For a special day like this, I couldn’t just make any ice cream. No, siree. I had to really stretch my creative boundaries and think of a flavor that I wish someone would just go ahead and invent already. And you know what? Jackpot!
This is probably my favorite ice cream that I’ve made, and I’ve made a lot of winners. The base is creamy cinnamon with the best mix-ins in the world: cinnamon chips, chocolate chunks, and Rolos! Prepare to swoon.
It’s been super-hot in the DC area over the past week, with temps pushing well into the 90s. Tomorrow, we’re supposed to hit 99, and I think there’s even a 100 in the 10-day forecast. Everyone is complaining about it.
Well, everyone but me, that is. I revel in the heat. It’s just so welcoming. Last week, Kenny and I took paddleboards out on the Potomac. He was very busy paddling to and fro, but I had a different idea. I paddled mine toward the edge of the river with a nice view of the Key Bridge, and then I put down my oar and stretched out onto my board, staring up at the sun while the board bobbed gently over the water. When it got too hot, I dipped a foot in the river. It was sublime.
The upshot is that Kenny got back thirsty and tired, and I paddled back to the dock feeling pretty relaxed. Either way, the heat made the whole water trip even better. I felt like a cat in the sun.
You know what else is better in extreme heat? Frozen treats. I’m telling you, nothing feels quite so good as drinking something frosty or scooping up a cold spoonful when the sun is beating down on us all.
There’s no better time to have National Ice Cream Day than the middle of July when we’re all inhaling the frozen desserts right and left, and I really wanted to do it up right this year. You can’t go wrong with this one, and there’s no ice cream maker needed!
Here’s a tip from me to you: don’t cheat with Cool Whip. Not on National Ice Cream Day. Whip up the real stuff. It’ll taste just so much better. The hardest part of this recipe is whipping the cream, and it takes very little time if you have a stand or handheld mixer. The rest is super easy!
I wish you all a very happy time with your ice cream. Make it a day that’s worth its weight in ice cream. This is the time!
Ingredients
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the cream until soft peaks form.
- Add the cinnamon to the whipped cream, stirring until well incorporated. Add the sweetened condensed milk and gently mix it into the cream until combined.
- Fold in the cinnamon chips, chocolate chunks and Rolos.
- Pour the mixture into a large loaf pan or square pan and freeze overnight.
- Store frozen.
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I kid you not. I grew up in a family that considered a trip to the ice cream parlor an excellent substitute for lunch, and thank heaven they did. Because my favorite drink in the world is still a Baskin-Robbins Jamoca Almond Fudge milkshake with chocolate syrup. It’s just where life is at.
Today, my friend Megan is celebrating her 100th blog post with a giveaway, and a bunch of her best bloggy friends are taking part! I’ll talk more about Megan in a minute, but for now, enter to win. And while you’re at it, enjoy this no-churn mocha almond fudge ice cream, my own personal loving tribute to Baskin-Robbins!
When I first began blogging a short two and a half years ago, I joined a pretty overwhelmingly large and yet supportive group of food bloggers. There are a bazillion of us out there, and it can be hard to find your way to an audience.
Fairly early in the game, I stumbled upon Megan’s blog, The Emotional Baker. She had some pretty rockin’ donuts up that day, and she was writing about her struggles with a running injury. I’d recently recovered from a stress fracture caused by my own running, so I immediately felt a kinship with her.
Fast-forward to now, and I’m still a big fan. Megan has posted some of my favorite desserts, from these peanut butter pretzel bars to carrot cake pop tarts. And every time I visit her blog, I see yet another idea that pushes the bounds of creativity.
As food bloggers, we’re faced with the constant challenge of coming up with ideas. How many things can you do with a brownie? If you’re a blogger with regular postings, finding ways to switch it up is a constant practice. It can be stressful, joyful, empowering, or all of the above.
That’s why we’re so tightly knit, and so supportive. Only someone who is caught up in the crazy world of blogging can understand, and most of us have full-time jobs as well. We do this for the love of the work, and enjoy our friendships with one another along the crazy, wild ride this is!
One passion many of my fellow bloggers and I share is a love of no-churn ice cream. There’s an ice cream maker somewhere at my parents’ house nearby, but I’ve never had to borrow it. Why? Because of a little miracle known as sweetened condensed milk.
When SCM (as those of us in the know call it) gets combined with whipped cream and frozen, it turns into ice cream. You can customize flavors at will, too. Some people like to use Cool Whip as a shortcut, but I personally use my KitchenAid to whip up the real thing. It tastes better and creamier.
This ice cream is made with a chocolate-coffee mixture, and then I mixed in roasted almonds, chocolate chunks and hot fudge. Honestly, putting this ice cream away is a real challenge. I keep digging around for more chocolate chunks or almonds.
Here’s wishing Megan many more happy blog posts. Now it’s time to celebrate with some ice cream and a giveaway!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Dissolve the instant coffee in the cold water.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the coffee and the chocolate chips. Heat at 30-second intervals, stirring each time, until everything is melted and smooth. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Do not overdo it!
- Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the heavy cream until a uniform color (no streaks!) appears. Add the sweetened condensed milk and stir until fully combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chunks and almonds.
- Pour the mixture into a large loaf pan. Drop the hot fudge onto the surface in spoonfuls and swirl through with a knife.
- Freeze overnight. Serve when ready. Store frozen.
I’ve teamed up with 15 other bloggers to help celebrate The Emotional Baker’s 100th Recipe! We’re giving away two prizes.
- Grand Prize: $100 Amazon Gift Card.
- 2nd Place: TEB’s Favorite Baking Tools Prize Pack.
The prize pack includes:
- One Camry High Accuracy Digital Kitchen Food Scale // $18.99 value
- One iSi Basics Flex-It Measuring Cups // $24.99 value
- One RSVP Endurance Spice Measuring Spoon Set // $13.95 value
- One Wilton ColorSwirl 3-Color Coupler 9-Piece Decorating Kit // $7.90 value
- One Chef’n Switchit Narrow Silicone Spatula // $9.99 value
Giveaway Made Possible By:
- The Emotional Baker
- Spoonful of Flavor
- Eva Bakes
- FIVEheartHOME
- Cook Nourish Bliss
- Beer Girl Cooks
- The Seasoned Mom
- No Spoon Necessary
- Beaming Baker
- Flavor the Moments
- Like Mother, Like Daughter
- Fresh April Flours
- Vanessa Baked
- Brooklyn Farm Girl
- The Semisweet Sisters
- Just About Baked
Giveaway Rules:
- Enter the giveaway through the Rafflecopter widget below. Earn entries by following the host bloggers on social media. (If you’ve followed in the past, that counts! Just enter the information as prompted.) All entries will be verified. No purchase is necessary to win.
- The giveaway is open until Wednesday, June 29, 2016 at 11:59 p.m. EST. One Grand Prize winner and one Second Place winner will be chosen at random and e-mailed within 48 hours. Winners must claim prize within 48 hours of initial contact. The retail value of the prize is $75. Prizes listed above are the only ones available.
- Grand Prize: Open to USA, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom.
Second Place: Open to U.S. residents with a valid shipping address only.
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