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French Silk Ice Cream

French silk ice cream that lands between ice cream and frozen mousse—ultra-smooth, glossy, and deeply bittersweet. Made with a cooked chocolate custard, strained for silkiness, then churned and frozen until firm.
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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: 420
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chocolate custard base
  • 2 cup heavy cream divided
  • 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 cast iron skillet
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Melt the chocolate
  1. Melt the dark chocolate over a double boiler, stirring until smooth, glossy, and fully melted. Remove from heat and set aside.
Cook the custard
  1. Heat 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, whole milk, and cocoa powder until steaming, with small bubbles around the edges. Slowly whisk the hot mixture into egg yolks beaten with granulated sugar.
  2. Return the mixture to a saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens to 175F. Turn off the heat.
  3. Whisk the melted dark chocolate into the hot custard until completely smooth and shiny. The texture should look uniform with no chocolate streaks.
Finish and chill
  1. Whisk in vanilla extract and salt until evenly incorporated, then strain the custard for an extra-silky texture. Let it cool completely.
  2. Whip the remaining 1/2 cup heavy cream to soft peaks until it holds gentle ridges. Fold it into the cooled chocolate custard just until no streaks remain.
Churn and freeze
  1. Refrigerate the mixture for 4 hours, until thoroughly chilled and pourable like thick cream. Visual cue: it should look smooth and slightly set around the edges.
  2. Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s timing until it reaches a soft-serve consistency. Then freeze until firm, for a scoopable, mousse-like finish.

Notes

For the silkiest French silk ice cream, cook the custard only until it reaches 175F and whisk constantly so the egg yolks thicken evenly; then strain while warm. Chill the base for 4 days in the refrigerator before churning if needed. Freezing works well: freeze up to 2 months for best scoop texture. For a dairy-free swap, use a 1:1 plant milk and coconut-cream alternative, but the mousse texture may be slightly softer.