Turkish Delight Stracciatella Ice Cream
This homemade stracciatella ice cream is flavoured like Turkish delight & is packed full of dark chocolate shards. There’s extra chunks of Turkish delight in there as well!
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I LOVE Turkish delight, so turning it into a homemade ice cream flavour just makes sense to me! In fact, this ice cream has 2 types of Turkish delight, for double the flavour.
First, we have the ice cream itself. Here we’re making a classic vanilla custard base which we’re flavouring with rose water & dying pink with food colouring, so that it looks & tastes like Turkish delight
Then we have the mix ins. So this is a stracciatella ice cream which means that it is packed full of frozen chocolate shards. We do this by piping melted chocolate into the ice cream as it churns (you’ll need an ice cream machine for this one!). We’re not stopping there though because we’re also adding plenty of chopped up Turkish delight into this ice cream as well.
This one’s creamy, absolutely jam packed full of flavour and like all my ice cream recipes, it’s super easy to scoop! A real treat for those of you that like Turkish delight…
If you’re looking for more homemade ice creams to try then check out our ever growing collection of ice cream recipes! Or if there’s a flavour that you’d like to see on the blog, drop us a comment at the bottom of this post…
Ingredient Notes
- Turkish Delight – I used Fry’s Turkish delight which is chocolate covered but you could use the regular stuff or even make your own!
- Rose Water – Turkish delight tends to be flavoured with rose water, so it’s what we’re flavouring our ice cream with. This stuff’s pretty strong, so you’ll only need a small amount.
- Dark Chocolate – We’re piping melted dark chocolate into the churning ice cream, to make stracciatella. Feel free to use milk or white chocolate instead though.
- Milk & Cream – We’re using whole milk & double cream for the ice cream custard base. These have the ideal fat content for a creamy, easy to scoop ice cream.
- Glucose Syrup – Adding glucose to ice cream adds sweetness & makes it easier to scoop. You can get glucose syrup in most supermarkets.
- Milk Powder – Skimmed milk powder is used to make ice cream smoother & creamier. I like to use Marvel milk powder but any brand should work.
- Sugar – This ice cream uses caster sugar.
- Egg Yolks – This is a custard based ice cream, so you’ll need egg yolks.
- Salt – Adding a small amount of sea salt to our custard base, improves the flavour of our final ice cream.
- Vanilla – Using a good quality vanilla adds the best flavour to our ice cream. You can either use half a vanilla pod or a couple of teaspoons of good quality vanilla paste.
How To Make Turkish Delight Stracciatella
This is an incredibly easy ice cream to make! Here, we’re making a rose water & vanilla custard base, which is chilled overnight then churned in an ice cream machine. To finish, we’re piping melted chocolate into the ice cream as it finished churning then folding in chunks of Turkish delight!
Turkish Delight Custard Base
I’ve taken the custard base from my vanilla ice cream recipe & adjusted it ever so slightly to equate for the rose water that this ice cream is flavoured with. This is made like a regular custard with the addition of milk powder & glucose syrup.
- Warm Milk
Add milk, caster sugar, milk powder, glucose syrup, sea salt & a half a vanilla pod (with the seeds scraped out) into a large saucepan, whisk to combine then set over a low heat. Leave to get steaming hot, stirring frequently. Don’t let the milk boil though! - Whisk Egg Yolks & Sugar
Whilst the milk is heating up, add egg yolks & sugar into a mixing bowl then whisk to combine. - Temper Yolks
Once the milk is warm, we pour half of it into the egg yolks, whisking constantly as we do so. This is called tempering the eggs & is done to prevent them from scrambling as we cook the custard. - Cook Custard
Next, we add the tempered yolks into the pan of milk then cook the custard over a low heat, stirring constantly until it reaches a temperature of 82°c/180°f (a digital food probe comes in handy here!). - Stir In Cream
Once the custard is cooked, we take it off the heat & stir in double cream. Then we give it a quick blitz with a stick blender before passing it into a container, through a sieve. If you’ve used a vanilla pod, make sure to take it out of the custard before blending it. - Overnight Chill
Next, we let the custard cool slightly then place a piece of baking parchment/clingfilm onto the surface (this stops a skin forming) then chill it in the fridge overnight. This matures the custard, improving the flavour & texture of the ice cream. - Flavour & Dye
Just before churning the ice cream, we’re going to be blending rose water & pink food colouring into the custard (with a stick blender). This makes the ice cream taste & look like Turkish delight!
Churning
After we’ve flavoured our custard, we’re going to be churning it in an ice cream machine, to the consistency of soft scoop. If you were to check the temperature with a digital food probe, the ice cream will be around -5°c/23°f. In most ice cream machines, this will take around half an hour. It’s important not to over churn the ice cream as it will become dense.
Mix Ins
This ice cream has 2 different mix ins; piped dark chocolate (to make stracciatella) & chunks of Turkish delight.
For the stracciatella, we melt dark chocolate whilst the ice cream is churning then transfer it into a piping bag. Then once the ice cream has churned, we leave the ice cream machine running whilst piping in a thin stream of the melted chocolate. As the chocolate hits the ice cream, it will freeze & turn into thin shards.
Next, we stop churning the ice cream then fold in chunks of Turkish delight. I used Fry’s Turkish delight, which is coated in chocolate and I cut it into small chunks around 5mm – 1 cm wide. I like to keep the Turkish delight pieces fairly small, so that the ice cream is easy to scoop. Cut them too big & they’ll get in the way as you scoop.
Once our ice cream is ready, we transfer it to a 1 litre container then leave to set in the freezer for at least 4 hours.
Tips & Tricks
- Chill the custard base overnight, to develop the flavour. This improves the flavour & texture of the final ice cream. It also means that the custard will be completely cold when you churn it, which speeds the churning process up.
- Use a good quality vanilla to flavour the custard base. A vanilla pod or a really good vanilla paste is best.
- Weigh all of the ingredients out accurately. Ice cream making is a science so it’s important that everything is weighed out properly.
- Set your freezer to 18°c/-1°f for the best set. This makes the ice cream easier to scoop.
- Dip your scoop in warm water for easier scooping!
Frequently Asked Question
For the best results, you will need to use an ice cream machine to make homemade ice cream. These can be picked up online for various price points but the investment is worth it! If you’re looking for an ice cream machine, check out my Cuisinart ice cream maker review. This the machine that I use!
Homemade Turkish delight ice cream will keep for up to 2 weeks in the freezer. After 2 weeks, the texture of homemade ice cream can start to turn icy so it’s best to eat it before then!
Skimmed milk powder is best for homemade ice cream because it won’t affect the fat content of our custard base. I use Marvel skimmed milk powder but any brand will work.
Stracciatella ice cream is an Italian style of ice cream that has had melted chocolate drizzled into it as it churns. This creates shards of frozen chocolate throughout the ice cream!
I usually like to use a 72% dark chocolate when making stracciatella ice cream but you could use a milk or white chocolate instead.
Equipment Used
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- Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker Review
- Ice Cream Machine
- Thermapen Food Probe
- The Ice Cream Tubs That I Use
- Ice Cream Scoop
More Dessert Recipes To Try!
- Dark Chocolate Mousse
- Classic Cherry Pie
- Rhubarb & Custard Pavlovas With Crystallised Pistachios
- Banana Sticky Toffee Pudding With Miso Caramel
- Individual Tiramisu
- Cake Crumb Treacle Tart
If you have enjoyed this Turkish delight ice cream recipe, it would mean a lot if you could leave a review & rating. And if you’d like to stay up to date with future recipes, follow us on Instagram & TikTok!
Turkish Delight Stracciatella Ice Cream
Equipment
- Ice Cream Machine
- Digital Food Probe
- Stick Blender
- Saucepan
- Sieve
- 1 Litre Tub
Ingredients
Custard Base
- 420 g Whole Milk
- 130 g Caster Sugar
- 40 g Glucose Syrup
- 30 g Skimmed Milk Powder
- ¼ tsp Fine Sea Salt
- ½ Vanilla Pod (Or 2 tsp Vanilla Paste)
- 85 g Egg Yolks
- 250 g Double Cream
- 2 tsp Rose Water
- Pink Food Colouring
Mix Ins
- 60 g Dark Chocolate (72% Is Best!)
- 150 g Turkish Delight (See Notes)
Instructions
Custard Base
- Add the milk, 65 grams of the sugar, glucose, milk powder, salt & vanilla into a saucepan then whisk to combine & set over a low heat. Don't let the milk boil!If you're using a vanilla pod, scrape the seeds out & add both the pod and seeds to the pan.
- Whilst the milk is warming up, add the egg yolks & the remaining 65 grams of sugar into a mixing bowl then whisk to combine.
- Once the milk is steaming hot, pour half of it into the yolks, whisking as you do so. Pour the now tempered yolks into the pan of milk.
- Cook the custard over a low heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon & has reached a temperature of 82°c/180°f.You'll need a digital food probe for this!
- Once cooked, take the custard off the heat & stir in the double cream. If you've used a vanilla pod, take this out of the custard at this point. Give the custard a quick blitz with a stick blender then pass into a container, through a sieve.
- Let the custard cool, stirring occasionally then place a piece of baking paper onto the custard’s surface & refrigerate overnight.
Churning
- The next day, whisk the rose water into the chilled custard base.
- Next, add a small amount of the custard into a jug then blend with a stick blender whilst gradually adding in pink food colouring, until your custard turns a dark pink. You won't need much food colouring.
- Add the pink custard back into the custard then blend again, to combine.
- Pour the custard into an ice cream machine then start churning.
- In the meantime, roughly chop the dark chocolate & place into a heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water then heat until just melted. Transfer the melted chocolate into a piping bag (cut a small hole in the end just before piping).Alternatively, melt the chocolate in a microwave.
- Next, cut the Turkish delight into small pieces, no bigger than a centimetre. Do this, whilst the ice cream is churning so that it's ready to go as soon as the ice cream has finished churning. Turkish delight can be quite sticky, so make sure to separate each piece when adding it into the ice cream.
- When the ice cream has reached soft serve consistency (the temperature of the ice cream will be around -5°c/23°f), slowly pipe the chocolate directly into the ice cream, whilst it is still churning. The chocolate will freeze into shards as it mixes through the ice cream.
- Continue churning the ice cream for another 30 seconds then use a spatula to fold the Turkish delight pieces in by hand.
- Transfer the ice cream into a 1 litre tub then leave to set in the freezer for at least 4 hours.
