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French-Style Double Chocolate Ice Cream

French style chocolate ice cream made with a custard base, melted dark chocolate, and Dutch cocoa for a glossy, ganache-like finish. Churned then frozen until dense and intensely dark—an almost fudge ice cream texture.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
chilling + freezing 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 45 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French-American
Calories: 520
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

French-style double chocolate ice cream base
  • 2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 6 oz dark chocolate (70-72%) finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp Dutch process cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven
  • 1 ice cream maker

Method
 

Melt chocolate
  1. Melt the dark chocolate with the unsalted butter over a double boiler until smooth, then set aside off the heat.
Warm dairy and cocoa
  1. Whisk the Dutch process cocoa powder into the heavy cream and whole milk, then heat until steaming, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Temper and cook custard
  1. Slowly whisk the hot cream mixture into the egg yolks and granulated sugar, then return everything to a saucepan.
  2. Cook the custard, stirring constantly, until it reaches 175°F (about 10 to 15 minutes), with a thickened, spoon-coating texture.
Finish and strain
  1. Remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately whisk in the melted dark chocolate until glossy and smooth.
  2. Stir in the vanilla extract and salt, then strain through a fine mesh sieve for a silky finish.
Chill, churn, and freeze
  1. Cool the chocolate custard completely over ice until cold to the touch, then refrigerate for 4 hours.
  2. Churn in an ice cream maker until the texture is thick like soft-serve (about 20 to 25 minutes), with visible thickening as it churns.
  3. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours, for dense, fudgy scoops.

Notes

Pro tip: For a glossy, ganache-like finish, whisk the melted dark chocolate into the hot custard immediately off the heat. Refrigerate the churned base up to 24 hours before churning; freeze the finished ice cream up to 2 months (best quality within 4 to 6 weeks). For a dairy-reduced swap, use a high-fat lactose-free cream and lactose-free milk to keep the custard texture stable.