I had my grandkids this weekend, and one of my grandson’s favorite pastimes is making dark chocolate ice cream. It was such a nice day, I thought we could make it outside. I’m also getting my kitchen remodeled this week, so I really didn’t have the room in the kitchen. (Truthfully, I didn’t want to clean up the mess in the kitchen.)

The recipe is not a Hershey recipe, but rather it was included in my Cuisinart Pure Indulgence™ recipe book. I substituted Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Cocoa for the cocoa called for in the recipe. It was interesting, to say the least, watching my two grandkids compete for the title of “King of the Cuisinart”.
Make especially dark chocolate ice cream like this:
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Mix dry ingredients in large Pyrex measuring bowl. Add milk and mix with a whisk or a handmixer set on low until blended. Add cream and vanilla; stir.
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Plug in ice cream maker outside and place on table in an unrestricted area. Leave ample room to manipulate the garden hose. Position children on each side of the ice cream maker. Be smart; use a plastic table cover instead of cloth.
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Turn on the ice cream maker. A word of caution: the noise will cause the children to move in like buzzards and hover over the ice cream maker.
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Give each child a spoon and pour dark chocolate ice cream mix in ice cream maker. Step back about two feet—competition for the King of the Cuisinart title will begin immediately.
- Make things interesting. Offer up the Pyrex bowl as prize.
- Child 1 will take the bowl in less than a nanosecond and forget that child 2 is near. Child 2 will at first think she’s been cheated, but soon realizes the throne is hers for the taking. Child 2 will indulge and forget about child 1.
- Live dangerously. Tell kids ice cream is just about ready (25 to 35 minutes). Mention, in a calm and peaceful tone, that it’s time to clean up. Step back two feet. Cover ears to block screams.
- Carefully remove each child to the pavement. Turn on garden hose. With nozzle pointing down, and hose held high, tell each child again that it’s time to clean up. Over the screams, promise to let them lick the Cuisinart bowl if they run under the hose 10 or 20 times, or until water run off is dark chocolate in color. Hose down table and utensils.
- Serve immediately, or freeze, if anything remains.

Especially Dark Chocolate Ice Cream recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Cocoa
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1½ cups whole milk
- 3¼ cups heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
Instructions
- Add cocoa and sugars in a medium bowl; stir to combine. Add the whole milk and use a hand-mixer on low speed or whisk to combine until the cocoa and sugars are dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the cream and vanilla. If not freezing immediately, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Turn machine on; pour mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 25 to 35 minutes. The ice cream will have a creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.
WHAT A GREAT POST!!!
I simply adore the shots with the grandkids!
Dave
eRecipeCards.com
Hi, This recipe looks so good. I just received a new Cuisinart 1 1/2 quart Ice Cream maker for Christmas and from what I’ve read and seen this runs about 15 minutes. Can I still make this recipe even though the ice cream maker I have runs less time? Thanks, bev
You can. My ice cream maker is supposed to automatically stop when the ice cream is ready, but it does not. I usually run it until the ice cream starts to set, then I pour it into a container and let the freezer do the rest.