Rich, silky chocolate ice cream with fudge ribbons and chocolate chips. This triple chocolate ensemble is easy to make and is a chocolate lover’s dream!

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If you’ve read any of my ice cream posts before, you may have heard me gush over my love of Tillamook ice cream. My favorite (Fireside S’mores) has been discontinued, leaving me to settle for my second favorite, Mudslide. Chocolate ice cream, chocolate chunks, and a fudge swirl. It’s just…amazing.

So, I decided it was time to create my own version. And it did not disappoint.

This ice cream is simple to make yet creamy and full of chocolate. In fact, the mini chocolate chips and fudge swirl help create a lovely combination of textures. Not too crunchy, but just enough.

Why this recipe works

My favorite part about this ice cream is that nothing in it is labor intensive or difficult to make. You can actually make it a no-churn ice cream (see notes below) to speed up the process. There’s about 10 minutes or so of cooking and stirring, followed by some chilling (you can make the caramel sauce, shortbread, and toasted coconut while it chills), followed by about 20-30 minutes of slow-churning (or about 10 minutes of no-churn whipping and folding). Done!

The ice cream base uses eggs—but don’t let that scare you! It’s very, very simple to make as long as you can whisk quickly. This creates the creamiest possible ice cream. In fact, when the custard is chilled, it’s almost mousse-like and is so silky and rich. Additionally, the use of cocoa powder and melted chocolate chips in the ice cream gives an incredible depth of chocolate flavor and creamy texture.

And the chocolate chips and fudge swirl! Such good ideas. The swirl is a simple ganache, which makes it much easier to scoop. I like to have a nice, thick swirl so I get yummy chunks in each scoop. And I actually chose to use mini chocolate chips here, to make scooping easier. However, you could use regular chips or chopped baking chocolate. Whatever you like!

Key ingredients

Egg yolks. Don’t be intimidated! Using egg yolks is fairly quick and makes the ice cream just so, so creamy and delicious.

Sugar. Granulated is used. When you whisk it with the yolks, it will be lumpy at first, but keep whisking, as the sugar will melt and become fluffy.

Whole milk. Try to use regular whole milk instead of nonfat. You won’t actually save very many calories per serving using nonfat here, and it’s much creamier with whole.

Cocoa powder. Use unsweetened, since you already have plenty of sugar here.

Vanilla extract. Use pure vanilla, not imitation.

Chocolate chips. You can sub chopped baking chocolate. I used semisweet, but dark works as well. I wouldn’t do milk, personally, as it tends to be less flavorful, but it’s up to personal choice. For the mix-in chocolate chips, I used semisweet mini chips, for easier scooping.

Heavy cream. Use heavy whipping cream (also called double cream), not just whipping cream.

How to make dark chocolate raspberry swirl ice cream

Make the ice cream

1. Whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy. At first it’ll be goopy and lumpy and seem like it can’t be whisked. Just keep going and the sugar will melt then it’ll all turn fluffy and pale. You should be able to pull the whisk up and create ribbons that stay visible for a few seconds.

2. Heat milk, vanilla, cocoa powder, and a pinch of salt. Heat over medium, until steam comes off and bubbles begin to form along the edges.

3. Temper the milk into the eggs. I always temper all of my milk to be safe. Pour slowly and whisk the eggs quickly. Then pour it all back into the saucepan.

4. Heat until thickened. It should be able to coat the back of a spoon (meaning if you run your finger on the custard on the back of your spatula, it leaves a distinct line that doesn’t fill in). I usually cook it until it resembles instant pudding before it’s been chilled.

5. Melt in chocolate chips. Stir well so they’re fully melted.

6. Add heavy cream then chill. You can add the heavy cream later, if needed. But adding it right after cooking tends to stop the cooking process and ensure no scrambled eggs. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the custard to prevent a film forming while it cools. It needs at least an hour to chill.

Make the fudge swirl

7. Mix heavy cream and chocolate. Cook over a double boiler or in the microwave at half power in 30 second increments. Stir frequently. Once nearly smooth, remove from heat and keep stirring until fully smooth.

Assemble

8. Churn ice cream. Stir well then churn according to your manufacturer’s directions. Be sure you have enough ice or have frozen it long enough, per direction. (*See note below for making this without an ice cream maker, i.e. no-churn.)

9. Stir in chocolate chips. Stir these in right after the ice cream finishes churning, so they’re well-distributed.

10. Layer with fudge swirl. Layer 1/3 of the freshly churned ice cream then drizzle with 1/3 of the chocolate fudge. Swirl it a little with a knife or toothpick. Repeat until all ingredients are layered in a large loaf pan or ice cream container. (FYI, the photo below is of my coffee mudslide ice cream being layered, since I somehow forgot to photograph that part this time).

11. Freeze. It needs at least 3-4 hours to freeze, ideally overnight.

Enjoy!

Tips and FAQ’s for this recipe

*How do I make this a no-churn ice cream?

It’s so simple! Instead of combining the custard and cream then churning, you’ll let the chocolate custard cool on its own. Once it’s cool, beat the cream to soft peaks then fold it into the custard in three additions. Then, layer with the raspberry swirl as directed. It will basically be a mousse at this point, so you’ll have to freeze it, unlike slow-churned ice cream that is a soft serve consistency when freshly churned. However, you’ll have to freeze it with the raspberry swirl, so either option works just fine.

Can I make this without eggs?

Yes! I personally prefer the taste of egg-based ice creams, but you can make this recipe by using one 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk instead of the egg yolks, milk, and sugar (so replacing the custard). You’ll simply melt the chocolate chips and let them cool slightly, the vanilla, and the cocoa powder into the sweetened condensed milk in a large mixing bowl. The replaces the custard, so you can then either add the heavy cream and churn with an ice cream maker or follow the no-churn option above.

Can I use store bought fudge?

Sure! I just prefer the taste and consistency of homemade (this is technically a ganache, since there’s no butter to help keep it permanently soft). However, you cold also use a store bought fudge if you have one you really like. The key is using a really good, richly flavored fudge.

What if my eggs scrambled?

Sometimes, the eggs scramble just a bit. If they’ve scrambled a lot, with large chunks of egg, you should start over. However, if you’re unsure or think you see some tiny egg bits, just use a large fine mesh sieve to strain the custard before chilling. It’ll remove any egg that didn’t temper properly.

What if the chocolate didn’t fully melt?

Personally, I don’t see this as a problem, since you now have teeny tiny flecks of chocolate in your ice cream. However, you can easily just strain it through a large fine mesh sieve to remove these bits. If you still see nearly whole chocolate chips or chunks, you probably need to heat it for longer to help those melt.

Can I make this ahead of time?

Yes! That’s the beauty of homemade ice cream—you can make it days before you need it and it will still be just as delicious. You can also split up your work to make life easier, making the caramel and shortbread dough a few days ahead (see shortbread recipe for refrigeration and freezing of dough) and the custard the day before churning it. The chocolate custard for the ice cream must be churned within a day of making it, but once it’s churned, you can keep it for at least a month in the freezer, depending on your freezer and the container it’s in.

My tools

Here are my must-have tools I use for making ice cream. Affiliate links provided.

Ice cream maker (or stand mixer or handheld mixer)

Ice cream container (or use a 8x4 loaf pan or 9x5 loaf pan)

Ice cream spade or scoop

Mesh sieve (both to strain any scrambled eggs)

You might also like:

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Ice Cream

Coffee Mudslide Ice Cream Sandwiches

Chocolate S’mores Ice Cream

Dark Chocolate Orange Ice Cream

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream