Baskin Robbins fans, rejoice! This Keto Jamoca Almond Fudge is a delectable sugar free ice cream treat. So creamy and rich, and it’s scoopable right out of the freezer.
It was about time I gave this old low carb Jamoca Almond Fudge Ice Cream an update. Bear with me, friends, as I go back and revamp a few of my older keto ice cream recipes to make them easier, tastier, and more keto friendly.
Can’t argue with that, can ya?
Ever since I hit upon the magical formula that makes my keto ice cream soft and scoopable straight out of the freezer, I’ve slowly been working my way back through my archives. It’s a monumental task, given the number of recipes I’ve logged over the years.
That’s a lot of sugar free ice cream to make. And to eat. It’s a tough job but somebody’s got to do it. Taking one for the team, right?
Sugar Free Jamoca Almond Fudge
I first created this recipe back in 2012. Jamoca Almond Fudge had always been one of my favorite flavors from Baskin Robbins, along with chocolate peanut butter ice cream. And of course, I long ago made that a keto reality too!
A friend and devoted reader reminded me of this one a few weeks ago, telling me how much she loved it. I took a look at it and realized that the old recipe was unnecessarily complicated. And like a lot of low carb ice cream, it tended to become rock hard in the freezer.
But so much has changed in the keto diet landscape lately, and new products and sweeteners abound. So I knew I could overhaul this old recipe and make it even better.
What is Jamoca Almond Fudge?
If you are unfamiliar with this flavor, you will want to get familiar with it, ASAP! It’s a classic for coffee and chocolate lovers. And it’s one of Baskin Robbins’ most popular flavors.
In essence, it’s rich coffee ice cream with a ribbon of fudge and chopped toasted almonds.
Thunk! I just heard your jaw hit the floor. Yep, that’s how I feel too!
But their signature ice cream is not exactly healthy for you. Should I even tell you some of the ingredients? Corn syrup AND high fructose corn syrup. Carrageenan. Canola oil. Methyl Paraben. Gah! Let’s just not even, okay?
How to make it keto-friendly
The flavors of Jamoca Almond Fudge are hard to resist. Thankfully, it’s easy to make a keto friendly version.
The custard base
This is a custard based ice cream that uses egg yolks. It’s important to temper the egg yolks properly so that they don’t curdle. I like to use a good instant read thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature.
If you don’t have a thermometer, you can still tell when the custard is done. You want the custard to be liquid, but thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
The custard also needs to be properly chilled before you churn it. Be sure to factor in the chill time for this recipe!
The sweeteners
You really do need a mix of sweeteners to get really good keto ice cream that’s scoopable out of the freezer. I have hit upon the perfect ratio, in my opinion. I use 50% Swerve and 50% BochaSweet or allulose.
You don’t absolutely HAVE to use the same sweeteners as I do. However, be forewarned that your ice cream may harden in the freezer if you use only erythritol based sweeteners.
And if you use only allulose or BochaSweet, it may take quite a bit of time to firm up properly. That’s why my 50/50 split works so well.
The fudge swirl
This is essentially my keto chocolate fudge sauce, swirled into the ice cream. Make it while the ice cream is churning and let it cool properly. If it’s too hot, it will melt your freshly churned ice cream and we don’t want that!
Can you make this keto ice cream without an ice cream maker?
No ice cream maker? No problem! Try using my no churn keto coffee ice cream as the base and then swirl in the fudge and almonds!
So, Baskin Robbins, you have some sugar-free keto ice cream competition competition. How do you feel about that?
More keto desserts you might like
- Chocolate Eclair Cake
- Keto Chocolate Mousse
- Keto Burnt Basque Cheesecake
- Strawberry Shortcake Cups
- Keto Marble Cake
- Keto Ice Cream Bar
Jamoca Almond Fudge Ice Cream
Ingredients
Custard Base
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 3/4 cup almond milk
- 1/3 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 1/3 cup BochaSweet or allulose
- 2 tsp espresso powder, or 1 to 2 tbsp instant coffee
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 1/2 tbsp vodka, optional
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Fudge Swirl
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 tbsp confectioner’s Swerve Sweetener
- 1 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup toasted almonds, chopped
Instructions
Ice Cream
- For the ice cream, combine the cream, almond milk, sweeteners, and espresso powder in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sweetener and coffee dissolve.
- Heat the mixture until it's steaming and it reaches 165F on an instant read thermometer.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Slowly whisk in 1 cup of the hot cream mixture to temper the yolks. Then slowly whisk the tempered yolks back into the remaining cream mixture in the pan. Cook, whisking continuously until it reaches 170F to 175F.
- Sprinkle the surface with the xanthan gum and whisk vigorously to combine.
- Pour the custard into a bowl set over an ice bath and let cool 10 minutes. Then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until fully chilled, at least 3 hours.
- When custard is chilled, whisk in the vodka, if using, and the vanilla extract. Then pour the mixture into the canister of an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's directions.
Fudge Swirl
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the whipping cream and sweetener until combined. Bring to a simmer and then remove from heat.
- Add the chopped chocolate and let sit 5 minutes, until the chocolate is completely melted. Add the vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. Let cool at least 10 minutes.
- Once the ice cream has finished churning, transfer half to an airtight container. Swirl in half of the chocolate sauce and half of the almonds. Repeat with the remaining ice cream, sauce, and almonds.
- Freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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I recently made this for the first time and it tastes great but it’s quite icy. I’ve made a lot of sugar free ice cream before, including some of your own recipes (peanut butter fudge ripple & salted caramel are my favourites) so I know that they’re always icier and harder than normal ice cream, but this one is worse. I have to leave it out for at least 30 minutes before I can even attempt to scoop it, and it’s still crumbly instead of creamy.
I used alcohol and xanthan gum as I always do, and the only changes I made were normal milk instead of almond milk, just Natvia (stevia & erythritol) instead of stevia drops, and a 30ml shot of espresso coffee instead of the instant coffee. The parts with lots of chocolate sauce are the worst, while parts without it have quite a nice texture, so my theory is that it’s the sauce that’s going icy. Next time I’m going to try making it without the sauce and just drizzle some melted chocolate over it like I do with other recipes. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Hello, I made this ice cream with just a couple of changes. I did not have coffee liquor and I substituted the stevia with a bit more erythritol. The flavor was delicious! I especially loved the fudge sauce! I churned the ice cream and it worked as expected and was delicious as a soft serve ice cream. I then put it in the freezer and it became like ice. What did I do wrong? I put it in the microwave to try to soften it for a minute and when I tried to scoop it, I am only able to scrap it.
You didn’t do anything wrong, it’s the nature of sugar-free ice cream. Sugar helps ice cream stay soft. Next time, try adding 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum before churning.
Switch to allulose for the sweetner and it will be scoopable. If you have a rock-hard batch microwave the container in 30-second intervals.
Instead of instant coffee I’m going to use freshly brewed espresso – how much should I use & will the liquid affect the texture?
I love this site but the video ads are crashing me all the way to blue screen. Sadly I can’t risk my machine on that sort of thing. It was nice visiting!
Must be your browser because I have no issues on Safari.
I love your site sooo very very much Carolyn. I often share them with the Diabetics I teach. You are such a talented and wonderful cook that I get every recipe I can off it; but sometimes it is a challenge. I usually use Chrome as a browser, but have also tried several others when using my tablets and like the other comment from Terri, the ads are getting terrible and do keep your site crashing a lot. Just thought you might want to know that others are having problems too.
Thanks for the feedback, I will have my ad network look into it.
PS – I am planning on switching ad networks when my contract with BlogHer is up. I hear good things about a few others and hope that will help solve this issue. But I can’t get out of my contract so I have to wait until early September!
I have all the ingredients ready to make this, but I cannot bear the aftertaste of any trace of stevia in anything. How much sweetness does the 10 drops represent in terms of tablespoons, cups, etc. of sugar? I am experienced in using almost all of the alternative sweeteners to create synergy, so I could work from that if I knew the equivalent sweetening power I need. Can’t wait to try it!
It’s about 1/4 cup sugar.
I’ve made this a couple of times. I just leave out the Stevia and everybody loves it.
I have some of your left over Best Fudge Sauce. Can I substitute it in this recipe and if so how much should I use?
Thanks bunches!
Sure, you can use it in here. Maybe 1/2 cup or more?
I was looking for a low carb custard base and stumbled across this. I left out the coffee and instead added a blueberry sauce (1/2c swerve, 1/2c water, about 1c blueberries reduced on the stove). it took some food coloring to give it a good light blue-purple color, and i’ve got it chilling in the fridge now since i forgot to freeze the ice cream maker bowl before i started… but the base tastes great! just sweet enough, creamy, can’t wait to get the blueberries mixed in!
I forget to freeze my bowl a lot!
Well, because of this ice cream it looks like it’s time to find a few new ingredients! I’ve been wanting to learn more so…….Here We Go! Thank You So Much For My Inspiration! =)
Carolyn, I just want to tell you I made this ice cream tonight. Wow, it is amazing. My favorite ice cream has always been Baskin Robbin’s Jamoca Almond Fudge. I am amazed how much this recipe tastes like it! There were a few things I did differently. I did not have instant coffee so I omitted. Also, I didn’t have coffee liqueur, which I know is optional. So, since I did not add the instant coffee, I added 1 tsp chocolate extract and 1 tsp. of coffee extract after custard was done chilling. Also, I didn’t have plain stevia so I used the Sweet Leaf chocolate stevia. I also did not have unsweetened chocolate so I used 87% dark chocolate. Additionally, I used dark cocoa powder. Other than that, I followed your recipe completely. It is wonderful!
Thank you SO much for all you do!
You are the best food blogger to ever hit the Internet. Your recipes are beyond good. I have made so many! I have now made this recipe 3 times and each time my hubby says “I don’t ever want store bought ice cream again this is THE best ice cream I have ever had!” Can’t beat that as a review! This is seriously sooooo good. Actually everything I’ve made from your site is great. This will sound sappy but you’ve changed my life, I can’t eat sugar but most recipes call for fake sweeteners in their recipes, I feel so much better with your sweeteners!
Charlotte, you make me blush! Thank you for your sweet words.
Hi Carolyn, I have the base for this made (and it tastes wonderful). So excited to get churning in the am. Can I ask how you swirl in the chocolate sauce? I’ve been trying to think of how to do it so I don’t wreck it. This was mine and my mom’s fav flavour so I’m very exited to taste test it tomorrow. She’s coming to babysit our kids in a week and I thought it would be nice to have this here for her. She’s following me on the low carb path. Thanks 🙂
I put about half the churned ice cream into the container in which I am going to freeze it. Then I drop spoonful of the fudge, then swirl that with a knife. then I top with remaining Ice cream and the remaining fudge and swirl. You have to be quick about it so it doesn’t melt too much!
My fudge turned out more chunky and less smooth – not sure if I did something wrong. It was delicious though – very close to my old fav from BR. Thanks for another great recipe 🙂
Sounds like your chocolate seized. Not your fault, really, it’s tempermental stuff at times. You can always add a bit more liquid to smooth it out. But in this recipe, it almost doesn’t matter, because once it’s in the ice cream, it’s all good!
I’d been craving ice-cream all summer but, since we moved cross-country, the ice-cream maker had been packed away. I finally made this recipe last weekend and it was a hit! It was luscious, and the coffee flavor was just right – not strong coffee ice-cream (not that that would have been bad), but a well-balanced mocha blend. My husband wants me to make your chocolate swirl into a stand-alone fudge 🙂
Two minor changes -1st one on purpose: I made my own coffee liqueur with rum, coffee, erythritol and stevia and it turned out great. The other change was that I forgot the xanthan gum. I knew I would -since it was the very last step. And I did (I think I was too eager to get it into the ice-cream maker), but I could not tell any detrimental factors in texture at all. Really, it was smooth, creamy and decadent. Oh yes, we topped it all off with fresh whipped-cream, more of your chocolate sauce (I’d made extra), and sprinkled peanuts on top. My father-in-law did not eat seconds at lunch in anticipation for this dessert.
If you have time Carolyn, could you please explain if there is a benefit to not incorporating the xanthan gum while making/heating the custard base -and waiting instead until after it cools?
My in-laws came over for the meal, and although it was only grilled meat and grilled veggies, I am sure it was your velvety smooth Jamoca Ice Cream that made them refer to our simple lunch as “gourmet!” Thank you for yet ANOTHER wonderful recipe. Gabriela
Honestly, Gabriela, about the xanthan gum, I do it that way simply because when I looked up how to add xanthan to ice cream, the recipes said to add it just before churning. I want it to add some thickness, but not get too gummy, and things that I’ve made where I’ve put it into the hot custard base (like my chocolate coconut milk pudding) get really gummy. I only want that for things like pudding!
Thank you for the explanation -and your time. I will make a point not to forget to include the xanthan gum in my next batch. Gabriela
If it worked without it, no need to add it unless you want to!
I had never seen xanthan gum being used in low carb (or any other) ice cream recipes before, so I had to try and add that, too. Ooh, why haven’t I heard of this before! It gave my ice cream a wonderfully perfect texture for the first time. 🙂 Previously I always used to be a bit disappointed with the results and thought that maybe you just can’t make decent ice cream with erythritol and stevia. I didn’t have ingredients for the chocolate fudge sauce, so I just made coffee ice cream, but next time I will surely try this whole recipe!
The xanthan gum definitely makes a difference! Your Ice cream will still freeze pretty hard when you have leftovers, but give it 15 minutes to come to room temperature and it’s quite scoopable again.
I love your take on this. I may like it better than the BR version 😀
This ice cream looks amazing. It’s pretty cold here right now, but I would still not refuse a bowl 🙂
I’ve never had that flavor! But, now I really want to try it!