This rich Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream blends a velvety homemade chocolate custard base with chunks of fudgy brownie. Simple to make and intensely chocolatey, it’s a decadent treat every serious chocolate lover should try.
This Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream recipe post is sponsored by Ankarsrum®. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help make Beyond the Butter® possible!
This recipe uses three types of chocolate—Dutch-process cocoa powder, melted semi-sweet baking chocolate, and fudgy brownie pieces—folded into a thick custard ice cream base. The result is ultra-rich, deeply chocolatey, and surprisingly straightforward to prepare.
I used an Ankarsrum Assistent Original® mixer with the Ankarsrum ice cream maker attachment for this batch. The attachment makes churning effortless, but any quality ice cream maker will work. If you enjoy recipes using this mixer, you’ll find similar techniques in my other recipes.
Table of Contents
- Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients Needed
- How to Make the Recipe
- Recipe FAQs
- More Chocolate Recipes to Enjoy!
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Deep, creamy chocolate custard with chunks of fudgy brownies for texture and extra chocolate flavor.
- Great for summer or any time you want a crowd-pleasing dessert to make with family or friends.
- Uses just eight ingredients for the custard base, keeping the recipe approachable.
- Churning takes only 20–30 minutes once the base is chilled.
Ingredients Needed
Below are the ingredients for the chocolate brownie ice cream base and mix-ins. Brownies themselves are listed in the recipe card—use homemade, bakery, or a box mix depending on your preference.
- Dutch-process cocoa powder. It delivers a deeper, smoother chocolate flavor than natural unsweetened cocoa.
- Semi-sweet baking chocolate. Use good-quality baking chocolate in bar form and melt it smooth. For a more intense dark chocolate profile you can choose a higher cocoa percentage baking chocolate.
- Brownies. Any fudgy brownies work—homemade, from a box, or bakery-bought. If baking your own, an 8-inch square pan works well because you’ll use roughly one-third of the pan’s brownies for the ice cream and can enjoy the rest separately.
How to Make the Recipe
Below is an overview of the process. For exact ingredient amounts and the fully formatted recipe card, see the recipe section included later in this article.
Quick Tip: Chill your ice cream maker bowl in the freezer for at least 20–24 hours before churning.
Step 1 — Make and chill the brownies. Prepare or buy brownies and cool them completely. Chill in the refrigerator, then crumble about 1–2 cups of brownies (or roughly one-third of an 8-inch pan) for folding into the ice cream.
Step 2 — Whisk egg yolks with sugar. In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk together egg yolks and 1/3 cup of the sugar. Melt the semi-sweet chocolate and set it aside.
Step 3 — Heat the milk and cream mixture. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine heavy cream, whole milk, the remaining sugar, Dutch-process cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla. Heat gently until steam and small bubbles appear around the edge but do not boil. Whisk in the melted chocolate until fully incorporated, then remove from heat.
Step 4 — Temper the eggs and thicken. Slowly whisk about half of the warm chocolate cream into the egg yolks to temper them, then return the mixture to the saucepan. Heat gently over medium-high while stirring until the custard slightly thickens and reaches about 165°F or coats the back of a spoon. Avoid boiling.
Quick Tip: Use the same heatproof bowl for tempering and straining if you clean it between steps; this saves dishes and keeps the workflow smooth.
Step 5 — Strain and chill the custard. Pass the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl to remove any bits of cooked egg. Cool the bowl in an ice-water bath for 30–45 minutes, then cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
Step 6 — Churn the ice cream. Set your ice cream maker or the Ankarsrum attachment to medium speed and pour in the chilled custard. Churn for 20–30 minutes until the mixture thickens to a soft-serve custard.
Step 7 — Fold in brownies and freeze. Layer ice cream and crumbled brownies into a freezer-safe container, repeating once so brownies are evenly distributed. Swirl gently, cover, and freeze 2–4 hours before serving.
Quick Tip: If your ice cream attachment allows, you can add brownie pieces toward the end of churning to mix them in directly.
Recipe FAQs
The freezer bowl is 1.5 quarts and holds about 750 grams (roughly 5 cups) of finished ice cream.
Freeze the bowl for 20–24 hours before using. If you can hear the gel inside the bowl moving, it needs more time.
Stored airtight, the ice cream keeps up to 2 weeks. Beyond that, ice crystals and graininess may develop.
Whole milk contributes to the creaminess and texture. Substituting lower-fat dairy or non-dairy milks will change texture and mouthfeel, so stick with whole milk for best results.
More Chocolate Recipes to Enjoy!
Chocolate Ricotta Cake
Dark Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Black Bottom Cupcakes
One Bowl Chocolate Zucchini Bread
If you try this Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream or any other recipe here, please leave a star rating and share your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for visiting!
The BEST Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream
Equipment
- 1 Ankarsrum Assistent Original Mixer (or another stand mixer)
- 1 Ankarsrum Ice Cream Maker Attachment (or another ice cream maker)
Ingredients
- 3 cups Brownies, made ahead and broken into small bits
- 8 oz Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted
- 4 large Egg Yolks
- 2 cups Heavy Cream
- 1 cup Whole Milk
- 2/3 cup Granulated Sugar, divided
- 1/4 cup Dutch Process Cocoa Powder, sifted
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 3 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Before starting: Make and chill your brownies and freeze the ice cream attachment bowl for 20–24 hours.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the semi-sweet baking chocolate until smooth; set aside.
- Whisk the egg yolks with 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar in a heatproof bowl; set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine heavy cream, whole milk, the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla. Heat over medium until small bubbles form at the edge. Whisk in the melted chocolate, then remove from heat.
- Temper the egg yolks by slowly whisking about half of the warm chocolate cream into the yolks. Return the mixture to the saucepan and heat gently, stirring, until slightly thickened and the temperature reaches 165ºF or the custard coats the back of a spoon. Do not boil.
- Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Cool the bowl in an ice-water bath for 30–45 minutes, then cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Remove the chilled custard, give it a quick stir, and churn in your ice cream maker on medium speed for 20–30 minutes until thickened to soft-serve consistency.
- Scoop some ice cream into a freezer-safe container, add half the crumbled brownies, repeat, swirl lightly, cover, and freeze 2–4 hours before serving.
Notes
- The Ankarsrum mixer and attachment were used here, but any reliable ice cream maker will work.
- Use your preferred brownie recipe. An 8-inch pan is convenient because you’ll use about a third of the brownies.
- Clean the bowl used for tempering before using it to cool the custard.
- This recipe uses egg yolks only, not whole eggs.
- Churn at medium speed to reduce the risk of ice crystals and overly hard freezing.
- Store homemade ice cream in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks for best texture.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and will vary based on ingredients used.