Vanilla Almond Ice Cream Bars
These cold treats are a perfect dupe of the Schwann’s bars. If you don’t want to pay 15 bucks for a box, use this recipe to make your own vanilla almond ice cream bars from scratch! Even if you come close to paying just as much for the ingredients, you’ll still have homemade bars at the end.
Mold me
This recipe makes 6 dipped ice cream bars, and I used these exact popsicle molds. It’s a really great size, just enough to settle your craving without making you bloated. But the biggest pro to that particular mold (and others like it) is that it’s SO easy to pop each bar out when they’re ready to dip. No wiggling anything out or pushing up from the bottom. Just peel away the mold and guide the popsicle stick out.
AND they’re shaped just like the Schwann bars.
Ice cream
This is my favorite vanilla custard recipe. If you can, use vanilla bean paste to get all those precious little flecks.
When you make the custard, be sure to go all the way and gently cook it to 190 degrees F. I know it seems a little too hot, but getting it between 185-190 gives you the creamiest, most luxurious custard. It’s seriously so good.
As you cook the custard, you have to constantly be scraping the bottom and sides of the saucepan. If you stop for even just 3-4 seconds, you risk getting scrambled eggs. This becomes even more risky as the custard gets closer to 190. Just make sure that you use a flat, silicone spatula and that it’s always in motion. As it gets close to the end, I remove the saucepan from the heat to check the temperature, then return it to finish cooking if I need to.
You’ll need an instant read thermometer to keep track of how hot the custard is. I love the Thermapen, but it’s a little pricey and there are great alternatives at Amazon and most grocery stores. I really encourage you to get one, no matter where you go. It comes in handy for A LOT of other things besides custard.
Oh, and you don’t need to churn this ice cream, either! Once it’s chilled, it’ll be thickened to the consistency of a loose pudding. Simply divide among the molds and freeze until solid before dipping. I always let them be overnight just to be safe.
Dip me, baby
The chocolate you use for the shell isn’t really that important. If you want to get these vanilla almond ice cream bars as close to Schwann’s as possible, then using milk chocolate is your best bet. However, my favorite is a 48% cacao sweet German chocolate. It’s slightly more sweet than semi-sweet, and just a bit more bitter than milk chocolate. It’s perfect.
In order to get the shell to harden on contact with the frozen bars, you need to melt the chocolate with coconut oil. Since coconut oil is solid at room temperature, it allow the chocolate to instantly freeze on the dipped bars. Just like the cones at DQ.
My recipe calls for 1/2 cup of sliced, toasted almonds. I like to get them pre-toasted from Trader Joe’s, but you can also toast them yourself in about 10 minutes. Just be sure that they’re completely cooled before adding them to the melted chocolate dip.
Serve
Once the chocolate shell has hardened, you can serve these vanilla almond ice cream bars right away! Any leftovers should be stored in a sealed container or bag to prevent freezer burn on the chocolate.
Want more ice cream? These Oreo ice cream sandwiches are another favorite at our house!
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Vanilla Almond Ice Cream Bars
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Freeze Time: 12 hours
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 12 hours + 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 coated ice cream bars 1x
- Category: Dessert, Ice Cream & Frozen
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
The best homemade vanilla ice cream bars, covered with a crisp chocolate shell and crunchy toasted almonds.
Ingredients
For the ice cream:
- 4 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 TB vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
For the chocolate almond shell:
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 8 oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped
- 3 TB coconut oil
Instructions
To make the ice cream:
- Add the egg yolks to a heatproof mixing bowl (I used a 2 1/2 quart size) and set aside.
- Combine the milk, heavy cream, sugar, salt and vanilla in a 3 quart saucepan or saucier and set over medium heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve the sugar and continue to heat until the mixture just barely simmers. There should be a lot of steam wisping from the surface. Do not allow the mixture to boil.
- Add 1 cup of the hot milk mixture to a measuring cup with a pour spout, and remove the saucepan with the remaining hot milk from the heat.
- Slowly stream the cup of hot milk into the egg yolks while whisking quickly and constantly to temper the eggs. Once the entire cup has been added, return the tempered egg and milk mixture to the saucepan with the remaining hot milk.
- Before you place the saucepan back over the heat, set a fine mesh sieve over a clean, heatproof bowl so that it’s ready as soon as the custard is up to temperature.
- Place the saucepan back over medium low heat, and stir constantly with a spatula until the custard has thickened into a gravy-like consistency. Make sure that you’re constantly scraping the bottom of the pan to keep the eggs from curdling. It’s also a really good idea to use a thermometer to check for the correct temperature. The perfect consistency is at around 185-190 degrees F.Β
- As soon as the custard has reached the correct temperature, immediately remove the saucepan from the heat and strain through the fine mesh sieve and into the clean bowl. Use the spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the saucepan to get all of the custard out.
- After you strain the custard, you’ll notice a few tiny chunks of cooked egg white. This is normal and completely okay, and will not affect your ice cream. Some of the white always clings onto the yolk during separation and cooks more quickly. This is why you strain.Β
- Allow the custard to cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until completely chilled, about 4 hours.Β
- Once the custard has chilled, divide it among the 6 popsicle molds, cover and freeze until firm, about 6 hours or overnight.
To make the chocolate almond shell and finish the bars:
- After the ice cream bars are completely frozen, make the chocolate almond shell. Combine the chocolate and coconut oil in a heatproof bowl and microwave on full power for 35 seconds. Stir well to distribute the heat and begin melting the chocolate.
- Microwave again for another 35 seconds and stir, most of the chocolate will be melted at this point. If there are still some larger pieces remaining, pop the bowl back into the microwave for another 5 seconds to finish melting.Β
- Stir the chopped sliced almonds into the melted chocolate and pour the mixture into a tall glass (a highball works really well here.)
- Dunk each vanilla ice cream bar into the chocolate almond shell, and rotate it around a few times until it hardens. This should only take about 7-10 seconds. Place the coated ice cream bar onto a lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining ice cream bars.
- Freeze the completed bars for another hour or so to firm them up again before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 dipped bar
- Calories: 534
- Sugar: 41.3 g
- Sodium: 220.5 mg
- Fat: 37.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 20.8 g
- Trans Fat: 0.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 46.4 g
- Fiber: 4.2 g
- Protein: 8.9 g
- Cholesterol: 157.5 mg
