This homemade chocolate chip ice cream combines creamy vanilla ice cream with melt-in-your-mouth chocolate chips for the perfect summer dessert.
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This vanilla chocolate chip ice cream recipe is the choc chip ice cream you've been looking for. The semi-sweet chocolate chips are surrounded by lashings of smooth creamy vanilla ice cream. It's a Philadelphia style, meaning it's made without eggs to let the chocolate chips shine.
Looking for more choc chip ice cream recipes? Why not try making my mint choc chip ice cream or cookie dough ice cream. Delicious!
Recipe tips and frequently asked questions
What is chocolate chip ice cream made of?
Depending on if it's store-bought or homemade chocolate chip ice cream is typically made of vanilla ice cream (cream, milk, sugar and vanilla) and chocolate chips.
Can I make chocolate chip ice cream without an ice cream maker?
You sure can. To make this without an ice cream machine make the base as per the recipe until you get to the churning part. Put the ice cream into your chilled container and freeze for one hour. Working quickly remove the ice cream from the freezer and whisk it, taking care to scrape the edges which will start to freeze first.
Return to the freezer for another hour. Remove and whisk again. Repeat for another two to three times or until the ice cream resembles soft-serve ice cream. Then allow it to continue freezing until firm.
What's the best type of chocolate chips to use?
The short answer: homemade chocolate chips with coconut oil.
The long answer:
I'm so glad you asked. In the interests of science and bringing you the best choc chip ice cream possible I tested four different types of chips for this recipe. Budget chocolate chips, a mid-range chocolate bar, premium chocolate chips (or callets) and lastly homemade chocolate chips.
I usually use homemade chocolate chips, like in my mint choc chip ice cream, but I wanted to see if it was really worth the effort or if I could get away using ready-made chocolate chips for an easier option.
The results were clear. The budget chips were very waxy. By the time the chocolate chips had started to melt the rest of the ice cream was long gone. The mid-range chocolate bar was ok, but still quite waxy and took ages to melt. The premium chips surprisingly were the worst! When eaten they had an almost powdery texture, not good!
And the homemade chocolate chips? Still head and shoulders above the rest. Why? Chocolate chips tend to have less cocoa butter and other stabilizers to help them make them more resistant to heat and keep their shape when baking.
Great for for cookies. Bad for ice cream. The same changes mean the chocolate doesn't melt as easily. So by the time the chocolate has heated up enough in your mouth to melt the rest of the ice cream is long gone.
This is where refined coconut oil comes in. Coconut oil goes from liquid to solid at around 76°F (24°C), well below body temperature. Adding a little refined coconut oil gives you chocolate chips with a much lower melting point and is a joy to eat. So much so that when testing the batch with homemade chocolate chips I almost forgot I was doing an experiment and just wanted to keep eating it!
So now you know. The best chocolate chips to use in chocolate chip ice cream is homemade chocolate chips. If you are really pressed for time by all means use regular chocolate chips. But best to keep these for cookies and whip up your own low-melting chocolate chips for the perfect choc chip ice cream!
Ingredients
Semi-sweet chocolate: I find gives the best balance of flavor and contrasts the sweetness of the surrounding vanilla ice cream. Look for one with about 45% cocoa. You could also try using white, milk or dark chocolate but each will make the ice cream sweeter or a little less sweet.
Refined coconut oil - sometimes also called expeller pressed coconut oil. Using refined coconut oil is important because the refining process removed the coconut flavor and smell, resulting in neutral oil.
Thickened cream: I use thickened cream which has a fat content of about 34%. You could also use heavy cream or heavy whipping or whipping cream which is similar.
Milk: this recipe uses full-fat milk with a fat content of about 3.5%.
White sugar: white sugar is best in this recipe. You could use castor sugar if you prefer or experiment with brown sugar to give the ice cream some caramel notes.
Vanilla extract: sometimes also called vanilla essence, depending on where you live. You can use either, or imitation vanilla essence, depending on your preference and budget.
Tapioca starch: is a natural and accessible way of both thickening and stabilizing the ice cream. If you can't get tapioca starch you can use arrowroot powder or cornflour in the same volume.
Glucose syrup: also called confectioner’s glucose. You can get in from specialty baking shops, online and some supermarkets. A small amount of glucose syrup helps lower the freezer point of ice cream and improves the texture and scoopability of the ice cream.
You can substitute with the same amount of light corn syrup or powdered dextrose. Measure carefully, preferably using a digital kitchen scale, and don't add too much or your ice cream will melt in a red hot minute!
How to make chocolate chip ice cream
See the full recipe card at the end of the post for ingredient amounts and instructions.
Measure the tapioca starch into a small bowl. Measure out the milk, then add a couple of tablespoons of the milk into the bowl with the tapioca starch. Mix well to form a slurry and get out all the lumps.
Add the milk, cream, sugar and glucose syrup to a small pot on the stove. When measuring the glucose syrup ideally use a digital kitchen scale, otherwise make sure it's a flat half a tablespoon. Heat on medium and stir well until all the sugar is dissolved.
Add tapioca starch slurry and stir well for a few minutes on medium heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Add vanilla essence and stir well. Transfer mix to a heat-proof container and chill in the fridge for at least four hours, ideally overnight.
While the base is chilling make your chocolate chips. Line a tray with foil or baking paper. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl in the microwave or a double boiler. Add coconut oil and mix well. Spread chocolate out on the baking paper and put it in the fridge to set. Once set chop into chocolate chip-sized pieces and set aside in the fridge until needed.
Hot tip: the coconut oil lowers the melting temperature of the chocolate. It will be very melty and may even melt in your hands when handling. Try to minimize how much you handle the chips before adding them to the ice cream
Put your ice cream storage container in the freezer to chill. If using a self-churning machine, turn it on about ten minutes before you churn your ice cream. Otherwise take the churning bowl out of the freezer right before churning.
Pour mix into the ice cream churner and churn. When the ice cream has nearly finished churning add the chocolate chips. The ice cream should be nice and thick but still moving around. Don't add the chips too soon or they will stick in the machine and your ice cream won't churn properly.
When it's finished churning transfer the ice cream to a chilled container and freeze until firm.
How to serve
To serve this ice cream remove it from the freezer scoop and enjoy. Fabulous on its own, with some extra chocolate chips or the chocolate fudge sauce from my chocolate sundae recipe drizzled over the top. Delicious!
How to store
You can store this ice cream in an air-tight container in the freezer for two up to weeks for the best texture. It will still taste good after this but may become icier over time.
Have you made this recipe? Tell me how it went in the comments below and tag me on instagram so I can see your delicious creations! @keep_calm_and_eat_icecream
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📋 Recipe
Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Equipment
- ice cream churner
Ingredients
For the ice cream base
- 2 teaspoons (5gms) tapioca starch
- 1 cup (250gms) full cream milk
- 2 cups (500mls) thickened cream
- ½ cup (110gms) white sugar
- ½ tablespoon (15gms) glucose syrup
- 2 teaspoons (10mls) vanilla extract
For the chocolate chips
- ¾ cup (150gms) semi sweet chocolate
- 4 teaspoons (15 gms) refined coconut oil
Instructions
- Put the tapioca starch into a small bowl. Measure the milk. Add a couple of table spoons of milk into the bowl with the tapioca starch and mix well to form a slurry.
- Add remaining milk, cream, sugar and glucose syrup to a small saucepan.
- Heat on medium, stirring well until all the sugar is dissolved.
- Add tapioca starch slurry and mix well for a few minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
- Add vanilla essence or extract and mix well.
- Transfer to heatproof container, cover and chill in fridge for at least four hours, ideally overnight.
- While the base in chilling make the chocolate chips. Line a large tray with foil or baking paper.
- Chop up the chocolate and add it to a microwave-proof bowl. Melt in the microwave in 30-second bursts until nearly melted. Add the coconut oil and heat for another 30 seconds.
- Mix until all the cococnut oil is mixed in and the chocolate is smooth. Spread the chocolate out on the lined tray and put in the fridge to set.
- Once the chocolate is set peel back the foil and chop into chip sized pieces and store in the fridge until needed.
- Put storage container into freezer to chill.
- If using a self-churning machine turn it on ten minutes before churning to cool down. Otherwise remove the bowl from the freezer just before churning.
- Churn the ice cream until it has nearly finished. It should be thick and the consistency of soft serve, have filled most of the container but still moving. Add the chocolate chips and finish churning.
- Transfer churned ice cream to chilled container and freeze until firm.
- To serve remove from the freezer, scoop and enjoy! Great on its own, with some extra chocolate chips sprinkled over the top or some chocolate fudge sauce from my chocolate sundae drizzled over the top. Delicious!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate based on an online database. The nutritional content of ingredients may vary by brand. If you require accurate nutritional information, you should calculate this based on the specific brands and products you are using.
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