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Main page > Ice Cream > All Chocolate Ice Creams > Chocolate (only) > Philadelphia-style
This Philadelphia-style chocolate ice cream is the most simple ice cream you can make at home with your ice cream maker; you only need four ingredients: chocolate, milk, cream and sugar. Philadelphia-style ice cream is the perfect choice when you are short of time yet want to make something that everyone will love. Its texture and flavour are surprisingly superb, a delightful reminder that you do not need much to enjoy great ice cream at home.
This is a chocolate-only ice cream that makes for ice cream lighter in chocolate flavour than a chocolate AND cocoa powder ice cream with a richer chocolate taste. This chocolate-only ice cream recipe comes in handy when you have run out of cocoa powder; or if you want to celebrate an exceptional chocolate bar’s flavour. It is perfect in every way, and it has nothing to be jealous of its chocolate-and-cocoa powder counterpart.
In this recipe, we use chocolate/couverture with 70-74% cocoa solids, but at the end of this page, you will also find the links for other cocoa solids % chocolates. The recipes are more or less the same, with small changes which result in the same chocolate intensity and luxurious mouthfeel.
Philadelphia-style Ice Cream is the most simple ice cream you can make at home.
But why is it different from other kinds of ice cream? In other kinds of ice cream, we thicken the ice cream mixture before churning to create a more stable ice cream body which:
Thickening the ice cream is usually done by cooking the ice cream mixture with egg yolks or cornstarch (aka cornflour).
When making Philadelphia-style ice cream, you do not thicken the ice cream mixture. So it is quick to make and requires the fewest ingredients possible. Compared to an ice cream thickened with egg yolks or corn starch, Philadelphia-style ice cream melts faster during serving; and you may find that its texture does not keep well in the freezer for too long. Yet it is still delightful, and everyone loves it. It will become your go-to ice cream when you are short of time and still want to please a crowd.
You can replace regular sugar with good-quality raw cane sugar, such as Demerara or Turbinado, which are very aromatic, thanks to their natural content in molasses and have an earthy, slightly caramelised aroma.
By replacing regular sugar with raw cane sugar like the above, you boost the chocolate flavour of the ice cream, creating the ultimate chocolate ice cream experience.
Choose a good-quality raw cane sugar which smells divine when you sniff it. The best Demerara sugar is known to originate from the island of Mauritius, so check the label for the origin.
This is what you will need:
Every ingredient plays a vital role in the recipe. Do not attempt to reduce or replace anything; everything is there for a reason. Look out for these:
If you live in the UK, where double cream is easier to find, you can easily make heavy cream by combining double cream with whole milk. Double cream has a thicker viscosity and a higher fat percentage (50%) than heavy cream (35-40% fat). By adding whole milk in the double cream, you bring it to the desirable fat content; then you can use this instead of heavy cream. To find out how, check ingredients notes "double cream with 50% fat (UK) - how to use"" in recipe.
Here is a quick overview of the recipe. If you are new to making ice cream, read the recipe before proceeding.
Note that the colour of your ice cream mixture depends on the chocolate you will use, so its hue may differ from that of the photos.
For best results, use a digital kitchen scale and measure the ingredients directly into the utensils, as you proceed with the recipe. Avoid weighing in one utensil and transferring to another, as this causes a small, but important loss of quantity, especially in liquids.
If you have a kitchen scale, weigh the ingredients instead of measuring them by cup; it provides accurate results, very much needed in ice cream making.
If you do not have a kitchen scale, follow these guidelines:
1 cup (US) = 236 ml | 1 Tbs. = 15 ml
– Chocolate/couverture: chocolate cannot be measured in a cup because the results vary depending on how finely chopped the chocolate is. Instead, you can calculate the number of pieces you need based on the weight of the chocolate bar as written on the packaging.
– Sugar: measuring sugar in tablespoons is more accurate than measuring it in cups. Do not use a regular tablespoon: you need a 15 ml measuring tablespoon; this is 12 gr of sugar. To measure, scoop the sugar to fill the tablespoon, then level it with the flat side of a knife. Repeat scooping and levelling.
If you do not have a measuring tablespoon, use this conversion:
white granulated sugar: 225 ml
raw cane sugar (such as demerara): 250 ml.
Note: the above requires that the sugar is of good quality, with distinctive granules, visible to the naked eye. If the sugar appears to be somewhat pulverised, reduce the measuring by 1 tablespoon (both for cups and tablespoons).
Do not convert the sugar into cups with the usual “1 cup=200 grams” conversion; this is too much sugar, which results in sloppy ice cream.
– Liquid ingredients: make sure that you thoroughly scrape with a rubber spatula the cup every time you measure something and empty it.
This recipe is for chocolate/couverture with 70-74% cocoa solids; for other cocoa solids % click here.
Do not use in this recipe:
Only use whole milk (this is around 3.5% fat). Do not substitute with skimmed milk or plant-based milk.
Use heavy cream with 35-40% fat content and of pourable consistency. “Ultra-pasteurised cream” and “cream suitable for whipping” with 35-40% fat are ok, too. Avoid any cream which contains sugar or other sweeteners. Do not substitute with low-fat cream or plant-based cream.
You can combine double cream with whole milk to make heavy cream for this recipe. To make 470 gr (16.6 oz.) heavy cream, you need:
To make the heavy cream, put the double cream in a bowl, then pour in the milk, a little at a time, stirring smoothly with a rubber spatula until smooth. Avoid whisking, as it may turn into whipped cream.
The resulting heavy cream has 36% fat, perfect for this ice cream. Proceed with the recipe, just as if you had the 470 gr (16.6 oz.) heavy cream needed.
*this 140 gr (4.9 oz.) milk is extra to the 410 gr milk (14.5 oz) asked in the recipe. So, if using double cream, you will need in total 550 gr milk (19.4 oz.), from which:
Only use regular sugar (white granulated sugar) or raw cane sugar such as Turbinado or Demerara.
Do not try to reduce the calories of the ice cream by cutting down the sugar or replacing it with low-calories or “healthy” sweeteners. Do not use:
A flexible rubber spatula is good for:
-wiping the bottom of the saucepan when cooking dairy on the stovetop.
-scraping residues from bowls, saucepans etc.
If you do not have one, I strongly encourage you to buy one, preferably a flexible one.
Make the ice cream mixture (steps 1-2) one day before churning it.
If your ice cream maker has a removable freezer bowl, put it in the freezer for the whole time indicated by the manufacturer before churning, usually 24 hours.
Place a rubber spatula and a whisk on a plate next to the stovetop to have them close and ready to use interchangeably.
Warm the the milk with the sugar: in a medium saucepan, put the milk (410 gr; 14.5 oz.) and the sugar (168 gr; 5.9 oz.) and warm over medium heat, often stirring until the sugar dissolves. Do not let the milk boil before the sugar fully dissolves, or the milk may curdle; stirring often helps the sugar dissolve efficiently.
Bring it to a rolling boil: as soon as it starts boiling, (this is when bubbles pop up vigorously), remove from the heat and pour the boiling milk into a large, heatproof bowl.
Add the chopped chocolate (125 gr; 4.4 oz.) and whisk to melt, then stir with the rubber spatula until it is a uniform brown colour with no streaks.
Add the heavy cream (470 gr; 16.6 oz.) and stir, until it is a uniform brown colour with no streaks.
Blend the ice cream mixture with an immersion/regular blender for 30 seconds to ensure a smooth texture.
Strain the ice cream mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and into a bowl.
Cool it down: prepare an ice bath by putting ice cubes and cold water in a large bowl and carefully nest the bowl with the ice cream mixture in it, taking care that no water slips into it. Let it cool down for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Chill thoroughly: the ice cream mixture should come to fridge-cold temperature before you churn it with the ice cream maker; to chill it, use one of the two ways below (click to read more):
Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours and up to 3 days.
Put the ice cream mixture in a sealable bag and close the bag carefully. Place the bag in a large container/kitchen sink and fully cover it with lots of ice. Leave for 3-4 hours to thoroughly chill.
Before churning, check if the custard is thoroughly cold:
If needed, add more ice and leave until thoroughly chilled.
When you have time, prefer the slow way to mature the ice cream mixture and improve its flavours. If you are in a hurry, you will be happy to know that most people do not notice this flavour improvement, so feel free to be quick.
When choosing the fast way, consider that it needs more ice than an average household usually holds.
When churning with a domestic ice cream maker, your ice cream mixture should always be thoroughly chilled. Otherwise, if the ice cream mixture is not cold enough, the ice cream maker may not churn it to its fullest potential, resulting in a sloppy liquid vs. fluffy ice cream.
Check the ice cream mixture if it is thoroughly cold before churning: it should feel fridge-cold to the touch (if you have an instant-read thermometer, this is at 4ºC–10ºC / 39ºF-50ºF).
Stir: give a thorough and vigorous stirring to the ice cream mixture.
Churn: with the machine running, pour the ice cream mixture through the canister and into the ice cream maker.
Leave to churn until fluffed up and creamy; depending on your ice cream maker this can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes (see below).
This chocolate ice cream will expand and fluff up during churning. It is ready when it looks smooth and fluffy, with a mousse-like consistency. That could take anywhere from 30-60 minutes, depending on your ice cream maker.
To evaluate if it is ready, lift a spoonful; it should be thick enough to stand on the spoon, but it will be still soft like soft-serve ice cream. If you lift ice cream with the spoon and a pool immediately starts forming on its edges, you will have to churn it for longer.
In any case, if you feel doubts about the consistency, leave it to churn for ten minutes more. But beware: at this stage, do not expect it to be like store-bought carton ice cream; for now, it should be more like soft-serve ice cream. It will firm up and become like store-bought ice cream only after it sets in the freezer.
So, stop the ice cream maker when thick and creamy, as described above. If you leave to churn it for much longer, it will start turning grainy.
Warning: some ice cream makers are programmed to automatically stop after a specific length of time, which doesn’t make sense because the ice cream may need to churn for more to reach its fullest potential. So, if you notice that your ice cream maker stops on its own and upon checking the ice cream, you find that it is sloppy instead of fluffy, try to turn the machine on again and leave it to churn until it reaches the desired texture.
Put in the freezer to set: before serving the ice cream or moving it to a container for storing, you have to put it in the freezer to set. To do so:
Setting time depends on the ice cream maker you use; see notes below for indicative times.
Serve or store: when it sets, you can serve it directly from the removable freezer bowl or transfer it to an airtight container for longer storing.
The setting time for the ice cream largely depends on the type of ice cream maker you use.
It can take :
Note: the times given are indicative. Setting time depends on many factors. Check it occasionally while it is in the freezer. To evaluate if the ice cream has set, insert a knife into it, all the way to the bottom:
Straight after churning, the ice cream has a soft-serve consistency and melts immediately upon contact with anything. This makes it impossible to serve or transfer to another container.
Putting it in the freezer after churning, sets it and brings it to the right consistency, similar to that of an ice cream parlour’s.
If the ice cream stays in the removable freezer bowl for too long, it will harden and will be difficult to remove or serve.
Do not worry though, you can still make it scoopable by leaving it in the refrigerator to soften. This can take :
(Note: the time given is indicative, actual time may vary depending on many factors, so do check it once in a while while it sits in the refrigerator).
After this, the ice cream will be easier to scoop and transfer to another container; or serve directly from the removable freezer bowl.
Storage: Philadelphia-style ice creams are at their best if they are eaten the day they are churned. If you want to keep it for longer, cover it well to protect it from absorbing the freezer’s smells and keep it in the freezer for up to one month.
Scooping: this ice cream, like all artisanal ice creams, freezes hard in the long term. To soften it to a perfectly scoopable consistency, put it in the refrigerator for 45-60 min (or if you have a thermometer, when it reads around -11ºC / 12ºF, inserted midway through the ice cream).
If you have an instant-read thermometer, the perfect serving temperature of this chocolate ice cream is when the thermometer inserted midway through the ice cream reads around -11ºC / 12ºF. At this temperature, the ice cream is at its best to scoop and enjoy.
Click on the cocoa solids % chocolate of your choice for the recipe.
You can use any cocoa solids % you like; the final ice cream will be the same. The difference between the recipes is in the quantities of the ingredients. For example, with 50% cocoa solids chocolate, you need 200 gr (7.1 oz.) chocolate, whereas, with 70-74% chocolate, you need 125 gr (4.4 oz.); e.t.c., e.t.c. The same is with the rest of the ingredients (sugar, milk, cream); they change so that the final ice cream has the same chocolate intensity and a perfect mouthfeel, no matter the cocoa solids % of the chocolate you use.