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You won’t believe how easy it is to make this No-Churn Blackberry Dark Chocolate Cheesecake Ice Cream! Its creamy texture and fruity flavor with bursts of chocolate rivals anything store-bought.
The inconvenience of using my ice cream maker is such a pain in the tush that even the thought of homemade ice cream usually can’t entice me to pull it out.
It’s an older model, so ice cream takes forever to freeze in it, plus the fact that it needs rock salt is annoying as well. I should probably just buy a newer model, but truthfully, I don’t make ice cream nearly enough to need it.
So instead, I find ways to get my homemade ice cream fix without the need for a special machine.
A while ago, I saw a recipe for Easter Ice Cream on Big Bear’s Wife; in her recipe, Angie used a no-churn method with a whipped cream base and I thought it looked pretty fabulous. I knew I had to try my hand at it.
Sometimes I’m all about a whimsical flavor combo, like B&J’s Phish Food, or a chocolate soft-serve cone with rainbow sprinkles, but here I wanted something a little more grown-up. I went with a berry/dark chocolate combo because it’s one of my favorite flavor pairings. I sweetened my ice cream with a mixture of blackberry simple syrup and honey, and a touch of cream cheese gives this ice cream a cheesecake-like flavor.
One of the best things about this ice cream is that it isn’t rock-solid even after you leave it in the freezer overnight. It freezes nicely, but stays scoopable, a trait I’m assuming can be attributed to the use of honey (maybe it’s similar to adding a splash of alcohol, like vodka, to ice cream because it doesn’t freeze and will help keep your ice cream soft enough to scoop, even straight out of the freezer?). I’m curious, so anyone who knows more about the science behind freezing honey, please feel free to chime in down below in the comments.
And if you’re looking for another great method for making ice cream without a machine, check out this method on Cooking Light!
- 2 cups (475 ml) heavy cream
- ¾ cup (180 ml) blackberry simple syrup (I used Sonoma Syrup Co.’s No. 60 Açai Black Currant Superfruit Syrup)
- ½ cup (120 ml) honey
- 4 oz (115 g) cream cheese, slightly softened
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 oz (170 g; about 1¼ cups) fresh blackberries, chopped
- 6 oz (170 g; about 1 cup) chopped good-quality dark chocolate or chocolate chips (I used Chocoley)
- Whip the cream to stiff peaks in a large bowl.
- Beat together the blackberry simple syrup, honey, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth in a medium bowl.
- While beating, add the blackberry syrup mixture to the whipped cream, and continue beating until smooth and thick. Taste and add additional honey if desired.
- Fold the blackberries and chocolate into the mixture.
- Pour the mixture into a freezer safe dish that will hold about 6 cups (1.5 quarts). Cover the top with plastic wrap and freeze until scoopable, about 4 to 6 hours.
Disclosure: I received the Sonoma Syrup Co. and Chocoley products that I used in this recipe for free; as always, opinions stated are my own.
I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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Followed the recipe, but the result reminded me of ice cream that had freezer burn – hard, dry, and definitely not scoopable. Is there a trick to making this that I missed?
Lisa, Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear your ice cream didn’t turn out! There’s no trick, I listed everything out in the recipe. Did you make sure to use the quantities I listed for both the simple syrup and the honey? (I have a feeling that these two ingredients are large contributors to the correct consistency.) Also, did you whip the cream to stiff peaks, and make sure to cover it with plastic wrap before freezing? Let me know if you think of a change you might have made and we can troubleshoot more. I am disappointed to hear that though, and it’s strange – this ice cream was eaten within 3 weeks at my house and stayed scoopable (straight out of the freezer) right until the very end!
Hello Faith ! thank you for this ice cream ,I am making it soon now especially that is National Ice cream month :)
You’ve sold me- I’m definitely going to jump on the no churn craze. I don’t have an ice cream maker and don’t intend to buy one (I literally am overflowing already in my kitchen), but I love love love ice cream and have always wanted to try my hand at it! Thanks for the inspiration :) Great post and photos as always.
This ice cream looks absolutely dreamy, Faith! That texture is spot-on, what a treat!
The texture of this is absolutely perfect! I’ve always made ice cream in my machine, but love the idea of a no-churn version. And the flavors in this are perfect and so seasonal. We’ve been eating big, sweet blackberries and I’d love to dress them up in some ice cream with chocolate!
I can’t even handle how creamy this looks… bravo! I have an ice cream maker, but half the time I forget to freeze the bowl, and then I just go and buy some….. So…. this no-churn version must be the answer!
I do know that honey helps keep the liquid molecules from freezing, and also the addition of cream cheese helps keep it soft. This is part of Jeni’s famous method too! xo
Hi Faith! Do you think it would be ok to replace the heavy cream with either coconut milk or coconut cream?
Nora, I haven’t tried this recipe with those variations, but I think it may work with coconut “whipped cream”. If you want to give it a try, I’d use 2 (14 oz cans) of unsweetened full-fat coconut milk, chill it, drain off the liquid, whip the thick waxy portion, and then use that in place of the whipped cream. Another option may be Greek yogurt, but that will add tang, so you may want to adjust the sweetness level. If you try this recipe with something in place of the heavy cream, let me know how it goes!
This sounds too good. I have two different ways for no churn and now here is a third. That cream cheese is a great idea! have a great weekend. :)
This looks and sounds exquisite, Faith!! What a delightfully easy way to make it. :-)
My gaaaawsh I want it for breakfast! This ice cream looks sooo sinfully delicious. I love how easy it is to prepare. The cream cheese addition? Brilliant!