Chocolate Malted Crunch Ice Cream Recipe: Creamy Malted Chocolate with Crispy Crunch

STEP 1: Place the milk chocolate chips in a small bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy.

STEP 2: In a medium saucepan, warm the whole milk, heavy cream, malted milk powder, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt over medium-low heat until hot and just below simmering. Do not boil.

STEP 3: Pour enough of the hot cream mixture over the chocolate chips to cover them, then cover the bowl with a plate and let sit for 5 minutes to melt the chocolate. While that rests, temper the egg yolks by whisking about ½ cup of the hot cream into the yolks, a little at a time, stirring constantly. Then pour the tempered yolks back into the saucepan and stir to combine.

STEP 4: Stir the chocolate until smooth, then pour the melted chocolate into the saucepan with the yolk-cream mixture, whisking to combine.

STEP 5: Gently heat the mixture over medium-low, stirring constantly, until it thickens slightly and small bubbles form at the edges—do not let it boil. This will create a silky custard base.

STEP 6: Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl to remove any lumps. Let it cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate overnight to fully chill and develop flavor.

STEP 7: Set up your ice cream maker. Stir the cold custard, pour it into the machine, and churn according to the manufacturer’s directions. When the mixture reaches a soft-serve consistency, add about three-quarters of the crushed malted milk balls and churn a few minutes more to distribute them.

STEP 8: Transfer the ice cream to the frozen 9-inch pan, sprinkle the remaining crushed malt balls on top, cover tightly, and freeze overnight to firm up before serving.

Malted milk powder is a dried mix often made with evaporated milk and ground barley or malt extract, which gives a nutty, toasty sweetness commonly associated with malted milk balls.

Egg yolks form a custard base that adds richness and a creamy, smooth mouthfeel to homemade ice cream.

You can freeze the mixture without a machine, but the texture won’t be as smooth. Churning (by hand or with an ice cream maker) as it freezes helps keep it creamy.

This recipe yields about 1 quart of ice cream, roughly 8 servings.

• 4½ ounces milk chocolate chips (high quality)
• 3 large egg yolks
• ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• 1½ cups (355 ml) whole milk
• 1½ cups (355 ml) heavy whipping cream
• ¾ cup (84 g) malted milk powder
• ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
• tiny pinch salt
• 1 cup chocolate-covered malted milk balls, crushed (like Whoppers)

Day 1

• Freeze a 9-inch round pan and your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Place the chocolate chips in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Heat the milk, cream, malted milk powder, vanilla, and salt in a saucepan over medium-low until just below simmering.
• Pour some hot mixture over the chocolate chips to cover them and let rest 5 minutes. Temper the yolks by whisking ½ cup hot cream into them, then return the yolk mixture to the saucepan while stirring. Stir the melted chocolate until smooth and add it back to the saucepan.
• Whisk over medium-low until the custard slightly thickens and small bubbles appear at the edges. Do not boil.
• Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl. Cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Day 2

• Set up your ice cream machine, whisk the chilled custard, and churn according to the machine’s directions. When it reaches soft-serve consistency, add about ¾ of the crushed malted milk balls and churn 3–5 more minutes.
• Transfer the ice cream to the cold pan, sprinkle the remaining malt balls on top, cover, and freeze overnight until firm.

Nutrition Information: Nutritional values are estimates. This recipe yields about 1 quart and assumes 8 servings of roughly ½ cup each.

The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.