French Silk Ice Cream
A rich chocolate ice cream with a French style custard base is swirled with a fluffy vanilla mousse to create this delicious homemade French silk ice cream.
This French silk ice cream is naturally gluten-free and nut-free.
If you like chocolate ice cream, like this French silk ice cream, but want a super simple recipe, you have to try our No-Churn Chocolate Ice cream recipe.
Or, for another frozen treat, make a Chocolate Banana Milkshake.
Why you’re going to love this French Silk Ice Cream
The amazing textures – We’ll be swirling together a rich, creamy chocolate ice cream with a lighter, fluffier vanilla mousse to create two distinct icecream flavors and textures that complement each other in this French silk ice cream.
Traditional custard base – Sometimes an ice cream recipe is great because it doesn’t need a fancy custard base, but this French silk ice cream recipe is amazing because it does. Taking the time to make a French style ice cream is well worth the super creamy and rich results.
French Silk Ice Cream Ingredients
Egg Yolks – These create the base for our ice cream custard. We’ll gently heat the egg yolks to pasteurize them, but you can also purchase pasteurized eggs if you prefer.
Granulated Sugar – For sweetness and texture, plain, white, granulated sugar is the perfect choice.
Whole Milk – The first of our dairy items adds bulk and aids in getting the perfect creamy texture.
Cocoa Powder – Use a high quality unsweetened cocoa powder for the best chocolate flavor.
Salt – A bit of salt enhances the flavor of the chocolate and the vanilla.
Semisweet or Dark Chocolate – Chop the chocolate roughly. We’ll use some of it for the ice cream base, and some for texture in the ice cream.
Heavy Cream – A mix of both heavy cream and whole milk is what gives us the perfect creamy texture.
Vanilla Extract – a nice, high quality pure vanilla extract will give tons of warm vanilla flavor.
Cream Cheese – This is the base of our vanilla mouse swirl, so creamy and rich.
If you have any questions about the ingredients in French silk ice cream, please leave a comment below.
How to make French Silk Ice Cream
- Add the milk, cocoa powder, and salt to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring the milk to a simmer and then remove from the heat. Be sure not to boil.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and vanilla until smooth and pale yellow in color. Add about 1/2 cup of the hot milk to the egg and sugar mixture and whisk constantly until combined.
- Add the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk. Heat the saucepan on low. Stirring constantly, heat until the base has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon or spatula. Strain the mixture to remove any pieces of egg that may have cooked.
- Add 1/3 cup of the chopped chocolate, reserving the rest for later. Stir until melted. Then add the heavy cream and vanilla extract and stir to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least three hours.
- To make the vanilla mousse, add the softened cream cheese and granulated sugar to a small bowl. Beat until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined. Then add the cold heavy cream and beat until light and fluffy. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Churn the chocolate ice cream mixture in the bowl of your ice cream machine, according to your manufacturer’s instructions, until it is thick and the consistency of soft serve ice cream. In the last two minutes, add the remaining chopped chocolate and churn until evenly distributed.
- Spoon half of the chocolate ice cream into a shallow container or loaf pan. Dollop half of the vanilla mousse on top of the chocolate and use a knife or skewer to lightly swirl it into the ice cream. Repeat with remaining ice cream and vanilla mousse. Top with additional chocolate chunks if you’d like.
- Press plastic wrap or wax paper to the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for at least 4 hours or until solid. Let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving.
These numbered steps match the numbered photos above and are for illustration purposes. For the complete list of ingredients and instructions in this French silk ice cream recipe, please see the recipe below.
How to store French Silk Ice Cream
Store this French Silk ice cream in the freezer in an airtight container (we really like these reusable ice cream containers) with a piece of parchment paper or wax paper pressed on top for up to one month.
Tips for making French Silk Ice Cream
Use quality ingredients – When making homemade ice cream, you’ll want to make sure you are using high quality ingredients for the best outcome.
Chill out – If possible, always start with chilled ingredients. This is important for homemade no-churn ice cream recipes and ice cream maker recipes.
Don’t skimp on the fat – High fat milks and creams are essential when making homemade ice cream. Opting for a low-fat option often leads to icy ice creams and inconsistency in the texture.
Don’t go crazy with the add-ins – If you’re adding in additional ingredients, pick one or two and make sure they are chopped into pieces no larger than a blueberry or pea.
Don’t skimp on the sugar – Sugar not only adds sweetness to homemade ice creams, it also helps with the texture. Sugar is essential for the creamy texture in ice cream.
No Churn French Silk Ice Cream
To make this French silk ice cream without an ice cream maker, chill a shallow container or a loaf pan in the freezer while you mix the ice cream ingredients.
Pour the ice cream mixture into the prepared pan and freeze for 3-4 hours. Stir the ice cream every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours to help add air. This will help create a creamy, smooth texture.
French Silk Ice Cream Add-ins
If you’d like to add some crunch or texture to this French silk ice cream, try these suggestions, or have fun coming up with your own.
- White chocolate chunks, either instead of or in addition to the dark chocolate in this recipe.
- Chopped candy bars
- Chopped vanilla or chocolate cookies
More Homemade Ice Cream Recipes
Here are some of our favorite things for making homemade ice cream:
- Cuisinart 2QT Ice Cream Maker – Works with ice cream, sorbets, and frozen yogurt.
- Ice Cream Scoop – Make sure you have a good ice cream scoop. This is one of our favorites.
- Ice Cream Containers – We love keeping a couple of ice cream containers on hand for when we make homemade ice cream.
LET’S GET SOCIAL, you can follow us on Pinterest or leave a comment below if you have any questions.
Did you make this French Silk ice cream recipe? Leave a comment below letting us know what you thought and if you added any additional add-ins.
French Silk Ice Cream
Equipment
- Set of 2 Reusable Ice Cream Tub Containers For Homemade Ice Cream 1.6 Quart
- Cusinart ICE-70P1 2-Quart Cool Creations Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt, Gelato and Sorbet Maker, LCD Screen with Countdown Timer, Makes Frozen Treats in 20-Minutes or Less, Stainless Steel
- KitchenAid KO117OHAQA Gourmet Ice Cream Scoop, One Size, Matte Aqua Sky
Ingredients
For the French silk ice cream:
- 4 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- ⅔ cup semisweet or dark chocolate roughly chopped, divided
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the vanilla mousse swirl:
- 2 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Chill the ice cream bowl for at least 24 hours or until solid. You should not hear any water sloshing around when you shake the bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and granulated sugar until smooth and pale yellow in color.
- Add the milk, cocoa powder, and salt to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring the milk to a simmer and then remove from the heat. Be sure not to boil.
- Add about 1/2 cup of the hot milk to the egg and sugar mixture and whisk constantly until combined.
- Then, add the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk.
- Heat the saucepan on low. Stirring constantly, heat until the base has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon or spatula. This should take a few minutes.
- Strain the mixture into a bowl to remove any pieces of egg that may have cooked.
- Add ⅓ cup of the chopped chocolate, reserving the rest for later. Stir until melted.
- Add the heavy cream and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap making sure to have the plastic wrap touching the surface of the ice cream base. This will help keep it from forming a skin while chilling. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
- To make the vanilla mousse, add the softened cream cheese and granulated sugar to a small bowl. Beat until smooth.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Add the cold heavy cream and beat until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Churn the ice cream mixture in the bowl of your ice cream machine according to your manufacturer’s instructions (mine took about 20 minutes), until it is thick and the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
- In the last two minutes, add the remaining chopped chocolate and churn until evenly distributed.
- Spoon half the chocolate ice cream into a shallow container or a loaf pan. Dollop half of the vanilla mousse on top of the chocolate and use a knife or skewer to lightly swirl it into the ice cream. Repeat with remaining ice cream and vanilla mousse. Top with additional chocolate chunks if you’d like.
- Press plastic wrap or wax paper to the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for at least 4 hours, or until solid. Let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- You want to chop the chocolate so that it’s the size of small chunks. You don’t want the chocolate chunks to be too large because when you get a bite it will be too hard to eat.
- I prefer to use a chocolate bar that I have chopped myself instead of chocolate chips or chocolate chunks because when it goes into the hot custard it will melt much easier and smoother. Also, when the chunks get stirred into the ice cream later I like the varied size for eating.
To make a French Silk Pie ice cream I crush graham crackers into a fine crumb, mix in melted butter until the consistency of formable sand, then freeze those into little pieces and mix in at the end of churning.
Thank you for sharing, Daniel. That sounds delicious.
The Ice Cream From Scratch Team