Rocky Road Ice Cream (Eggless)

I love my ice cream maker, and I've been wanting to make ice cream for such  a long time now. My last flavor, the Loaded Caramel Ice Cream was such a big hit. Unfortunately, for some reason, my favorite brand of whipping cream was off the shelves for over a month! Imagine my disappointment. When it finally came back, I decided to try something new, and this was the first thing I made. It was really yummy!

When it comes to ice cream flavors, my husband and I are very different. My favorite flavors are dark chocolate and caramel, and his favorite flavor is vanilla. Every time I ask him, "What flavor do you think I should make?", he almost always responds "Vanilla!" So strange because he loves dark chocolate, and dark chocolate cake. But when it comes to ice cream, it just cannot be dark! It was obviously time for a compromise. Light chocolate ice cream it would have to be.

I used a lot more walnuts than needed, but I guess that's just the way we like it. My husband and I love walnuts! You could reduce the amount of walnuts in the recipe. 

Rocky Road Ice Cream
Adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients
1 (400g) can condensed milk
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup drinking chocolate/powdered hot chocolate mix
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup full-fat, milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/4 - 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used only 1/4 cup)

Method
1. Combine the condensed milk, cocoa powder and drinking chocolate and stir well to combine.
2. Cook on a low heat for 5 minutes until slightly thickened.
3. Take it off the heat, and stir in the cream and milk and mix well.
4. When the mixture has cooled, refrigerate for at least 4 hours until chilled.
5. Freeze in your ice cream maker, following the manufacturer's direction.
6. When the ice cream has reached the soft-serve stage, stop the machine, and stir in the walnuts, marshmallows and chocolate chips.
7. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.

To make this ice cream without an ice cream maker, you can read David Lebovitz's instructions here.

I love how easy this was to make. There is no custard to be made, and the actual cooking time was just 5 minutes. And the fact that it is eggless makes it less rich, and with all those walnuts and chocolate chips, it might have been too rich to have an egg-based custard. The flavor of the toasted walnuts was brilliant with the chocolate, and of course the marshmallows and chocolate chips make this ice cream really rocky, and really delicious!

On a personal note, the hunt continues. We have one month to finalize a place to live, and I am praying and looking harder than ever. We came to close to settling on one place, but I am glad we didn't because we were not completely satisfied. No point in settling for less than what you want, right? So we're waiting and trusting God to take us to the right place.

Thanks again to all those who emailed me and left comments with your wishes, prayers and good thoughts! I am grateful to be part of such a wonderful community!