Chocolate Malt Ice Cream

If a thick, chocolate malt milkshake is your kind of treat, just wait until you scoop into this chocolate malt ice cream—it’s everything you love, frozen into pure nostalgic bliss.

horizontal side shot of ice cream in white bowl on wooden table

Chocolate Malt

One taste of a chocolate malt is all it takes to transport me back to childhood. My grandpa used to make chocolate malts for us when we visited and we’d very carefully carry them upstairs and out the second-story door to walk out on the roof and enjoy them. The excitement of being on the roof and also enjoying a frosty chocolate malt milkshake? Oh, that couldn’t be beaten.

This batch of chocolate malt ice cream took me right back to visiting my grandparents in Dewey, AZ in the summertime. There are so many memories attached to the foods we eat and I love when I can make something today that transports me back in time.

The most popular question I get is whether it’s possible to make ice cream without a machine. The answer is YES. You can make ice cream without a machine. Find the full directions here!

And if you love Whoppers or chocolate malted milk balls, you just might go a little crazy over this Chocolate Malted Crunch Ice Cream. Old-fashioned chocolate malt ice cream gets a little extra boost of fun from chopped malted milk balls.

close up horizontal photo of old fashioned ice cream scoop in container of chocolate ice cream

Making this ice cream is pretty darn easy. There are no eggs required and you won’t need a custard base for this ice cream. You’ll simply whisk together the cream, cocoa powder, malted milk powder, sugar, and salt in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer.

Stir in the chocolate until it melts, add the milk, and then chill your ice cream base until it’s good and cold. Once the mixture is cool, pour it into the ice cream maker and churn it up.

You can make this ice cream with milk chocolate, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate. However, as much as I love dark chocolate as a general rule, for a classic malt flavor, the lighter chocolate will deliver the classic flavor.

You can enjoy the ice cream straight out of the machine for soft serve ice cream, or transfer it to the freezer until it’s firm enough to scoop into cones or bowls.

overhead photo of scoop of chocolate ice cream melting in white bowl

Chocolate Ice Cream Recipes

There’s enough chocolate ice cream here to satisfy the greatest of chocolate lovers. My husband has two favorites and they’ve been at the top of his ice cream loving list for over ten years now. The first is this Spicy Chocolate Ice Cream. It is cold, creamy chocolate with a hint of spicy heat from chili and cinnamon. It warms your mouth even as you are chilled from the ice cream.

The second is a rich, dark, ultra-smooth, and creamy chocolate that meets a hint of orange in a sweet ice cream like no other you’ve ever tasted. If you’re skeptical of the chocolate and citrus combination, one taste will be all it takes to convince you.

For a few of my kids’ favorites, Kit Kat Ice Cream has everything you love about Kit Kat candy bars swirled into each scoop of this homemade ice cream. And creamy chocolate ice cream with a marshmallow swirl, crunchy almonds, and chocolate chips add up to this old-fashioned heavenly hash ice cream.

When you fill a batch of chocolate ice cream with chocolate-covered cashews and swirl it with caramel sauce the result is a Bear Claw Ice Cream that no one can resist. While Homemade Rocky Road Ice Cream is creamy chocolate and almond-flavored ice cream loaded with chewy marshmallows, crunchy almonds, and flecks of chocolate.

Give me a brownie and ice cream over pretty much any other baked good and ice cream combination. So, naturally, a bowl of chocolate ice cream generously filled with fudgy chunks of brownies calls my name – loudly.

For the ultimate brownie ice cream combination, freshly churned chocolate ice cream is layered with bite-size chunks of Cosmic Brownies and scattered with miniature M&M candies to create this super fun Cosmic Brownie Ice Cream.

There’s even a dairy-free chocolate ice cream that doesn’t taste dairy-free and doesn’t have even a hint of coconut. YES! It is possible and it is fantastic!

Servings: 6 ½ cup servings

In a large saucepan, combine the cream, cocoa, malt powder, sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine and then heat over medium heat, stirring continually, until it comes together and begins to steam and simmer. (If you wish, you may increase the heat, but continue stirring non-stop. Do not step away at this point.)
Remove from the heat and immediately add the chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate has completely melted. Stir in the milk and vanilla. Cool and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight until completely cold.
Pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and process according to your machine’s instructions. Serve immediately for soft-serve ice cream or transfer to a freezer-safe storage container and freeze until ready to serve.

Calories: 454kcal · Carbohydrates: 42g · Protein: 7g · Fat: 31g · Saturated Fat: 19g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g · Monounsaturated Fat: 8g · Trans Fat: 0.01g · Cholesterol: 77mg · Sodium: 119mg · Potassium: 360mg · Fiber: 3g · Sugar: 36g · Vitamin A: 997IU · Vitamin C: 1mg · Calcium: 151mg · Iron: 2mg

With over 160 ice cream recipes here to choose from, there’s sure to be an ice cream for everyone! If you’re new to making ice cream, the best and easiest vanilla ice cream is a great place to start.

These are my favorite inexpensive containers for storing ice cream. They’re perfect for gifting (who doesn’t love homemade ice cream?) storage, re-using, etc. I write the flavors on the lids with a sharpie and it washes off with dish soap.

I have more ice cream scoops than I can keep track of at this point and I definitely play favorites. This ice cream scoop does the best job ever of cutting through firm ice cream and still delivers a pretty scoop. It gets bonus points for being one of the least expensive scoops I own as well.

Don’t miss our Ice Cream Maker Review for all the information you need to find the BEST Ice Cream Maker for your needs. Spoiler alert – our top-rated machine under $50 just might surprise you. It sure surprised me!