale, preferably a digital one, which usually expresses the weight in ounces (oz) and/or grams (g).
To mix the ingredients, we put the mixture in a measuring cup and we blend it with an immersion mixer; alternatively you can also use a blender.
👉 Mix the ingredients in a bowl with a spout: then it will be easier to pour the contents into the ice cream maker.
For this recipe we use a compressor ice cream maker, but you can make our recipes with all types of ice cream makers:compressor, with freezer element, and with the Ninja Creami with the “gelato” program.
👉 Read also our guide on the usage of a compressor ice cream maker.
Turn on the compressor ice maker. It depends on the model and capacity, but it should take about 10 minutes to cool down and be ready to make ice cream.
If you have an ice cream maker with a cooling element, it must be well frozen after a sufficient number of hours in the freezer.
Mix the ingredients while the ice cream maker is cooling.
The big advantage of using cocoa powder is that you don't have to heat the ingredients to melt the chocolate.
It is only necessary to be careful about mixing the ingredients well to get a smooth and homogeneous mixture.
You can use a hand blender to mix the ingredients. We add the liquids, milk and whipping cream first.
Then add the sugar and cocoa and mix the mixture.
Pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and make sure that:
The ice cream maker must be very cold.
Some ice cream machines display the temperature: it should be at least -7.6°F (-22°C) when you pour the mixture.
Usually we let the ice cream maker cool down for 10-15 minutes: that way we know for sure that it is ready to make ice cream.
Also make sure that the mixing paddle is already rotating
👉 We pour the ice cream mixture from the opening on the lid so that the cold does not escape, nor do we have to stop and restart the mixing paddle.
Through the transparent lid of the ice cream maker you can watch the ice cream being formed. After 20 minutes, the mixture should start to look like ice cream.
After about 40 minutes, the ice cream should be ready.
How do I know when the ice cream is ready? If it seems firm, let it mix for another 5 minutes, then just pause the ice cream maker and taste it.
Freshly homemade ice cream is more tender than the one you buy at an ice cream shop: read our notes below about serving and storing gelato.
Your Italian gelato al cioccolato is ready. Buon appetito! 🍨
Homemade ice cream is also good when eaten as soon as it is ready. If you put it in the freezer for an hour it becomes more compact, like that of an ice cream cone.
You can store ice cream in the freezer for a few days. Chocolate ice cream, as well as fruit sorbets, become harder in the freezer (more than normal ice cream with cream).
👉 If it is too hard, you can thaw it in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes: in this way it becomes soft but does not melt.
In the restaurant in Italy, when you finish eating, the waiter will ask: 🔊 andava tutto bene? (was everything fine?)
I am Italian from Trentino. I studied philosophy in Padua and worked for many years between Milan and Amsterdam in the field of media and culture.
Since 2021 I write on All Italian to practice foreign languages; meanwhile I share with you the customs and traditions of my country, and the recipes that I prepare at home.