The luscious, velvety texture melds fabulously with delicate hazelnut and rich chocolate in my Ferrero Rocher Ice Cream recipe. It’s so indulgent, so creamy, and so easy to make you might agree homemade is better than store bought.
Grab a batter bowl and whisk (or use a hand mixer with whisk attachment) together milk (1 ½ cups), sugar (1 cup), cocoa powder (⅓ - ½ cup), and vanilla (1 ½ tsp) until cocoa powder (use less for more pronounced Nutella flavor and more for heavier chocolate flavor) and sugar are dissolved and combined, about 2 minutes.
In a microwave safe bowl, heat Nutella (6 TBL) in 20 second intervals until pourable, should only need one heating, allow to cool for 1-2 minutes then whisk into milk and cocoa sugar mixture.
Pour in heavy cream (2 cups), whisk well, and continue for another 2-3 minutes until it is slightly thickened and no sugar granules can be seen.
Refrigerate the ice cream base for 30 minutes or longer, prior to placing it in the ice cream freezer. By allowing it to hang out in the fridge, it will help it freeze faster, greatly improve the texture AND allows the cocoa powder to get to know the milk and the cream.
Before pouring your ice cream base into the ice cream freezer, stir it again one last time -- a nice gentle stir to ensure everything is mixed well. Then pour into your ice cream freezer and follow the directions on your ice cream machine. Mine (Cuisinart) takes about 20 minutes. Add hazelnuts (⅓ cup)--make sure they are cooled after toasting-- during the last 5 minutes of freezing or simply stir in afterward.
Ice cream straight from the machine is a soft-serve texture. For firm, scoopable ice cream, pour soft ice cream into a chilled loaf pan or container (I put my container in the freezer while the ice cream maker is on). Cover and tuck in the back of your freezer. The longer you let it hang out, the harder it will be; a couple of hours will yield firm on the edges and soft in the center. Overnight or longer, firm, scoopable ice cream. But who's kidding who? This stuff is fabulous straight from the machine or days later!
Notes
Can you use 2%, 1% milk, yes, absolutely, it won't be as creamy, but will still set up!
Variations
Instead of an all-over hazelnut flavor, drizzle well-stirred, cooled Nutella into the machine during the last minute of freezing to create a ribbon throughout. You can also hand-stir the Nutella before transferring to a freezer container.
Crushed Ferrero Rocher chocolates can be incorporated into the soft serve as well. Rather than sprinkle on top, stir them into the soft serve before freezing. I prefer serving them on top, as they stay nice and crunchy!
Serve with warm hot fudge or a little swirl of warmed Nutella! I like to top it all off with whole or crushed Ferrero Rocher chocolates and toasted hazelnuts and a spritz of whipped cream.
STORAGE TIPS | It will stay fresh for up to 6 weeks in the freezer, when kept in an airtight container. Keep an eye out for tiny bits of ice forming on the surface and on the lid, a tell-tale sign that it’s getting freezer burn and can start tasting a bit off. Keeping it in a well-sealed container will help!