Y’ALL. It’s already here, and I’m so excited that I could almost pee my pants. We’re celebrating something way better than Christmas morning, the first day of school, or even a second date with a major hottie, because today marks the beginning of MONTH OF CHOCOLATE.
Month of Chocolate
Do you guys remember all the chocolate shenanigans we partook in last year? There were homemade chocolates and a white chocolate layer cake. There was a hazelnut mocha cream pie and two minty desserts: sandwich cookies and a mint brownie ice cream cake. We played with cocoa powder and dark chocolate bars, mini chocolate chips and fudgy ganache. Basically it was a sticky-sweet month of decadent chocolate desserts, and those few short days were so glorious that it had to be a tradition in the making. So people, today we start the second annual #monthofchocolate, and yes, it’s okay to cry real tears of joy. I know I am.
Turtle Ice Cream
Before you get too hot and heavy on all this chocolate business, let’s chill out with one of the best homemade ice creams I have ever had the pleasure of shoveling down my gullet. It’s turtle ice cream, a rich and creamy chocolate ice cream swirled with toasted pecans, hot fudge sauce, and salty-sweet caramel. Perfectly sweet with just a teensy bit of crunch, and every bit as decadent as a chocolate ice cream should be. Let’s chat about how to make it.
For the best turtle ice cream, we need the best sauces to mix into it. To make my favorite homemade caramel, we cook sugar and water in a saucepan until it has bronzed to an amber hue. Next, warm cream is added to transform that caramelized sugar into a gooey sauce. Once combined, the caramel is finished with a bit of butter and a helping of salt.
My favorite hot fudge sauce is even easier to make. Cream, corn syrup, brown sugar, cocoa powder, salt and chocolate are melted together in a saucepan until boiling. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes and then add the butter, vanilla, and even more chocolate. Allow both sauces to cool before adding to your ice cream, or, better yet, make them a day or two in advance. They will keep well in the fridge.
Making the Ice Cream
The base for this turtle ice cream is adapted from Jeni Britton Bauer’s genius recipe. Cream, milk, and evaporated milk are cooked with sugar and corn syrup until boiling. Cocoa powder is added next, followed by a cornstarch slurry that will thicken up the turtle ice cream. Continue to cook the mixture until thick and bubbly, and then add the remaining ingredients: chopped bittersweet chocolate and salt.
The mixture needs to chill completely before we attempt to process it in the ice cream machine, so to speed up the process, I like to use Jeni’s ice bath method. Pour the hot cream mixture into a gallon-sized plastic bag and fill the sink or a giant bowl with ice water. Submerge the plastic bag in the icy water to cool the mixture in about 30 minutes. Once completely chilled, the mixture is ready to be processed in an ice cream machine.
Churning the Ice Cream
You can follow the manufacturer’s instructions to freeze the ice cream base into a chocolatey oasis. For reference, my machine usually requires 20 minutes. Just whiz it in your machine until it is the consistency of fro-yo and then layer in your ingredients. I add a quarter of the ice cream to the pan and then sprinkle on the pecans. Drizzle spoonfuls of each sauce in next, and then repeat the process until all of the ice cream has been sauced up. Swirl it all together with a knife and then freeze the container in a cold part of your freezer for about 6 hours, or overnight.
This turtle ice cream is a sweet and salty tribute to chocolate, the perfect way to start the #monthofchocolate festivities. Be sure to pop by here every week for the rolls, bars, and other delightful confections that you won’t want to miss out on. Give this turtle ice cream a try and let me know what you think! HAPPY CHOCOLATE DREAMING, Y’ALL!
If you like this turtle ice cream you should check out:
No-Churn Mocha Brownie Fudge Ice Cream
Chocolate Caramel Crumble Cake
Espresso Caramel Thumbprint Cookies
PrintTurtle Ice Cream
This turtle ice cream has a creamy chocolate base, toasted pecans, and swirls of hot fudge and salted caramel sauce. Sweet, salty, nutty, and delicious.
- Author: Kate
- Prep Time: 35
- Total Time: 400
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240 mL) whole milk
- 5 teaspoons cornstarch
- 3 ounces (85 gm) bittersweet chocolate
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1–1/2 cups (360 mL) heavy whipping cream
- 1 (12 ounce) can regular evaporated milk, not nonfat
- ¾ cup (150 gm) sugar
- ¼ cup (80 gm) light corn syrup
- 1/3 cup (25 gm) cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup (30 gm) toasted pecans, finely chopped
- ¼ cup hot fudge sauce, melted but not too hot
- ¼ cup salted caramel sauce, melted but not too hot
Instructions
- Combine two tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the ice cream, but re-stir this mixture occasionally. Chop the bittersweet chocolate and place in a medium sized mixing bowl with the salt. Make an ice bath in a large bowl or your kitchen sink big enough for a gallon-sized plastic bag.
- Combine the remaining milk, whipping cream, evaporated milk, sugar, and corn syrup in a medium sized (at least 4 quart) saucepan. Place over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil, stirring regularly. Add the cocoa powder and whisk to combine, continuing to cook for an additional 4 minutes. To mixture will foam and bubble up, so be sure to keep stirring to keep smaller pans from overflowing! Pull the pan from the heat and whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Place back over heat and continue to cook, stirring with a spoon or a spatula, for about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
- Slowly drizzle the hot cream mixture over the chopped chocolate and salt, stirring regularly. Once all is combined and smooth, pour the contents of the bowl into a gallon-sized plastic bag. Place the sealed bag in the prepared ice bath and allow to chill until cold.
- Once the mixture is chilled, pour the contents of the bag into a prepared ice cream processing machine. Make sure that your ice cream bowl is adequately chilled. Process the ice cream according to manufacturer’s instructions until thick and fluffy, like the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. Spoon ¼ of the ice cream into a loaf pan or a container large enough to freeze the ice cream in. Drizzle with ¼ of the hot fudge and caramel and sprinkle with pecans. Repeat this process 3 more times until all the ice cream, sauces, and nuts have been used. Use a knife to swirl in the mix-ins and cover your loaf pan with a sheet of foil. Place the pan in the freezer to firm up, about 6 hours or overnight. Allow the ice cream to sit out for 5 minutes prior to scooping and ENJOY!
20 thoughts on “Turtle Ice Cream & MONTH OF CHOCOLATE”
This sounds delicious. May I ask what ice crram machine do you use?
Oh man- it’s nothing special! I think I have a cuisinart??? It’s nothing to write home about, but it gets the job done!
This recipe is FABULOUS. Growing up, my local ice cream parlor had turtle ice cream and it was my favorite. After recently going home and having the ice cream again, I was a bit disappointed. My tastes have grown up and my once favorite ice cream was now cloyingly sweet and lacking texture. I found your recipe and made it over the weekend. It is PERFECTION. The ice cream base is so rich and wonderful. The addition of the homemade sauces is great. I almost used store bought, then then thought if I was going to the effort of making homemade ice cream, I should go all the way. I’m so glad I did. You have restored my faith in Chocolate Turtle Ice Cream.
The addition of the cornstarch makes such a difference in the mouthfeel of the ice cream base. Do you see it working equally as well with other non-chocolate base flavors? I’d love to do some experimenting. Thank you again for a wonderful recipe!!
★★★★★
HOORAYYYY!!! I’m so happy to hear this! I got this technique from Jeni’s ice creams. The cornstarch is used in most of their recipes and I highly recommend her cookbook! 🙂
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Going to give this a try! How many quarts does it make? If it’s somewhere in the recipe, I’m sorry—I looked, I promise! I’m trying to figure out if I’ll need to split the batch for my 1.5 quart ice cream machine. Thanks!
You machine will be perfect! 🙂
Such a genius idea to have a full month dedicated to a single genre of ingredients. One of these days I’ll have to come up with a spin-off (cake month? brownie month? I mean this is my current obsession). In the meantime, I’ll just lust after all your divine chocolate-y creations, starting with this ice cream. Oh. . .I’ll be thinking about that thick layer of caramel resting on top for days (but especially when I am trying to make it through a HIIT workout on the assault bike).
ohhh I really hope you will!!!!!!!! trust me, I only work out for the dessert. 🙂
Uum, chocolate month?! New favorite holiday ever. I am so into this. I never liked turtle-flavored sweets when I was a kid for some reason, but I have 100% been converted and this ice cream looks like just the perfect thing to start the month with a chocolate-covered bang <3
turtle sweets are THE BOMB. I’m glad you see the light. 🙂
Any chance you’ve got a no churn version of this recipe? I don’t have an ice cream machine but really want to try this.
That’s a great question! Yes, you could totally make a no churn base for this ice cream. Try this recipe and add the mix-ins like in my recipe!
Hi Kate, What a beautiful blog you have here! I’m so happy to have discovered it. I too am excited about #monthofchocolate and this ice cream looks absolutely decadent. I love the combination of crunchy textures, chocolate and sweet and salty caramel!
thank you!! I so hope that you’ll enjoy it. I love a good sweet and salty ice cream too! 🙂
ahhh! so exciting i can’t wait to see what awesome recipes you’ve got for us this time. loving how velvety and rich this ice cream looks xo
yes!!! oh, I hope you’ll make some!
Yummmmm damn this looks SO GOOD
GIRL. make. it.