Dark Chocolate Keto Ice Cream – Delicious and Decadent!

My husband is the chocolate expert in our household, and he is a hard man to please when it comes to chocolate desserts. So I’ve been working on this recipe for a while now to get it right, and each time I presented him with a scoop of keto chocolate ice cream, there was always something wrong with it. Not creamy enough, not enough chocolate, too much chocolate (oh hi, Goldilocks), could taste the sweeteners. It was a real challenge!

But I finally managed to make a version that got his seal of approval. I hope you enjoy this low-carb ice recipe as much as he does!

Super Creamy low carb Dark chocolate Ice cream

We’ve tested and tried numerous ways to make ice cream in our test kitchen. The method that always yields the best texture is the custard method.

There are loads of low-carb chocolate ice cream recipes out there, but they generally add cocoa powder to vanilla ice cream and call it a day. That’s perfectly fine, and I often do that too, but you’re really into making the best keto chocolate ice cream you can, I highly recommend going through the extra steps to make the custard first.

Trust me – it’s WAY better and creates that super creamy texture that we all love.

BEST SWEETENERS TO USE IN THIS RECIPE

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I used allulose in this dark chocolate keto ice cream for two reasons. First, Allulose does not get grainy when cold, and it helps to prevent the ice cream from freezing rock solid. But you do have other options when it comes to sweeteners.

If you do not have allulose on hand or cannot get it (it can be tough to find in Canada), use your favorite 1:1 sugar substitute. I have had luck ordering from GTA Nutrition if you are in Canada. Unfortunately, they are often out of stock, but you can find Allulose on their site.

Bocca sweet works very well in this recipe. It doesn’t quite leave the ice cream as scoopable as the allulose, but it’s not too bad—no aftertaste either with Bocca sweet.

Erythritol will work, and the cooling sensation is reduced dramatically in frozen desserts. The only caveat using Erythritol in this recipe will make the ice cream rock solid. To prevent the ice cream from being too hard you can either add three tablespoons of your favorite booze (hard alcohol), a tablespoon of glycerine, or a dollop of patience. Leaving the ice cream out on the counter for about 15 minutes will soften it enough to make it scoopable.

Monkfruit will work too. I found it did leave an aftertaste, but I know so many of you love monk fruit. Much like the erythritol, it will leave this ice cream hard as a rock when you pull it out of the freezer. You can use the same tricks as mentioned with erythritol.

TIPS FOR MAKING THE CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM CUSTARD BASE

A cooked custard base makes the creamiest ice cream. But it does take a few steps to make a good custard.

• Whip those egg yolks and allulose until the mixture is pale yellow and ribbons back into the bowl when you pour it from a spoon.
• Keep your heat low when you cook this custard. Allulose has a tendency to burn on high heat and can impart a bitter taste if cooked too high.
• Don’t skip cooling the custard in the fridge before adding it to the ice cream maker. Adding warm custard to the machine will yield a soupy mess. You want the mixture to be super cold before adding it to the ice cream machine.

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The Cocoa Powder you use makes a difference

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Go for a high-end cocoa powder for this recipe. The better the cocoa powder, the better the results.

I always use Extra Brute Cacao Barry powdered cocoa because it has the most intense chocolate flavor, hands down. It does not impart any bitterness and truly tastes like deep rich chocolate.

It’s not as expensive as you think it is – the bag is bigger for sure, so if you don’t bake a lot, it may be overkill, but if you do, I highly recommend it. You will find that it’s only a few cents more per 100 grams than buying Hersey’s or some other grocery store brand.

I’m not a food snob by any stretch except for when it comes to cocoa powder and vanilla, because I find those two ingredients make a world of difference in a finished dessert.

Tip: Check your local baking shops for the Cacao Barry. It is often less expensive than purchasing on Amazon.

Ice Cream Maker Recommendations

We’ve tested many ice cream makers over the years and we keep going back to the Cuisinart. It does an outstanding job and makes thick creamy ice cream. However, the model we use most frequently has the tub that needs to be frozen in the freezer 24 hours before use which makes making ice cream a job you really need to be prepared for if you want ice cream today.

If you’re making a lot of ice cream and don’t want the hassle of waiting for the tub to freeze, you can try out the compressor models of ice cream makers. We purchased one for our ice cream testing because we wanted something faster. It was spendy, and you know, it never made the ice cream as creamy as it came out in the Cuisinart.

NO ICE CREAM MAKER? IF YOU HAVE THE TIME AND PATIENCE, YOU CAN STILL MAKE THIS ICE CREAM!

What works exceptionally well is an empty metal coffee can.  You can freeze the ice cream inside anything; metal seems to work best.  You also want to make sure that whatever container you use is big enough for your hand mixer. You also want to ensure the container will fit into your freezer.

And if you like ice cream check out these additional ice cream recipes:

• Keto Strawberry Ice Cream With Ripple
• Keto Strawberry Cheesecake Icecream (everyone LOVES this recipe)
• Low Carb Blueberry Cheesecake Icecream (super popular on social!)
• Lemon Ice Cream

Making Ice Cream in a Coffee Can

To make this keto chocolate ice cream without an ice cream maker, place the container inside your freezer for 30 minutes.  At the 30 minute mark, bring it out and give it a blend with your hand mixer, making sure you get all the frozen bits off the side of the metal bowl.

Repeat this process (every 30 minutes) until everything is frozen and creamy. Of course, it won’t be the same as making it in an ice cream maker, we can’t get as much air built into the cream base manually, but you know what, it works in a pinch! But you do have to mix it several times. I have had readers toss the mixture into the coffee can and leave it – unfortunately, that will not work; you need to give it some air!

All freezers are different, so you may need more or less time. However, this process does indeed work; it just requires a bit of patience. 

Storage and serving suggestions

You can serve this keto chocolate ice cream right away. The softness will entirely depend on the heat of your kitchen and the effectiveness of your ice cream maker.

For me, the ice cream comes out a touch too soft for my liking, so I freeze for 20-30 additional minutes.

You can keep this ice cream in your freezer for up to a month. Be sure to keep it well covered. I like these wonderful little ice cream freezer tubs. We use them all the time for our testing recipes, and they work exceptionally well.

I hope you enjoy this one as much as we did!

Looking for more chocolate keto recipes? We have you covered!

• Super Creamy Chocolate Fudge
• No Flour (or Almond Flour) Chocolate Torte
• Triple Chocolate Espresso Muffins
• Easy Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Chocolate Glazed Keto Donuts For The Halloween Season