My husband eats his first spoon of this ice cream.
“Mmm… oh, that’s good.” Eats another spoonful.
“Seriously, this is good stuff.” Yet another spoonful disappears.
“This is the best ice cream you’ve ever made.”
Yes, even this Baking Beauty has a way of still surprising her husband after 13 years of marriage. This ice cream is a prime example of that. And he was right. This ice cream is nothing like any of the others I’ve ever made. This Mocha Fudge Ripple Ice Cream is super rich, smooth & silky, even after being in the freezer for a week (how did that happen?!? Just too many baked goodies going through the kitchen lately, I guess). If I were to slap a label on this ice cream, it would read “Warning: not for the faint of heart”. It is seriously that good.
I let David Lebovitz take the lead on this ice cream, and I just followed, adding my own flourishes & ideas along the way. I mean, the man knows a thing or two about ice cream. He even wrote the book on it, he’s that good. I’ve had my eye on this book for a while already, it’s on my wish list.
For this recipe, I used his vanilla ice cream as the base, and just went a little wild from there. I think he’d approve. 🙂

Mocha Fudge Ripple Ice Cream
This silky smooth ice cream, with its intense chocolate flavour, will be enjoyed by all Choco-holics.
Ingredients
Ice Cream:
- 1 cup milk
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- 5 large egg yolks
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons Kahlua (optional, but a little alcohol does amazing things for frozen treats)
Fudge Ripple
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 cup water
- 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons espresso powder
Instructions
Ice Cream:
- In a large, heavy-bottom sauce pan, heat the milk, salt and sugar until simmering.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly add the steaming milk, 1 cup at a time, while constantly whisking. Pour the milk/egg mixture back into the sauce pan.
- Over low heat, and stirring constantly with a silicone spatula, bring the mixture up to a simmer. Cook until it has thickened, and coats the spatula.
- Remove from heat and pour in the chopped chocolate. Allow to stand for 5 minutes, and stir until the chocolate has completely melted.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the heavy cream, vanilla and Kahlua. Place a fine mesh strainer over the mixing bowl, and pour the milk/egg yolk mixture into the cream mixture. Straining it insures you have no cooked egg in your custard.
- Refrigerate mixture to chill completely, overnight if possible.
- Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Note: To incorporate the fudge ripple, please see below.
Fudge Ripple:
- Combine all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Whisking constantly, bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate until cool.
- To incorporate the fudge ripple into the ice cream:
- Once you have finished freezing your ice cream in your ice cream maker, place a small layer of ice cream in a freezer safe container. Drizzle on some of the fudge sauce. Place another layer of ice cream on top. Continue until you have used up all the ice cream and fudge sauce. Be sure to not stir the ice cream between layers, or you will not have distinct ripples in your ice cream. Freeze ice cream for 4 hours or overnight before serving.
- Remove ice cream from freezer 10 minutes before you are wanting to serve it. This allows it to soften a bit, making it easier to scoop.
Don’t have an ice cream maker? Well, don’t count yourself out of luck yet! Head over to David’s website and read up on How to Make Ice Cream Without a Machine.
Feeling extra adventurous? Check out David’s recipe for Candied Bacon Ice Cream.
What is the most unique flavour of ice cream you’ve ever had?
sarah says
That looks wonderful. My son adores chocolate ice cream. This looks nice and rich.
Jeanine says
Thanks, Sarah! It is rich & smooth. I’d never made a chocolate ice cream before, I think it might be hard to beat this one. 🙂
Heather Porrill says
I am going to have to try this when I get back from a holiday. This sounds so good!
Tamara says
OOOOOHHHH…AAAHHHH…UMMMMMM….Yeah, I can’t find real words to describe what this looks like, and (I tried it!) the taste is outrageous! Fabulous! Wonderful! Hey, Jeanine, you could write a book, too! My mom really liked this, too, and that’s saying something (she doesn’t eat many sweets). Thank you for a wonderful summer evening treat!
Jeanine says
Thanks, Tamara (and Mom!). 🙂 So glad that you guys liked this ice cream, it’s really the best one I have on my blog. So good! 🙂
Any tips on where to start on the cookbook?? 😉 How’s yours coming along?
Nyssa says
I’m gonna see if this will work with Coconut Cream and Almond/Rice Milk, it sounds delish!
GwenH says
Thanks for another awesome looking recipe Jeanine, it looks and sounds delicious, would whipping cream be the same as “Heavy Cream”
Thanks.
Jeanine Friesen says
Thanks,Gwen! Yes, whipping, heavy and 35% cream are all the same thing. 🙂