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French Silk Ice Cream

French silk ice cream is a mousse-like, ultra-smooth chocolate frozen dessert made with a cooked custard base and folded whipped cream. Inspired by French silk pie, it delivers intensely rich, bittersweet flavor and a silky texture between ice cream and frozen mousse.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
chilling + freezing 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 40 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 520
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chocolate custard
  • 2 cup heavy cream Divided: heat 1-1/2 cups and whip remaining 1/2 cup.
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 6 oz dark chocolate (70%) Finely chopped.
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 0.25 tsp salt

Equipment

  • 1 ice cream maker
  • 1 double boiler
  • 1 saucepan

Method
 

Melt and build the custard
  1. Melt the dark chocolate over a double boiler, then set it aside to cool slightly.
  2. In a saucepan, heat 1-1/2 cups heavy cream, whole milk, and cocoa until steaming, then slowly whisk into the egg yolks beaten with granulated sugar.
  3. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until it reaches 175°F, then remove from heat.
  4. Whisk the melted dark chocolate into the hot custard until smooth and glossy.
  5. Stir in the vanilla extract and salt, then strain and cool completely.
Churn and freeze
  1. Whip the remaining 1/2 cup heavy cream to soft peaks, then fold it into the cooled chocolate custard for extra silkiness.
  2. Refrigerate for 4 hours, then churn in an ice cream maker and freeze until firm.

Notes

For the silkiest texture, cool the custard completely before folding in whipped cream—warm custard can deflate the mousse-like body. Refrigerate up to 3 days in a covered container; freeze up to 2 months. To make it more dietary-friendly, swap part of the sugar for a measure-for-measure sugar substitute made for baking (texture may be slightly softer).