How to Make Rolo’s Epic Chocolate Malt Ice Cream

Kat Odell

It’s always ice cream season, right? What would apple pie be without a scoop of bean-flecked vanilla? Or, how about a melty, gooey chocolate lava cake sans the same chilly friend? Ice cream––as an accent, or as its own solo act––has the potential to never disappoint.

And when I had the good fortune to try the chocolate malt ice cream from newish Ridgewood, Queens addition Rolo’s, I was blown away by the dessert’s richness and flavor. At this neighborhood-friendly, New America meets European bistro––from friends and Gramercy Tavern alums Howard Kalachnikoff, Rafiq Salim, and Paul Wetzel––the team is serving scoops of a deeply chocolate ice cream that’s so dense it’s chewy. That toothsome texture comes from both the addition of milk powder and heavy cream, while malted milk adds depth of flavor and a mild nuttiness.

Below, how to make Rolo’s intense malty chocolate ice cream at home.

For the chocolate paste:

¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar

¼ cup (50 grams) water

¼ cup (50 grams) cocoa powder

For the base:

1/3 (73 grams) cup granulated sugar, divided

3 tablespoons (24 grams) milk powder

1 ½ cup (351 grams) whole milk

¾ cup (155 grams) heavy cream

½ teaspoon (3 grams) vanilla extract

Pinch kosher salt

3 tablespoons (41 grams) malt powder*

To make the chocolate paste, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Immediately add cocoa powder, remove from heat, and whisk to combine. The paste will be very thick. Set aside.

To make the base, whisk two tablespoons of the granulated sugar with the milk powder. Set aside.

Meanwhile, combine the whole milk, heavy cream, remaining granulated sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and malt powder in a heavy bottomed pot and cook over medium heat. Whisk to combine. Bring liquid to a simmer, then, while whisking, stream in the milk powder and sugar mixture. Bring liquid back up to a simmer, around 185°F. Remove from the hot ice cream base from heat.

Scrape the cocoa paste into the hot ice cream base, whisking constantly, until thoroughly mixed. (The heat of the ice cream base will melt the cocoa paste.) Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve; cool completely. Spin according to ice cream manufacturers’ directions.

*You can find malt powder in most grocery stores or on Amazon. Carnation Malted Milk works best, but you can substitute Ovaltine Classic Malt in a pinch.