Mini Egg Ice Cream (Easy Easter Dessert Recipe)

Last Updated on April 17, 2025 by becky

A Cadbury mini egg ice cream recipe featuring a smooth chocolate base, homemade fudge swirl, and crunchy crushed mini egg candies. This easy Easter dessert recipe requires no eggs, and no baking—just whisk, chill, and churn.

Why Make This Easy Easter Dessert Recipe?

I love coming up with creative recipes for Easter. With spring on the horizon, it’s the perfect excuse to make fun seasonal desserts, like Easter candy corn or classic buttercream Easter eggs. And as a totally unapologetic mini egg devotee, I especially love working these crunchy, chocolate-filled candies into as many recipes as possible. (See also: my Easter blondies with mini eggs and white chocolate, these Easter Rice Krispie bird nest treats, or this Easter bark recipe!)

Filled to the brim with Cadbury mini eggs, this easy chocolate ice cream allows you to deliver all of the holiday vibes, without turning on the oven. It’s a great, no-bake alternative to Easter cakes, cheesecakes, and sugar cookies. You’ll just need some simple ingredients, an ice cream maker, and a few minutes to simmer up the homemade fudge sauce. After churning the ice cream base, just layer everything together and freeze until firm.

Best of all? This Easter dessert recipe is completely egg-free (aside from the chocolate kind, of course!) so if, like me, you’ve been lamenting the price of eggs lately, you can churn up a couple of pints without dipping into your precious egg stash.

Mini Egg Ice Cream Ingredients

To make this Cadbury egg ice cream, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Whole Milk – For thick, creamy ice cream, I recommend using whole milk for this recipe.
• Whipping Cream – Names and percentages may vary based on your location, but look for heavy cream or whipping cream with a milk fat percentage around 35-36%.
• Granulated Sugar – Granulated sugar sweetens the ice cream base. You can also use caster sugar, measured by weight rather than volume.
• Vanilla Extract – Choose a good quality vanilla extract, not a cheap artificial flavoring.
• Cocoa Powder – You’ll need cocoa powder to make the chocolate ice cream base, plus more for the fudge swirl. Look for unsweetened cocoa powder. Do not use Dutch processed.
• Alcohol – Homemade ice cream does not contain the emulsifiers and stablizers that prevent the store-bought version from freezing solid. Here, a teaspoon of alcohol (such as rum or vodka) helps to inhibit freezing instead.

• Fine Sea Salt – A small amount of fine sea salt balances out the sweetness of the mini eggs and the fudge swirl.
• Miniature Chocolate Chips – You’ll need miniature chocolate chips, or small pieces of chopped milk or dark chocolate. Don’t use regular chocolate chips; they’re simply too big to blend easily into the base.
• Corn Syrup – Corn syrup (or Light Karo Syrup) creates a sweet, fluid fudge sauce that won’t crystallize as it cools.
• Cadbury Mini Eggs – To make this “Easter” ice cream, I’ve added 185 grams, or about 1 cup, of crushed Cadbury mini eggs. See below for my notes on crushing the eggs.

Crushing the Mini Eggs

While testing this ice cream recipe I experimented with a variety of mini egg crushing techniques, and learned a few things in the process:

• Wield a sturdy mallet. Mini eggs are surprisingly difficult to crush! I found that a heavy wooden kitchen mallet, crab mallet, or wooden rolling pin worked best. You’ll need something with some heft to it—a metal spoon won’t work.
• Use a plastic bag. Before crushing, seal the mini eggs in a plastic food storage bag. This makes cleanup easy, and prevents little pieces of chocolate and sugar from flying all over your kitchen.

• Size matters. Crush the eggs into small chunks and pieces. This is important! Do not use whole mini eggs, or very large pieces; these won’t churn well, and, once frozen, they’re difficult to bite.
• Protect the countertop. Place a chopping board or a thick towel between the eggs and the countertop, to avoid damaging your work surface.

Preparing the Homemade Fudge Swirl

This Easter dessert recipe includes a homemade fudge swirl comprised of light corn syrup, water, granulated sugar, and unsweetened cocoa powder.

To make the fudge swirl, combine all four ingredients in a small saucepan, bring everything to a boil over medium-high heat, and stir until the sauce thickens slightly. (Keep the mixture moving constantly, and don’t walk away from the stove. Burnt cocoa powder tastes bitter and unpleasant!)

After making the fudge swirl, pour the mixture into a small bowl and refrigerate. The fudge sauce must be completely cold before you swirl it into the ice cream mixture, so I suggest making it at the same time you make the ice cream base, then refrigerating both components for at least 12 hours.

Tools and Equipment for Making Homemade Ice Cream

To make this ice cream recipe, I recommend a few special tools:

• Ice Cream Maker – I love this Cuisinart 1.5 quart ice cream maker. I’ve had mine for about a decade, and recently purchased a second of the same machine. I recommend storing the bowl in the freezer at all times, so you can make homemade ice cream at a moment’s notice.
• Ice Cream Scoop – For scooping and serving the finished product! I prefer a sturdy metal scoop, like this one.
• Hand Whisk – You’ll need a whisk to combine the milk, cream, and cocoa powder for the ice cream base.
• Kitchen Mallet – To crush the mini eggs. A crab mallet or wooden rolling pin will also work.
• Rubber Spatula – Use a rubber spatula to scrape the mixture into the ice cream maker, and from the ice cream maker bowl into a storage container. I recommend silicone—metal spoons or other hard utensils can scratch the delicate interior of the ice cream maker bowl.
• Ice Cream Containers – Store your homemade mini egg ice cream in lidded plastic food storage containers, cardboard pint containers, or reusable silicone ice cream containers.

Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions

You can prepare the fudge sauce up to 48 hours in advance and refrigerate until you’re ready to layer it into the ice cream base. I actually prefer making the fudge sauce ahead of time—it must be totally cool before you combine it with the ice cream base, or the ice cream will melt.

Scoop churned ice cream into pint or quart-size plastic food storage containers. You can also use disposable cardboard pint containers, like these, or purchase reusable ice cream containers.

You can store homemade ice cream in the freezer for up to one month. Prior to serving, allow mini egg ice cream to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes, or until just soft enough to scoop.

Other Easter dessert recipes you might enjoy:

Easter Bark Recipe with Mini Eggs
Buttercream Easter Eggs
Easter Rice Krispie Bird Nest Treats
Easy Easter Brownies with Buttercream
Easter Candy Corn
Easter Blondies with Mini Eggs

And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!

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