Milky Way Ice Cream – a decadent chocolate caramel ice cream made with melted candy bars. A rich and creamy homemade ice cream unlike any other!
My boys started school this morning. I am less than thrilled about it. I know some moms can’t wait to get their kids back to school and out of the house, but I’m not one of them.
I like having my boys around. And not just because they help out with their baby sister. I actually enjoy them. Sure we get on each others’ nerves sometimes, but dang I hate to see them go.
They are growing up so stinkin’ fast! My oldest actually drove to school for the first time this morning. Drove! Aaak, how did that happen?
Summer may be officially over, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make homemade ice cream anymore. I made this Milky Way ice cream a couple weeks ago, and I’m wishing I had the ingredients to make it again today.
It is smooth and creamy and oh so good. It doesn’t have a strong chocolate flavor, so you can taste the carmel-y goodness. Yep, a bowl of homemade ice cream would definitely cheer me up today.
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE MILKY WAY ICE CREAM
(To skip my tips and just see the full recipe card, simply scroll to the bottom of the post.)
Ingredients needed:
- Milky Way candy bars (Any size will work, you will be chopping them up. You just need about twelve ounces total.)
- sweetened condensed milk (not to be confused with evaporated milk)
- heavy whipping cream
- milk (I used 2%, but whole milk will also work. I don’t recommend skim, but it will work in a pinch. Your ice cream just won’t be as creamy.)
- dash of salt (enhances flavor and balances out the sweetness)
- vanilla extract
MELT CHOCOLATE: Combine chopped candy bars and sweetened condensed milk in a heavy saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat till the candy bars are melted.
COOL: Let chocolate caramel mixture cool to room temperature. You can speed up the process by placing in the refrigerator.
COMBINE: Whisk the cream, milk, salt, and vanilla into the caramel mixture till smooth.
CHILL: Cover the ice cream mixture and chill it for several hours, overnight is fine. You can also speed up this process by placing it in the freezer, but you have to stir it often and make sure it doesn’t start to freeze.
PROCESS: Pour your chilled ice cream mixture into an ice cream maker of your choice, and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. I have a Cuisinart, and I love it because I don’t have to use ice or salt!
SOFT SERVE OR SCOOPED ICE CREAM
After removing from the ice cream maker, you will have soft serve that is ready to eat. If you prefer your ice cream scoopable, place it in an airtight container and freeze for several hours.
PRO TIP: Freeze the container before adding the soft serve ice cream so that it doesn’t melt as you pour it into the container.
If you have any leftovers, they will keep in the freezer for up to two months.
MORE TASTY FROZEN TREATS:
- Frozen German Chocolate Pie
- Blueberry Ice Cream
- Butterfinger Ice Cream
- Tin Roof Sundae
- Chocolate Cookie Dough Ice Cream
- Strawberry Ice Cream
- Peanut Butter Ice Cream
- Oreo Ice Cream Dessert
OTHER TASTY RECIPES USING CANDY BARS:
- Kit Kat Cookies
- Butterfinger Poke Cake
- Quick and Easy Toffee Bars
- Best Ever Heath Cake
- Symphony Brownies
(originally published 9/22/2011, updated April 2020)
Milky Way Ice Cream
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 oz. bag Milky Way candy bars chopped
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 cups cream
- 2 cups milk
- 1 dash salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine chopped candy bars and sweetened condensed milk in a small saucepan. Heat over medium low heat till Milky Ways are melted, stirring often.
- Cool to room temperature and add cream, milk, salt, and vanilla. Whisk till smooth.
- Chill for several hours or overnight.
- Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
- Place in an airtight container and freeze for several hours or until hard enough to scoop.
Nutrition
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My experience was, that if you let the milky way mixture cool to room temperature, it is too thick to whisk with the cream and milk. I even tried an immersion blender, and it was too thick. I suggest cooling to lukewarm. I had to heat it back up to get it to blend together.
Thanks for the tip Glenda, I’m sure other readers will find it helpful! I haven’t had that problem before, but it could be that my room temp is warmer than yours. 🙂
How many quarts of ice cream does one recipe make? I’m just trying to decide how many batches to mix for my 8-quart ice cream freezer…
It should make about 2 quarts.
Oh this sounds so good, can it be made with coconut milk or almond milk? My daughter can’t have milk.
Almond milk would make for very icy ice cream, so I don’t recommend that. Coconut milk is thicker and creamier, so I’d try that instead. You won’t get the same creamy ice cream, but it should still be tasty.
I made this with vanilla ice cream. Just melt the ice cream, prepare the Milky Way & condensed milk, then combine with the melted ice cream, put in a container and freeze. The best part is not needing an ice cream maker!
Thanks for sharing your variation, I have never heard of that method! I always assumed that melting and refreezing ice cream would totally ruin the texture.
This was So good!! We ALL loved it and can’t even wait to make another batch!
So happy to hear that Eden! It is pretty addicting. 😉
Milkyways are my favorite candy bars! This ice cream looks amazing. 🙂
I’ve got a son who loves Milky Ways as well, so he was in heaven with this ice cream!