One of my all-time favorite ice cream guilty treats is Magic Shell. You know this stuff, right? The chocolate sauce that hardens on your ice cream? It's expensive and has hydrogenated-thingummies, so imagine my delight when I found out it is very easy to make — with only two simple ingredients.
I first discovered this over four years ago, and I even wrote about it here. I thought it deserved another look, as there is something about this soft yet firm, chocolatey (yet kinda waxy) ice cream topping that just drives me wild. Call it nostalgia, call it junk food cravings, but Magic Shell is still one of my favorite things to eat on ice cream.
But, like I said, it's super simple to make. In fact, there's an even easier way: melt chocolate, dribble it on ice cream, and presto, it will harden. But this stays crisp, even brittle, and necessitates using hot chocolate.
The homemade Magic Shell recipe that has become very popular now on blogs is one that calls for just two things: Good chocolate, and coconut oil.
The coconut oil helps the chocolate stay just a little softer on the ice cream and also helps it become more liquid when warmed. It really couldn't be easier, and you get that magic still, but all homemade.
Here are some bloggers who have played around with homemade Magic Shell:
• Homemade "Magic Shell" Chocolate Sauce at 52 Kitchen Adventures (pictured above)
• How to make Magic Shell Ice Cream Topping at Skip To My Lou
• Homemade Magic Chocolate Shell at A Few Short Cuts
• Magic Chocolate Shell at This Chick Cooks
• Homemade Magic Shell Chocolate Sauce - at Whipperberry
Have you ever made homemade Magic Shell?
Related: Recipe: Oreo Hot Fudge Sauce
(Image: Stephanie of 52 Kitchen Adventures)
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Where do you find coconut oil? Friends have told me they get it in grocery stores, but I've scoured the oil shelves to no avail.
@Apium--if you can't find it in grocery stores in your area, try the health food/natural food stores.
I've see it in the organic sections of Fred Meyers (Kroger) and I've seen a huge jar at WalMart, but I don't know about that brand they carry. I heard Trader Joe's used to carry it, but I don't know if they still do.
Good Luck!
APIUM: I live in a fairly small town (12K, but is the "shopping hub" for the rural county!) and can find coconut oil in the "organic/natural" section in the big grocery store in town. Specifically, it is by the baking supplies (Bob's Red Mill grains/flours, organic cocoa powder, Bragg vinegar, etc.) at my Hy-Vee.
All my life growing up, my aunt made hardening chocolate sauce every Christmas Eve for our ice cream -- just chocolate and butter melted together. Butter's a lot easier to find than coconut oil, plus it feels even more indulgent. :-)
we got ours from trader joe's after reading a post on thekitchn about it:
http://www.thekitchn.com/pantry-staples-164034
read the comments for reasons why trader joe's is better than others. specifically because it's virgin, "which means it's not partially hydrogenated".
best of luck!
Try a specialty food market. I've seen coconut oil, orange oil, lemon oil, etc at a local specialty market that carries a lot of unusual foods and food items.
I made my own magic shell for the first time this year, and it is unfortunately too easy. It teams up with my ice cream machine to conspire against my best intentions.
http://www.brittanypowell.com/food-i-make/the-most-magical-mystical-incredible-and-astounding-thing-ive-ever-made/
Brilliant! I just bought a jar of organic coconut oil from Trader Joe's and will have to give this a try. I had read elsewhere that you can use food grade paraffin wax, but who on earth would want to eat that?!?!
south asian grocery stores will have coconut oil.
i'm obsessed w homemade magic shell! you can also flavor it with oil, like this peppermint magic shell (http://bit.ly/L0fv1v). If you don't like—or feel like mint—try orange oil or whatever! So good.
I also make these super quick frozen banana pops using homemade magic shell (http://bit.ly/opgyEn). Cut a banana into pieces, freeze on parchment paper, remove from freezer and pierce with a stick, dip into magic shell and watch it harden.
Thanks for all these other magic shell love links. Cant' wait to check 'em out.
@ onehungrymama: That banana idea is GREAT. Less fat than ice cream and potassium, too.
I make this all the time. It is delicious, easy, and guests love it.
I have found the best prices on coconut oil from Vitacost. They have their own generic brand of coconut oil and you can often get a free shipping or $10 off your first order type of deal.
While coconut oil is not hydrogenated (thus no nasty trans-fats), it has the highest amount of saturated fats off all the vegetable oils (10x higher than canola oil). If you don't load it on, the fat levels should be okay....but everyone loads it on!
So excited that ice cream season has (officially?) begun! We tested a recipe for homemade "Magic Shell" at Cook's Illustrated and our take (a perfect ratio of chocolate to coconut oil, plus a pinch of salt) will be published in the upcoming September/October issue. Here's a sneak peek of our tasting:
http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/snapshots/one-shell-of-a-sauce/
Cheers, Christine (online managing editor)
My husband likes the cherry dipped ice cream cones from Dairy Queen. Any ideas on how to make a homemade version?
@Mike_in_Hawaii: Not all saturated fats are the same! http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/dining/02Appe.html?pagewanted=all
Excerpt:
According to Thomas Brenna, a professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University who has extensively reviewed the literature on coconut oil, a considerable part of its stigma can be traced to one major factor.
“Most of the studies involving coconut oil were done with partially hydrogenated coconut oil, which researchers used because they needed to raise the cholesterol levels of their rabbits in order to collect certain data,” Dr. Brenna said. “Virgin coconut oil, which has not been chemically treated, is a different thing in terms of a health risk perspective. And maybe it isn’t so bad for you after all.”
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There are a lot more articles with more information to be found by quickly searching Google.