A rich low carb chocolate ice cream with delicious chunks of peanut butter swirled throughout. A few special tricks help keep this sugar free ice cream soft enough to scoop after freezing.
I’m having a little fun these days going back through old recipes, seeing if I can update them and make them even better. I’ve learned a lot through my experiments with low carb, gluten-free ingredients over the past couple of years and there are a few recipes way back in the archives that give me pain. As in “they weren’t quite what I hoped they would be and the photos are hideous and if I had known then what I know now” kind of pain. This recipe wasn’t quite that bad. In fact, it was quite good and I was pretty happy with it at the time. But it was one I always meant to get back to and try to make a little better. Because hey, it affords me the opportunity to make and eat outrageous amounts of chocolate and peanut butter. I thought my photos from this old recipe for low carb Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream recipe were pretty good back then. But I think they are just a wee bit better now, don’t you?
So last week, to my children’s delight, I set about making low carb Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream again. My intention was to amp up both the chocolate flavour and the chocolate colour, while also making the ice cream softer and more scoopable. I may have learned a lot of the past few years but apparently I have yet to learn to check all of my ingredients before I set about making a recipe. I intended to make this with Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa, as that will give anything a richer, darker chocolate colour. But I discovered I was out and I had to use Ghirardelli instead. Still, I increased the cocoa powder somewhat and I added chopped unsweetened chocolate and it definitely improved the chocolate flavour.
As for keeping it more scoopable after freezing, I pulled out all the tricks I know. The first trick is to start with a really thick custard base. Using more heavy cream and less almond milk goes a long way to thickening the base, as does the cocoa powder and the unsweetened chocolate. Then adding a little alcohol and some xanthan gum, both of which are known to keep sugar-free ice cream from freezing too hard. If you choose not to use the alcohol or the xanthan gum because you lack them or are intolerant to them, that’s okay. It won’t affect the flavour, but it will mean that your ice cream will freeze more solidly and you will need to let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes before trying to scoop it. A little trick I’ve learned there is to divvy it up into portion-size containers before it freezes too hard, so you don’t have to thaw the whole lot each and every time.
So the moral of the story is I can make this ice cream more chocolatey, more scoopable and I can take much better photos of it. And that if you want it to be darker chocolate in appearance, make sure you have your Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa on hand before you set about making it!
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk or whole milk, if you prefer
- 1/2 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder use Hershey's Special Dark if you want dark chocolate ice cream
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate finely chopped
- 4 tbsp vodka
- 1/4 tsp liquid stevia
- 3/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
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Set a medium bowl in a large container of ice water.
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Whisk cream, almond milk, sweetener and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan until cocoa powder is mostly dissolved. Over medium heat, stir occasionally and heat until mixture is steaming but not simmering, or 170F on a candy thermometer.
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Whisk egg yolks in a small bowl until smooth. Very slowly whisk in 1 cup of the hot cream mixture to temper the yolks. Then slowly whisk tempered yolks back into cream mixture, stirring constantly. Continue to cook until very hot, 175 – 180F.
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Add chopped chocolate and let sit 1 minute to melt, then whisk to combine.
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Pour mixture into bowl in ice bath and let cool 10 minutes then wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 hours.
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When ready to churn, remove custard from fridge and add vodka and liquid stevia, stirring to combine.
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Sprinkle with xanthan gum and whisk vigorously to combine.
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Pour mixture into canister of an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's directions.
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When ice cream is about the consistency of soft serve, transfer half to an airtight container.
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Working quickly, add about half the peanut butter by spoonfuls. Add the remaining ice cream and the remaining peanut butter and swirl with a knife to spread evenly.
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Press plastic wrap flush to the surface and freeze until firm, 1 to 2 hours.
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Leftovers will freeze hard but not unscoopable.
Serves 8. Each serving has 10 g of carbs and 4 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 6 g.
382 Calories; 38g Fat (82.7% calories from fat); 8g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 188mg Cholesterol; 126mg Sodium.
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness says
Adore your tips for keeping sugar free ice cream soft and scoopable! I always do the alcohol trick…because, why not. Thanks for these!
And chocolate and peanut butter? Um yes. Always. Everyday. Even in the winter.
Carolyn says
Thanks, Taylor!
Denny and Ashley Miller says
Is this THM approved? I won’t be using the vodka . does anyone also know if it be a lot harder to scoop then? Maybe I’ll put it in the fridge for 3 hours and leave out for 15 minutes before using if so. Thanks!
Carolyn says
It will freeze a little harder but you can skip the vodka
Christine Drake says
Would this recipe work with coconut cream instead of heavy cream? I can’t have dairy sadly and I looove icecream!
Carolyn says
I honestly have not been that successful in getting coconut milk based ice cream to say soft. So it will work but it will freeze very hard.
Mary Anna says
Yum! And I love the hershey’s special dark cocoa – I always try to keep an extra in the cupboard. So good…
Carolyn says
I should have done that too! 🙂
Karen says
The instructions call for vegetable glycerin yet it’s not in the ingredients?
Carolyn says
Sorry, cut and pasted some instructions from another recipe (why re-invent the wheel, right?) and forgot to eliminate that.
Felicia says
Hey Carolyn, is there a reason you use Xanthum gum in this recipe but vegetable glycerin in others? Made and enjoying the PSL ice cream this week 🙂
Carolyn says
I often use both, actually! It’s tricky to get ice cream to stay soft but my biggest issue with glycerin is that I can’t find a good solid info on carb count. It’s a sugar alcohol and it doesn’t *seem* to affect my blood sugar very much. I often put it as “optional” in recipes because of that issue.
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) says
This ice cream looks absolutely fantastic!!!
Erin | The Law Student's Wife says
Bless you for making this! PB and chocolate take me to my happy place, and I love the almond milk in here too!
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
Love that this ice cream uses almond milk! Chocolate and peanut butter is the best!
Wendy says
Oh.My.God. This is Awesome. When I was in college in NC, there was a local grocery store brand that had a chocolate peanut butter ice cream. It had a ribbon of sweetened peanut butter running through it and my roommate and I used fight over it. No more fighting. 🙂 This one is mine. All mine. Can’t wait to make it.
Carolyn says
Haha, I used to do the same thing with Turkey Hill Ice Cream!
Stephanie @ Eat. Drink. Love. says
This ice cream looks so creamy and decadent!
mellissa @ ibreatheimhungry says
Just made ice cream and love using xanthan gum, but never tried the alcohol trick! Definitely going to use some in my next batch!!!! Chocolate and Peanut Butter ice cream is my husband’s favorite flavor, can’t wait to try this low carb version on him!
Lady Jennie says
Oh my goodness. This is my favourite ice cream in the whole wide world and you can’t get this in France. I LOVE YOU!!!
Sorry, was that too eager? 😉 I’ll see how it is without the vodka since we don’t keep alcohol in the house. Anyway, I came back to get your pb chocolate cake recipe for today.
And I thought of you this week when I made sugar-free macarons: http://aladyinfrance.com/low-carb-mocha-espresso-macarons/ although I won’t be launching a career as a sugar-free baker any time soon. Why bother when all day someone else dreams up food for me?
Cathi G. says
Hi:
I am wondering if Sunflower Lecithin could replace the gum in this recipe. I cannot use any starches or gums for health reasons. I can use Unsweetened Geletin and Sunflower Lecithin, would any of these work? Thank you for your help, Sincerely, Cathi G.
Carolyn says
I’ve never used it but I’d say it’s worth a try. Or you can skip the gum altogether, just know that it will freeze a little more solidly, and as I said in the post, the best approach here is to freeze it in individual portions and just let one portion thaw 10 minutes on the counter and it will be good again.
Donna Hardin says
Can’t wait to try! Tx
Shannon says
Hi Carolyn,
This looks amazing! I’m going to make it later today. If I use erythritol instead of swerve, should I increase the amount of stevia? I thought I read somewhere that swerve is sweeter than straight erythritol.
Thanks for all your awesome recipes!
Carolyn says
It is a little sweeter than straight erythritol so you could do another 1/4 tsp of stevia.
Shannon says
Than you so much for your fast reply:)
Ashley says
Yum! Looks delicious. Have you heard of the new Ben & Jerry’s core flavors? That’d be amazing if you could recreate a low carb version!
Carolyn says
Hmmm, what’s in their core flavors?
Ashley says
http://www.benjerry.com/flavors/cores
Janet Cazares says
If you’re doing Trim Healthy Mama, is this an E or a S
Carolyn says
It’s an S. The amount of fat in it precludes it being an E.
Lina says
Absolutely amazing! I had this recipe on my mind for ages! The ration of vodka and xantham gum made the consistency perfect after freezing overnight – hard but still scoopable with a spoon, as opposed to my last try which could have been used as an offensive weapon!
As a bit of added decadence (and after the other half kept making sad begging puppy eyes) we added a quarter cup of fine 80% dark chocolate shreds – this came out as decadent as it comes! We’ve portioned it into half cup dessert cups and stashed them in the freezer (as a precaution to eating the whole thing out of the tub!)
Thank you so much for this great recipe 🙂
Becky says
Made this ice cream over the weekend according to the recipe except I used rum since we didn’t have any vodka in the house. It worked just as well.
This recipe is amazing! So rich. I’m so glad to finally have ice cream that TASTES and FEELS like what I’ve craved for so long.
Sarah says
I Just made this and it is awesome!! However, it never really got hard. It is still the consistency of soft serve even after being in the freezer for several hours. I’m not complaining as it is delicious but I am curious if you have any theories. I just love your site!!
Carolyn says
Well that’s very interesting. Most low carb ice creams get TOO hard, even with all the tricks to keep it soft. Did you possibly add too much xanthan gum? Sometimes that makes ice cream really gummy and it never gets hard. But you’d have to add a lot to get that result.
Anna says
I’m planning on making this recipe with what I have on hand. I have erythritol, guar gum and powdered stevia. I’m thinking I should measure the erythritol the same as the Swerve as you suggested to another person. The powdered stevia would then be increased, but I’m not sure how much to try. I think the guar gum would be a little more than xanthan gum, right?
Thanks for any help and for sharing the recipe!
Carolyn says
You can use the erythritol and the guar gum in the same amounts but the powdered stevia is likely a LOT stronger than my liquid stevia. I would only use half, and then I would taste and see if I thought the custard needed more sweetener.
Elizabeth says
Can you ommit the alcohol in the ice cream as we don’t do alcohol?
Carolyn says
Sure!
Courtney says
What if you don’t have an ice cream maker to churn it?
Carolyn says
You really do need one for this.
Terra says
I just made this (minus the P.B.) and it was amazing! I couldn’t stop licking the spoon, ice cream maker bowl, and churning piece. So good!
Rebecca Wyatt says
This sounds absolutely wonderful, but I’m really sensitive (taste-wise) to sweetners that aren’t real sugar. I can taste them a mile away (stevia is one of the worst!) I’m not eating sugar and I miss it and would love to know if Swerve is really, really safe and doesn’t set off artificial sweetener alarm bells! I’ve looked it up online, but can’t decide if it’s worth the investment or not. I’d appreciate your thoughts… thanks!
Carolyn says
Hi Rebecca. Every palate is different so there is no way I can assure you that Swerve won’t taste like something to you. For me, however, it was the ONLY sweetener that didn’t leave an aftertaste. That’s why I love it. Many readers find the same, whereas other readers prefer other sweeteners. It’s a matter of experimentation.
Rebecca Wyatt says
Thank you! I’ll buy a bag and give it a try. We’re trying very hard to stay low carb and I miss dessert!
Pam Vienneau says
What about using flavored vodka – like chocolate? I don’t have any vodka in the house so I was wondering if I should get that for a more chocolatety flavor?
Joanie Noble says
Is the amount of vodka correct here? Made this & tasted good but had a pretty strong alcohol taste. Just seemed like a lot for the small amount of ice cream
Kenya Marlow says
What is a serving size? Half a cup? I just put this recipe in cronometer and I’m coming up with 17 net grams of carbs per serving?!?! What am I doing wrong?
Carolyn says
You’re not subtracting the erythritol. Yes, a serving is about 1/2 cup.
Leslie Baker says
Caroline I made this recipe just a few days ago at a friends house who had the ice cream machine. She does not like peanut butter so we just make the chocolate base. Once it was frozen it still tasted bitter and not sweet like the commercial sugar free ice creams. I was disappointed. Today I sweetened some trader joes sugar free peanut butter with powdered swerve and poured some over a serving of my chocolate and what do you know “I think I like it”. Thanks for making this sugar free journey a little easier. Leslie
Wendy says
I made this for my father on Father’s Day and he loved it. I did too! The depth of chocolate flavor was fantastic, and I liked the way you added in the peanut butter so that it did not completely mix in and disappear. I’m certain I will make it again. Thank you Carolyn!
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it!
Wendy says
Your other ice cream recipes have about 2 tablespoons of vodka but this one calls for 4. Is there a reason for this
Carolyn says
There’s always a reason for things. This helps keep it softer.