How to Level Up Homemade Ice Cream With Chunks, Swirls, and More

Although I’m an avid baker, I must admit that ice cream reigns supreme in my dessert pantheon. I love making it. A friend recently asked why he hadn’t tasted my ice cream. “Because I eat it all,” I replied.

I yelped with glee when given an ice cream challenge on The Great American Baking Show. My years of practice paid off when judge Paul Hollywood called my “Malt Shop Memories Ice Cream Cake,” made with salted peanut butter and chocolate malt ice cream layers, “America on a plate,” Prue Leith deemed it  “divine.”

At home, most of my ice creams have at least two or three components: a flavor-packed ice cream base, a swirl, and/or a chunk. Think fresh peppermint ice cream with chocolate shards, vanilla-kirsch ice cream with a sour cherry swirl and pie crust pieces, or smoky chocolate ice cream with ribbons of gooey toasted Swiss meringue and graham cracker bits.

Here are a few sweet ways to level up your ice cream game this summer and beyond.

Infuse your base with bold flavors

Whether you’re making a custard or non-custard base for your ice cream, infuse your dairy to amp up the flavor. Bring your milk and cream to a simmer, then add herbs, spices, or other flavoring, turn off the heat, cover, and let it steep for at least two hours.

Add the seeds and pod of a fat Tahitian vanilla bean to your base for an elegant vanilla ice cream. Use a bunch of fresh peppermint from an overgrown patch for homemade mint-chip. Or chop up fresh ginger and steep it in your base for an invigorating kick. Spices like cinnamon, star anise, or cardamom all make for beautiful flavors, while unexpected herbs like tarragon or lemon verbena will delight and surprise the most jaded ice cream aficionados.

You can also steep your dairy with toasted oats, toasted coconut, toasted rice, or even popcorn for a cravable toasted flavor. Be sure to add additional liquid if needed since these ingredients will absorb some of the dairy.

Before churning, blend in some nut paste to your ice cream base. I’ll add between ¼ and ½ cup of peanut butter, Japanese toasted black sesame paste, or (if I’m feeling extra-fancy) pistachio butter to my ice cream.

Add a seductive swirl

A ribbon of something scrumptious adds a contrasting flavor to your ice cream and helps complement the base. Try sticky salted caramel to give classic vanilla or chocolate ice cream extra decadence; add a swirl of jam or jelly for a nice tanginess. Classic Swiss meringue creates a marshmallow-like river that stays gooey even when frozen, and a fudge ripple is never a bad idea.

Sprinkle in crunchy bits

Nothing beats a silky-smooth lick of ice cream, but texture lovers require something to sink their teeth into. Think chocolate, edible cookie dough, or chopped-up cookies. Break up shortbread cookies or cut baked brownies into bits. I always save leftover pie dough scraps — I’ll roll them out very thinly, bake them, and break them before adding to my ice cream. For an even easier mix-in, buy premade cookies or cookie dough, and simply chop up.

When adding chunks, break them into pieces no larger than ¼ teaspoon. That might sound small, but larger than that, and the pieces are too much to chew on and hard to scoop. If you’re using chopped-up chocolate, I suggest melting it with a few teaspoons of vegetable oil. That way, when you eat it, it melts faster on your tongue — and no one wants to chew on waxy, frozen chocolate.

How to add swirls and chunks to your ice cream

If you’re gilding your ice cream with swirls and bits, then you need to make sure they’re evenly combined. First, work quickly — ice cream melts fast, especially in the summer heat. Second, have your chunks and swirls already frozen. I like to place any swirl into a piping bag or zip-top bag and in the freezer while the ice cream is churning. I’ll put any chunks into the freezer, too, in a zip-tip bag. (If you’re making no-churn ice cream, you can simply fold mix-ins into the dairy mixture before freezing. They don’t need to be frozen since the ice cream won’t be frozen yet.)

When the ice cream is done churning, work quickly. Pipe a swirl on the bottom of your storage container, like a loaf pan, and sprinkle some of the chunks on top. Then add about one-third of the churned ice cream, and pipe on another third of the swirl and a third of the chunks. Repeat until the container is full. Then, quickly stick a butter knife down into the ice cream and draw one big figure-eight to give it a swirl. Don’t over-swirl, or you’ll muddle it up.

Get your ice cream into the freezer for at least four hours to firm up before diving in. Share it with your friends — or keep it to yourself!