Are you a fan of chocolate shell? You might also know it as magic shell or chocolate dip.
We find it hard to imagine that anyone can hate chocolate meant to cover ice cream, but hey, some people like those circus peanut candies that taste like bananas.
If you’re in the “love it!” camp for chocolate shell, read on. If you’re reading this and have no idea what we’re talking about, here’s the scoop: there is a liquid-chocolate product that is available at many ice cream shops or at your grocery store, which hardens when drizzled over ice cream or other frozen desserts. It is tasty and texturally pleasing!
Chocolate shell is hardly magic, and at home, it can be made with only two ingredients: melted chocolate and coconut oil. Coconut oil is added because it hardens quickly when chilled (like on your ice cream!), but also because it gives the hardened chocolate a fudgier texture than chocolate alone.
We add a few more ingredients—vanilla and salt—to our recipe for flavor, but you can leave them out and keep it simple, if you like. You can also swap the vanilla for mint or coffee extract.
Take care in adding too many liquids, because you can disrupt the balance between the fats and solids in the mixture. If you add too much liquid, you might notice that the whole mixture turns grainy or lumpy. This means that the chocolate shell has separated, and it is no longer a happy, homogenous mixture.
Once your magic shell is ready, you can pour it over ice cream or use it to dip ice cream bars, like our Easy S’mores Ice Cream Bars. Store it at room temperature. If it’s chilly where you are, you might need to soften the shell just a touch before using. You can set the contain in a bowl of hot water to warm it gently.