Dark Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream
Silky, rich dark chocolate ice cream swirled with a slightly tart raspberry sauce. Inspired by the seasonal favorite at Fenton’s Creamery, this homemade ice cream is creamy, flavorful, and beloved all year long!
This post may contain affiliate links from which, at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission to keep this site running. Only products I myself would or do use are recommended.
Anyone from (or been to) the Bay Area? If so, you know we take our ice cream very seriously. And while we’re proud of Ghirardelli Square, we have so, so many other amazing local creameries.
One of our favorites is Fenton’s in Oakland.
In fact, we’ve developed a fun tradition of going to the Oakland Zoo then stopped at Fenton’s for lunch and ice cream. I mean, can you get any more Bay Area than that?
And by far our favorite flavor is a winter-only seasonal one: Dark Chocolate Raspberry Swirl. Pile on a little hot fudge and you have the best sundae in Oakland.
Except it’s only available in January and maybe a little into February if they don’t sell out.
So, I decided to try making my own. Dare I say, it’s a perfect substitute?
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 raspberry swirl. Oh my. It really makes this ice cream spectacular. It’s actually fairly simple, and you can skip the cornstarch step and just cook down raspberries and sugar then strain the seeds. The fruitiness and tartness from the raspberries pairs perfectly with the dark chocolate ice cream. Delish.
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.
Dark chocolate chips. You can sub chopped baking chocolate. Semisweet would work as well, but I wouldn’t do milk chocolate.
Heavy cream. Use heavy whipping cream (also called double cream), not just whipping cream.
Raspberries. Fresh or frozen will work.
Cornstarch. I chose to use just a little to help thicken up the raspberry swirl, although it’s not necessary.
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 raspberry swirl
7. Cook raspberries and sugar. Cook until fully broken down, stirring frequently.
8. Strain the seeds. This is technically optional but highly recommended.
9. Mix some raspberry with cornstarch. This is optional, as just a raspberry sauce (technically a coulis) would be fine.
10. Stir into raspberries and cook. Be sure to pour slowly and stir quickly so the cornstarch doesn’t clump up.
Assemble
10. 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.)
11. Layer with raspberry swirl. Layer 1/3 of the freshly churned ice cream then drizzle with 1/3 of the raspberry sauce. Swirl it a little with a knife or toothpick. Repeat until all ingredients are layered in a large loaf pan or ice cream container.
12. 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 use store-bought raspberry?
Theoretically, yes. You could buy a seedless jam or raspberry syrup or sauce, if you find one at your local store. However, the sauce in this recipe is fairly thin and not super sweet, so I’d caution against using anything store bought, as it’s likely to be too sweet or too thick.
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.
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)
Mesh sieve (both to strain any scrambled eggs and strain the seeds from the raspberries)
Dark Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream
- prep time: 20-25 minutes
- chill time: 1 hour
- churn time: about 30 minutes
- freeze time: 4-8 hours
- total time: 9 hours, 45 minutes
servings: about 12 (½ cup servings)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups (480g) heavy whipping cream
- 3 large egg yolks, room temperature
- ⅔ cup (133g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (240g) whole milk
- ¼ cup (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon (13g) pure vanilla extract
- pinch sea salt
- ⅔ cup (4 ounces or 113g) dark chocolate chips or chopped baking chocolate
- 12 ounces (340g) fresh or frozen raspberries
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (7g) cornstarch
- ice cream maker, prepped per directions (optional–see no-churn option above)*
Instructions:
make the ice cream custard
- Follow your ice cream maker’s directions to prepare it for use, which could include placing the bowl in the freezer for up to 24 hours*.
- Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk until pale frothy, 2-3 minutes. At first it may seem thick and clumpy, but keep going until the sugar melts and it becomes pale and frothy. Set aside.
- Combine the whole milk, cocoa powder, vanilla, and pinch sea salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it begins to steam and small bubbles begin to form along the edge of the pan.
- Temper the milk into the eggs by very, very slowly streaming the milk into the eggs while whisking the eggs very quickly. Be sure to whisk constantly and quickly as you do this to avoid scrambling the eggs.
- Once all of the milk has been added to the eggs, scrape the mixture back into the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula (be sure to get to the edges and corners), until the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. It should feel thicker as you stir, as well.
- Add the chocolate chips or chopped baking chocolate and stir until the chocolate is mostly melted. Remove the pan from the burner and continue stirring until the chocolate is fully melted.
- Pour into a medium bowl (the bowl the eggs were in works just fine). Stir in the heavy cream to help cool it down and stop the cooking process. Cover well and refrigerate until cool, about 1 hour.
make the raspberry swirl
- While the custard cools, make the raspberry swirl. Combine the raspberries and sugar in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the raspberries have broken down completely. You can help them along by pressing them against the side of the pan with your spatula.
- Once the berries are fully broken down (meaning liquefied, other than the seeds), pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the seeds. Press firmly to get all of the raspberry juice out and be sure to scrape the bottom of the sieve to get all of that raspberry juice.
- Pour about 1-2 tablespoons of this juice into a small bowl and pour the rest back into your saucepan. Place the pan back on the stove over low heat. Mix the reserved juice with the cornstarch until smooth. Slowly pour this into the saucepan while stirring quickly. Turn the heat back up to medium and cook, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl (the one you used to strain the seeds is fine). Cover well and refrigerate until ready to use.
assemble
- Once the custard is cooled, follow your manufacturer’s directions to churn the ice cream. Don’t overmix.
- Once it is churned, pour ⅓ of it into a 9x5 loaf pan or an ice cream container. Stir the raspberry swirl and drizzle ⅓ of it on the ice cream. Use a sharp knife or toothpick to create swirls. Repeat this process two more times, layering ice cream then drizzling and swirling it with raspberry. Cover well to avoid freezer burn or it adopting tastes from the freezer.
- Freeze for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. You may need to let it sit on the counter for 5 minutes before scooping.
Enjoy!
Store leftovers in an airtight container. Ice cream should last at least 1-2 months, but this can vary depending on your freezer and how well-sealed it is.
