Learn how to make homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream with fresh mint and chunks of chocolate with this easy recipe!
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Ingredients you need to make this recipe
Homemade ice cream can be either Philadelphia style (without eggs) or custard-based (made with egg yolks). For this mint chip ice cream recipe, we are making a custard base, so a crème anglaise. To do so, you will need:
- Milk and cream, preferably 2 % fat or even 3.25 % fat whole milk and whipping cream with 35 % fat. You can play with the amount of fat in this recipe, but less fat will have an impact on the final texture and flavour. The ice cream may taste a little more watery with less fat.
- Egg yolks to make the crème anglaise, which act as an emulsifier and a thickener in this recipe, providing body, as well as colour and flavour.
- Sugar, specifically granulated sugar because it won't interfere with the delicate flavour of the mint. Don't skimp on the sugar or your ice cream may end up too icy and the texture won't be as nice.
- Fine kosher salt, which dissolves easily and provides a little depth of flavour, helping the flavours in the ice cream stand out more.
- Fresh mint and/or mint extract or mint oil to infuse the milk before making the crème anglaise. You will need a lot of fresh mint for this recipe!
- Chocolate, chocolate chips or chopped chocolate.
Special equipment
To make the best homemade ice cream, I highly recommend getting an ice cream machine. When you are shopping, you have three choices:
- a freezer bowl attachment that is compatible with your stand mixer and that you can use with the paddle attachment (like this KitchenAid freezer bowl compatible with the Artisan stand mixers)
- an ice cream machine with a freezer bowl that has to be frozen for at least 24 hours before using the machine (like this basic Cuisinart machine that has great reviews on Amazon)
- an ice cream machine with a built in compressor so you can make ice cream any time of the day and all day long if you want, without worrying about pre-freezing the bowl. This is the most expensive category of ice cream makers on the market, but if you like to make homemade ice cream, you might want to consider it to make your life easier! I would! Whynter makes an ice cream machine with a compressor built into it and it has over a thousand reviews on Amazon.
The beauty of the ice cream machines with built in compressors is that they allow you to churn multiple batches of ice cream in a row. On the other hand, a freezer bowl can only be used to churn one batch, at which point it has to be frozen again in the freezer before using it again.
Ways of infusing a custard with mint flavour
The most straight-foward way to make mint-flavoured ice cream is to heat the milk with fresh mint to infuse it, prior to making the custard base. To do so, you need to use a lot of mint. I recommend at least 30 grams (1 ounce) of fresh mint (leaves plus stems) to infuse this volume of liquid (750 mL or 3 cups total).
Other options for adding mint flavour to ice cream include mint extracts or mint oil, which also can do a good job of adding flavour to the custard base. Just remember with extracts and oils:
- the flavour is more concentrated and a little goes a long way.
- add the extract/oil after cooking the custard base, preferably after it has cooled down to avoid the volatile compounds breaking down from the heat of the stove.
Incorporating chocolate chips and chunks in ice cream and frozen desserts
The trouble with adding chopped chocolate to ice cream and frozen desserts is that pretty much all chocolate that is sold commercially is tempered, whether it's for baking (as pistoles, fèves, chips, or chunks), or for eating (as chocolate bars).
Tempered chocolate is chocolate that has been recrystallized (meaning solid chocolate that was melted and cooled to solidify it again). Tempering is done to make the chocolate more stable, so that the chocolate doesn't melt in your hands too quickly. The recrystallization process known as tempering produces a more stable product.
It's very important to temper chocolate that is going to be handled or held in the hand because it increases the melting point, meaning it takes more heat to melt the chocolate.
The drawback to tempered chocolate is that if you add it to ice cream and other frozen desserts, the products are stored at -20 ºC, roughly, which is so cold the chocolate completely loses that melt-in-your-mouth quality.
Tempered chocolate that is frozen seems dry and brittle when you eat it. It also seems almost flavourless because many of the flavour compounds require melting and heat to properly enjoy them.
Tricks to make frozen chocolate more palatable
If you want to incorporate chocolate in a frozen dessert like this mint chocolate chip ice cream, you have options, that yield different results. It's up to you which road you take and what method you want to use to add pieces of chocolate to ice cream:
- add chopped dark chocolate directly to churned ice cream, but the frozen chocolate may seem dry and won't have a melt-in-your-mouth quality that you may want.
- melt the chocolate and swirl it into churned ice cream before hardening (melting will undo the tempering of the chocolate, making it more prone to melting after it hardens again).
- melt the chocolate and spread it out thin on a parchment-lined sheet, allowing it to set hard before breaking it into shards and adding to churned ice cream.
- melt the chocolate with a small amount of a neutral oil (7.5 mL or 1.5 teaspoons of canola oil for every 85 grams of chocolate). Again either swirl the melted mixture in the churned ice cream or let it set and break it up into shards that you can fold into churned ice cream.
Substitutions
If you want to make this recipe, there are a few changes you can make:
- replace fresh mint with mint extract. I'd recommend roughly 1.25 mL (¼ teaspoon) of mint extract for this volume of ice cream, but the amount you add is entirely dependant on how minty you want the ice cream to be and also the type of extract you use. For this substitution, add the extract after you are done cooking the custard.
- replace fresh mint with mint oil. I'd recommend roughly 1.25 mL (¼ teaspoon) of mint oil for this volume of ice cream, but the amount you add is entirely dependant on how minty you want the ice cream to be and also the type of oiil you use. For this substitution, add the mint oil after you are done cooking the custard.
- replace dark chocolate with milk chocolate or even white chocolate. Use the same weight of chocolate as suggested in the recipe.
- replace the dark chocolate with chopped chocolate wafer cookies. Chopped Oreos would work really well in this recipe! I recommend using 250 grams (2 cups) cookies crumbled or chopped into pieces of different sizes in this recipe, as in the cookie ice cream recipe.
Ice cream storage
I highly recommend investing in a freezer container for your ice cream. I have a Tovolo ice cream tub that has an elongated shape, giving you ample room to drag the ice cream scoop more easily! The base is non-slip, so you have more traction when scooping and it's double walled for better storage.
Frequently asked questions
Artisanal and homemade ice cream is always more dense than the average frozen dairy product sold in grocery stores. That's normal! Commercial frozen products usually have more air in them, which increases the profit margins, but also makes the ice cream softer.
At home, churning with small machines, you will inevitably incorporate less air and so the ice cream is more dense.
To scoop hard ice cream, take the ice cream out of the freezer and let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before scooping (more or less depending on how hot your kitchen is).
When it's time to scoop, be sure to dunk the ice cream scoop in hot water to warm up the metal, then blot it dry. This will make it easier for you to scoop the ice cream.
📖 Recipe
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 310 mL whipping cream (35 % fat)
- 440 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat) plus more
- 30 grams mint leaves
- 5 large egg yolk(s)
- 150 grams granulated sugar divided
- 2.5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
- 1.25 mL mint extract
- 85 grams dark chocolate (70 % cocoa content) grated or chopped into pieces of different sizes, see note below recipe
Instructions
- Freeze the ice cream drum in the freezer for at least 24 hours before attempting to make ice cream.
- Before you begin to cook the ice cream base, set a strainer over a 1 L (4 cup) measuring cup (or a big bowl preferably with a pouring spout). Set aside
- In a medium saucepan, whisk the milk, the cream, and the mint leaves. Heat the mixture until it is very hot and almost comes to a boil.
- Take the mixture off the heat and let the mixture infuse for about an hour.
- Strain the mixture into the measuring cup. If the volume is less than 750 mL, top it up with more milk. You want 750 mL of combined milk and cream to make this ice cream recipe.
- In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with half the sugar until the mixture is a very pale yellow and very light.
- Transfer the strained infused milk back into the medium saucepan. Whisk in the rest of the sugar and the salt. Heat the mixture until it is very hot and almost comes to a boil.
- Pour the hot milk mixture over the whisked yolks to temper the eggs. Whisk continuously until the mixture is homogenous, then transfer it back to the saucepan.
- Switch to a wooden spoon and, stirring constantly, heat the mixture on the stove over medium—low heat until the custard has thickened and has reached 83 °C (181 °F).
- Pour the mixture through the strainer, pressing the custard through gently, if needed. Stir in the mint extract.
- Cover with plastic wrap, then refrigerate the mint custard base for several hours to cool completely (overnight is best!).
- Place the frozen drum on the ice cream maker, and churn the custard according to instructions. It can take over 15 minutes to churn the ice cream.
- When the ice cream has reached the desired consistency, add the chopped chocolate (if using) to the ice cream machine to mix it in, just before stopping the machine.
- Turn off the machine, disassemble, and transfer the ice cream to a container, layering swirls of melted chocolate as you transfer (if using melted chocolate). Place in freezer for a few hours to harden the ice cream before serving.
Notes
- add chopped dark chocolate directly to churned ice cream, but the frozen chocolate may seem dry and won't have a melt-in-your-mouth quality that you may want.
- melt the chocolate and swirl it into churned ice cream before hardening (melting will undo the tempering of the chocolate, making it more prone to melting after it hardens again).
- melt the chocolate and spread it out thin on a parchment-lined sheet, allowing it to set hard before breaking it into shards and adding to churned ice cream.
- melt the chocolate with a small amount of a neutral oil (7.5 mL or 1.5 teaspoons of canola oil for every 85 grams of chocolate). Again either swirl the melted mixture in the churned ice cream or let it set and break it up into shards that you can fold into churned ice cream.
- For the dark chocolate, I used Cacao Barry Ocoa 70 % dark chocolate
Erika says
Excellent flavor! I noticed a couple of errors on the recipe.
1. There was nothing in the method about dividing of the whipping cream, which is indicated to be divided in the ingredient list.
2. List the ingredients in the order they will be used (please)
3. There is no indication in the method of when to add the mint extract.
Otherwise, this recipe was pretty easy to follow and my ice cream turned out great.
Janice says
Hi Erika,
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Your notes are very much appreciated. Thank you for taking the time. I will make the changes you suggested!
Pete says
“…at least 83C” for the custard implies there’s no issues going (much) above that. 🙂
Janice says
Hah! True! I should probably make it a little more specific! I just don't want readers to cook to a too low temperature because then the base may be watery because less evaporation, but also, if they don't cook it high enough for long enough, there may be more ice crystal formation from the extra water, and it won't technically be "pasteurized" (according to classic pastry techniques). Also, it might be too large a volume to fit the ice cream maker if there's more water...