Easy Fudge Ice Cream

This fudge ice cream recipe is so easy to make! Intensely fudgy, it is a real treat that is great for showing off at a dinner party. Even better, it only has three ingredients and doesn’t need an ice-cream maker or hand churning. The hardest part is waiting for it to freeze!

Easy Fudge Ice Cream

Surely everyone loves ice cream. Well, I suppose that some people don’t, but we aren’t among them! 

Great ice cream from the store can be expensive. We find it is far more fun to make your own, using the exact flavour, or flavours, you want. This easy no-churn fudge ice cream recipe is perfect for beginners and produces impressive results. 

We make no-churn ice cream on a regular basis. There’s no way around the fact that a modest batch results in some leftovers, so I’ve scaled the recipe to use one regular 300 ml pot of double cream and half of a standard sized (397 ml) can of condensed milk. The leftovers can make a second batch, or you can double the recipe if you have enough space in the freezer. 

We used chocolate-coated fudge bars for this – the sort that is a popular and affordable childhood treat in the UK. However, you could also use a soft and crumbly traditional fudge, or even make your own fudge.

Making Ice Cream Scoopable

Generally ice cream needs churning as it freezes. The churning stops the formation of ice crystals, which will make your ice cream set solid, or have a gritty granular texture. 

When you make homemade ice cream you have three options:

• You can take it out of the freezer and give it a good stir by hand, put it back and repeat, so it freezes but does not solidify. 
• You can use an ice cream machine that churns and freezes at the same time. There are two types, one with a bowl that you pre-freeze (you need to be organised, and have room in the freezer), or one that has a compressor that will churn and chill at the same time. These are heavy, noisy and expensive, and I find that you still need to put the freshly made ice cream in the freezer to firm up.  
• Or you can make a no-churn ice cream recipe – which is the winner here. Just mix and freeze. There’s no need for making custards and using ice cream machines. Positively fuss-free!

The secret to no-churn ice cream is a mixture of condensed milk and whipped cream which freezes into exactly the right soft, scoopable, silky smooth consistency every single time! It is fool proof!

It works because the high sugar content of the condensed milk means it won’t freeze solid at domestic freezer temperatures. Now anyone can make perfect ice cream with no specialist equipment. 

How to Make Easy Fudge Ice Cream

This is so easy to make that you really don’t need step-by-step photos, but here we go anyway.

Step One – Assemble your three ingredients! Crumble or chop the fudge into small pieces. 

Step Two – Put the condensed milk in a saucepan and add two thirds of the fudge. Heat gently and stir to dissolve the fudge, making a rich fudge sauce. This will take about 10 minutes. Let the mixture cool. It needs to be cold when you move on to the next stage. 

Step Three – Whip the cream until you have reached the soft peak stage. Use an electric mixer or a stand mixer, or if you’re feeling fit you can whip it by hand. Don’t worry if you over-whip the cream – just fold in a little milk to loosen it.

IMPORTANT – The condensed milk and fudge mix MUST be cold before you add it to the cream. Otherwise the whipped cream will collapse and it will not whip up again. Don’t be tempted to cheat to save time here. If you do, you will have to throw everything away and start again.

Step Four – Add the condensed milk and fudge mixture and gently fold into the whipped cream with a spatula. Try not to knock the air out of the mixture. Fold in the remaining fudge pieces reserving a little for decoration.

Step Five – Spoon into a freezer-proof container. Then sprinkle the last of the fudge on top of the ice cream and place in the freezer. Leave until frozen. 

Top Tips for Making Ice Cream

Store it in the freezer in an airtight pot (about 600–700 ml). Ignore all the pretty photos of ice cream in a loaf pan. It needs to be stored in an airtight container to prevent the ice cream from going grainy. 

Allow it to freeze overnight or failing that, at least six hours before you eat.

Keep leftover condensed milk in the freezer ready for the next batch, but beware! It will leak out of any container that isn’t upright. Use a Lock & Lock or similar container that has a good seal.  

If you over-whip the cream, you can rescue it by folding in a little milk. Then slowly whisk until you have the right consistency.  

This is also a useful tip for making whipping or double cream go further: slightly over-whip it and then add milk and gently fold it in. You can add about 20–30% by volume, depending on the fat content and thickness of the cream, how hard you whip it and how warm your kitchen is.

How Long Will It Keep?

No-churn ice cream is at its best if you keep it for no more than two weeks in a tightly sealed container. I’m fairly confident that if you make this easy fudge ice cream, it will all be gone before the two weeks are up!

 Variations and Serving Suggestions  

• Try different flavours of fudge – chocolate or salted caramel are good. Experiment with your favourites.
• Swirl some chocolate sauce through the mixture before freezing, for a chocolate fudge ice cream. A generous dollop of my chocolate sauce would be delicious.  
• Add a spoonful of Greek yogurt to the cream when whipping it, to make the ice cream a bit lighter and less sweet. 
• Serve with some hot fudge sauce for a fudge sundae.

If you love this recipe, why not try my no-churn bounty ice cream?