Many of my favorites chocolate cakes are made with buttermilk. I’ve transferred that flavor – deeply chocolatey, ultra-rich, teasingly tangy … to this Chocolate Buttermilk Ice Cream with Chocolate Malt Pieces. It tastes so much like chocolate cake, you’ll be tempted to put frosting on it.
What you need for 4 cups:
1½ cups heavy cream
1 cup buttermilk
7 Tbs sugar, divided
1 Tbs vanilla
1 Tbs corn syrup
Pinch of kosher salt
5-6 large egg yolks
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup chopped malted milk balls
How to do it:
- Combine cream, milk, ¼-cup of the sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring mixture just to a simmer over medium heat. (Expect that to take a total of about 12 minutes: stirring constantly at first to dissolve the sugar, then stirring occasionally, and stirring constantly again as you get down to the final 4 minutes to prevent scorching.) Off heat. Cover.
- Whisk egg yolks and remaining 3 Tbs sugar until pale, about 2 minutes on highest speed. Gradually whisk in warm cream mixture, on speed 4 (of 10). Pour mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat a wooden spoon (170-180°F), about 2 minutes.
- Strain hot custard over chocolate in a medium bowl; let stand 5 minutes, then whisk to combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Twenty minutes prior to churning, transfer the custard to the freezer. Then, process custard in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions (which for me means 30 minutes in a Cuisinart). Five minutes before the end of the churning time, add malted milk balls through the lid’s chute. Finish churning. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and freeze for at least two hours.
Notes:
Malted milk balls are not necessarily easy to find. I wound up having to go to a specialty candy store. I found dark chocolate balls, and although they’re delicious in their own way – and they ought to be, at almost $20 a pound – the dark chocolate overpowers the malt. You want the most malt-forward balls you can get your hands on, preferably with a thin coating of milk chocolate.
I was slightly apprehensive about how edible frozen malt ball pieces and shards of dark chocolate might be when frozen. They’re perfect.
Chopping malted milk balls is going to leave you with various-sized pieces and a considerable amount of dust. You don’t want the tiniest pieces, nor do you want the dust. They’ll become ubiquitous, when what you want is a creamy texture interrupted by occasional pieces of malt ball. Scoop handfuls of chopped pieces into a fine-mesh sieve and shake out the dust. Tip the pieces into a container, stopping short of the smallest pieces that you’ll find at the bottom of the sieve. One cup of chopped malted milk balls weighs 5.25 oz., although it may take you up to 8 oz. of whole balls in order to produce what you need. Don’t throw the dust or excess away. Consider using it sparingly – in conjunction with a bit of whipped cream and maybe some chopped, toasted hazelnuts – as a garnish.
This ice cream is so creamy, you’ll be beside yourself. It’s creamier than many store brands. Its texture is a lot like gelato.
I often take “overnight” literally when making ice cream. I make the custard in the evening, churn it in the morning while I’m having a cappucino and reading emails, and it’s fully ready later that day. However, putting the custard in the fridge is often the trigger I use to remind myself to put the freezer bowl in the freezer, and that can be problematic. Although the manufacturer recommends storing the bowl in the freezer at all times, I typically find space in there at too much of a premium for that. The important thing to keep in mind is that the bowl needs a solid 24 hours in the freezer. “Overnight” could easily amount to half of that or less if you’re not careful.
A thin layer of ice cream may stick to the interior of the freezer bowl. If it does, use a handheld, silicone bowl scraper with a firm nylon core to chip it away and add it to the rest of the stored ice cream. A normal spatula won’t work; you need something much more rigid that will nonetheless not scratch the bowl.
It’s more difficult than I wish it were to get all the ice cream off the nooks and crannies of the mixing arm with a spatula. However, I’ve come to think of anything stuck to the mixing arm as my immediate reward for making ice cream.
Chocolate Buttermilk Ice Cream with Chocolate Malt Pieces
Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! Thank you, Kesor. While researching this post, I discovered that meringue and merengue are not the same thing.
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Oh, this looks great! Making ice cream from scratch is a bit of an effort but it’s definitely worth it. For the chocolate balls, I suppose you could use Maltesers and just chop them up a bit?
I had to look up what Maltesers are, but yes – that would be ideal. I used a fancy, dark-chocolate version, but that is Maltesers are more what I had in mind.
I too love to bake with buttermilk, but haven’t tried one with ice cream yet. This turned out so silky and creamy…absolutely irresistible!
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Dinner was over a couple of hours ago and I haven’t had anything sweet. I have a sweet tooth like nobody’s business and am now feeling desperate for this ice cream. Chocolate ice cream that tastes like cake?! Yes please! I will make this soon. And I’m like the sound of the lemon curd + chocolate. Odd AND delicious. 🙂 ~Valentina
I guess it’s like cake and ice cream all in one!
Ok, I need to come out there and figure out what’s going on in Chi-town. Malted milk balls shouldn’t be that hard to find! Granted, dark chocolate specialty balls sound tasty, but there is no way malted milk balls should be $20/pound! Either way, you put them to good use here. This ice cream sounds insanely delicious, Jeff!
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They’re the kind of thing that I don’t normally shop for, and they didn’t have any at my usual supermarkets! Oddly, I do think I eventually stumbled across some, but long after making this ice cream.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I have nothing more to say.
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Well, that kind of says it all!
I just love ice cream in winter. And as for malted milk balls, I love to eat them with blue cheese. Weird, I know. But it works. I also will love them in this ice cream and I always can find them at Walgreen’s!
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Malted milk balls and blue cheese!?! Well, don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it. That’s what I always say. And yes, I’ve finally discovered that the drugstore is where all the candy is. I really should’ve known that.
I love to make ice cream and this sound delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
Thank you!
That is the rule, anything stuck to the bowl or paddles is definitely the cook’s treat! This ice cream looks wonderful although I might wait for warmer weather to make it.
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Had no idea malted milk balls were no long common supermarket stables! True, I haven’t actually looked for any for years, probably decades. But they were favorites of mine when I was younger. OK, that was decades ago — things move on, I guess. 🙂 Anyway, serve me a bowl of this and I certainly wouldn’t be moving on. Well, not until I had seconds. 🙂 Really nice — thanks.
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I know! I used to love them as a kid, too. Anyway, the drugstore is the best place to start if you want to find them.
I look forward to trying this, Jeff. Your comment on how creamy it is really appeals to me! In addition, I like the tanginess of the buttermilk mixed with the chocolate. What a great combination. Lucky for us, we have an old fashion candy store right downtown that carries melted milk balls.
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Perfect!
Oh my goodness! This looks amazing! Love the addition of malt in here.
Thank you, Amy!
Malted milk balls are an old-fashioned candy and I guess I’m an old-fashioned guy. It was my go-to movie candy as a kid. Were they called Whoppers?? Did you check the theatre? Maybe they still carry them. GREG
I had to go look Whoppers up. Despite my 40yo fond memories of them I don’t think I could rec Whoppers today. Whoppers are malted milk balls covered with an artificially flavored “chocolatey coating” produced by The Hershey Company. Yech… GREG
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Yeah, it was Whoppers I was after. But I haven’t had them since I was a kid – you’re probably right that they’re probably waxy, little sugar bombs. You’d probably like the ones I found at the candy shop. They were quite good, if not malty enough for my tastes.
This sounds delicious, I love the tang of buttermilk with chocolate, it is such a great paring.
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Jeff, growing up my absolute favorite treat was to take chocolate ice cream and mix it with crushed Whoppers. I checked they still make them over your way. I also love buttermilk for baking or with a good ginger molasses cookie, so that means your ice cream works for me. Now, I’m going to have to get one of those fandangled ice cream makers.
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Yes! Such a contraption, and with mainly one use. And it takes up so much space! Something must be done about that. And whoppers, yes, that’s exactly what you need. The kind that come in the carton, right?
what delicious Ice cream Jeff! I love Ice cream always!!
this sounds delicious !
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Jeff,
I can only imagine how good that ice cream tastes. The recipe looks amazing
Thank you!
Your ice cream sounds delicious! Unfortunately buttermilk is hard to find where I live! have a nice day!
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Thanks for sharing this recipe, Jeff, my husband would absolutely love this! I make homemade ice cream all the time during summer but haven’t thought of putting malted milk balls in – it will definitely be a hit. Wishing you a very merry Christmas!
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Merry Christmas to you, too Katerina!
Now I might have to pull out the ice cream maker. In January. And it’s way up in a high cupboard. Darnit!! This sounds amazing!
Mollie
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Wow, my son loves Whoppers candy and this ice cream looks creamy and fantastic! It’s sure to be a hit here. Fun recipe!
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Just saw this ice cream as I was scrolling through some of your older recipes. I have to say it looks absolutely delicious and something I will give a try. I’m heading for Florida soon, so homemade Ice cream will be a welcome treat.
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I really loved that ice cream! I hope you enjoy your time in FL!
What a prized recipe
Thank you!