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Rich, dark, ultra-smooth, and creamy chocolate meets a hint of orange in 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. (And if you don’t love the darkest of chocolate, any chocolate you love will work beautifully in this ice cream.)
Chocolate Orange Ice Cream
We tried a Chocolate Orange flavored ice cream while we were in Montreal and Sean declared it the best one he tried throughout our vacation.
It really was fantastic. So, naturally, I couldn’t resist trying my hand at recreating it. Four (maybe it was five ?) batches later, this ice cream has been declared one of Sean’s all-time favorites.
Do you love the chocolate and orange combination too? Don’t miss the EASY to make Chocolate Covered Oranges that my family adores!
Over the years, I’ve made this ice cream with extra dark chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, regular cocoa powder, and special dark cocoa powder too. It works every single possible way.
Sean and I love it best with the darkest of dark chocolate, however, my boys like it best with semi-sweet chocolate. The final color of the ice cream will be determined by how dark your chocolate is. As you can tell by the photos here, it will vary a good bit.
I’ve made this both with and without orange zest, as well as with store-bought juice. The zest makes a big difference in the results, especially when using fresh orange juice.
Fresh and store-bought orange juice will both work well. The fresh orange juice produces a milder flavor with a little more sweetness to it. The store-bought orange juice was just enough stronger than fresh I preferred it in the end.
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!
With over 70 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.
Don’t miss this 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!
Looking for more dessert recipes? Creamy Orange Sherbet is an old-fashioned frozen treat that I always associate with trips to visit my grandmother when I was a child. She loved sherbet and it was often found in her freezer.
Dark Chocolate Orange Ice Cream
Ingredients
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup special dark unsweetened cocoa
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon finely grated orange zest
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips
- ½ cup orange juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Whisk together the sugar, cream, milk, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, and orange zest in a medium size saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer while stirring occasionally for 2 minutes.
- Add the chocolate chips and continue stirring while the chocolate melts. Remove from the heat and stir in the orange juice and vanilla extract. Let cool and then chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
- Pour the chilled mixture into your ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer's directions.
Notes
{originally published 9/12/14 – recipe notes and photos updated 6/6/22}
Delicious! We made it for the 1st time. Never having made icecream before, it was SO good!
I’m thrilled you like it. This is still one of my husband’s favorites.
Just like the Swensen’s Swiss orange choco ice cream I remember. I doubled the amount of rind. Put in less cinnamon than the recipe calls for. And less sugar (and half of that sugar is brown sugar). Really tasty!
I’m so glad you like it, Sarah!
I was hoping that this recipe we be close to Swensen’s! I’m so glad you thought so. i can’t wait to give it a try.