This Black Forest Ice Cream has a kirsch infused cherry sauce, fudgy brownie bits, and chocolate chunks all swirled into a creamy vanilla ice cream base. It’s a no churn ice cream recipe with the flavor of traditional Black Forest cake. It’s the perfect treat to enjoy all summer long!
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Fudgy Brownies – Fudgy brownie pieces are swirled into the homemade ice cream, giving you a brownie piece in every bite!
- Chocolate Chunks – Chocolate chunks are sprinkled throughout for a nice crunch.
- Cherry Compote – A kirsch infused cherry sauce or compote is swirled into the ice cream in two layers, so you get cherry flavor in every bite! Cherries are at their best this time of year, so don’t miss out on making this!
- No Churn Ice Cream – This ice cream doesn’t require an ice cream maker or ice cream machine!
Ingredient Overview:
- Brownies – I used Ghirardelli’s Double Chocolate box mix for this recipe. They are the most delicious chocolate fudge brownies! (Not sponsored, just love this for a box mix option.)
- Heavy Cream – Make sure your heavy cream is cold before trying to whip it, or it won’t whip up.
- Chocolate Chunks – I used semi-sweet chocolate bars chopped into chunks.
- Kirsch – Kirsch is the cherry liqueur traditionally used in Black Forest Cake, but you can omit if needed.
- Vanilla Extract – Be sure to use real vanilla to give the best flavor to the base of your ice cream.
- Powdered Sugar – Be sure to use this and not cane sugar because it’ll leave granules in your ice cream.
Ingredient Substitutions:
- Brownie Options – You can use your favorite homemade brownie recipe, or use a box mix.
- Cherries – You can use fresh or frozen dark cherries for the homemade cherry compote. You could even use tart cherries instead.
- Chocolate – You can use bars chopped into chunks, or a bag of chocolate chunks or chocolate chips. You can use milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate.
How to Make this Recipe Step-by-Step:
Step 1: Prepare your brownies and allow them to cool. Prepare your cherry sauce and allow it to chill in the fridge.
Step 2: Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a medium mixing bowl and whisk in the vanilla extract.
Step 3: In a large mixing bowl, beat the heavy cream and powdered sugar on high until stiff peaks form. Do not over mix! Fold one cup of the whipped cream into the condensed milk.
Step 4: Then, gently pour the condensed milk mixture into the large bowl with the remaining whipped cream, and gently fold it in until combined.
Step 5: Gently fold in 1/3 of the cherry compote, chocolate chunks, and brownie pieces. Pour half of this mixture into a large square or 9×13 pan. Top with another 1/3 of the cherries, chocolate, and brownies.
Step 6: Pour the remaining ice cream in, and top with the remaining cherry compote, chocolate chunks, and brownie pieces. Freeze completely before serving.
Expert Success Tips:
- Fold Gently- Folding is important because we don’t want to knock out all the air we just incorporated into the heavy cream. To fold something in, use your spatula and run it down the side of the bowl, along the bottom, and then over the top of the mixture. It’s a very gentle sort of stirring motion that will keep the air in the mixture intact. This is the most important expert tip with this recipe!
- Chill Everything – It’s important that your brownies and cherry sauce have both cooled completely before adding them to the ice cream mixture. It’s also very important that the heavy cream is as cold as possible before trying to whip it – take it out of the fridge only when you’re ready to use it.
Recipe Variations:
- Chocolate Cake – You can use a small batch chocolate cake recipe or a box mix chocolate cake if you want cake pieces in your ice cream rather than brownie pieces.
- Smaller Batch – You can halve the recipe if you want a smaller batch of Black Forest Ice Cream.
- Gluten Free – Use a gluten-free brownie mix or brownie recipe to keep this recipe gluten free!
- Cherries – You can use cherry pie filling in a pinch.
Serving + Storing this Recipe:
Once this delicious treat has frozen completely, scoop into bowls or cones! Serve this with hot fudge to make black forest sundaes. This creamy ice cream is one of the most delicious recipes you’ll make all summer. You can even stick it between chocolate cookies to make ice cream sandwiches!
Store leftover ice cream in the freezer, covered tightly, for a few weeks.
More Ice Cream Recipes for Ice Cream Lovers:
- Black Forest Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Bailey’s Chocolate Ice Cream Cake
- No Churn Vanilla Ice Cream with Roasted Rhubarb
- Hot Fudge Samoa Brownie Sundaes
Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo and leave a comment!
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No Churn Black Forest Ice Cream
Ingredients
For the Cherry Sauce
- 4 and 1/2 cups dark sweet cherries fresh or frozen, see note
- 3 tbsp kirsch can omit if needed
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 2 tbsp + 3/4 tsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp + 3/4 tsp water
For the Brownies
- 1 box Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownies Or your favorite brownie recipe
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup salted butter, melted
- water
For the Ice Cream Base
- 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar
- 12 ounces chocolate chunks
Instructions
- Make the Cherry Sauce: Stir water and corn starch together in a small bowl until the starch is fully dissolved. Rinse, pit, and halve the cherries. If using frozen, do not thaw them. Add them to a medium saucepan with the sugar, almond extract, and kirsch. Cook over medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring lazily, until the cherries have released their juices and softened. Re-stir the cornstarch (it will settle some), then stir it into the cherry sauce. Cook 30 seconds to 1 minute more, stirring constantly, until the sauce gently thickens. It should separate and hold when you drag your finger through the sauce on the back of a wooden spoon. Transfer immediately to a shallow bowl and chill in the fridge completely before using.
- Make the Brownies: Prepare brownies according to package directions or your favorite recipe. Let cool completely, then slice into bite-size chunks. You'll need about 3/4 of the batch – snack on the rest!
- Make the Ice Cream Base: Whisk together the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat the heavy cream and powdered sugar on high until stiff peaks form. (To check, dunk the beaters into the cream, lift them straight up and see if little peaks form and remain standing.)Gently scoop one cup of the whipped cream into the bowl of sweetened condensed milk. Fold it in gently with a spatula, until combined. Then, add the condensed milk mixture into the big bowl of whipped cream and fold together gently until combined.
- Assemble the Ice Cream: Stir 1/3 each of the cherry sauce, brownie chunks, and chocolate chunks into the ice cream mixture. Pour half of this mixture into an oversized square or 9×13 pan. Sprinkle on 1/3 each of the cherries, brownies, and chocolate again. Pour on the remaining ice cream batter. Top with the remaining cherry sauce, brownie pieces, and chocolate chunks. Swirl the cherry sauce with a butter knife for a pretty look. Cover tightly with foil or plastic wrap. Freeze at least 8 hours.
- Serve + Store: Once frozen, scoop into bowls or cones and enjoy with hot fudge or chocolate sauce! Store, tightly covered, in the freezer for a few weeks.
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