Name: Black Cow Ice Cream
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk; ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder; 2 cups heavy whipping cream; 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate; 1 cup 1% milk; 4 teaspoons root beer extract; 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

Black Cow Ice Cream

Last fall I posted a recipe for Root Beer Ice Cream which I originally titled Black Cow. After a few conversations it was determined that while it may have different meanings in different areas, Black Cow is most commonly known as a root beer float that uses chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla.

Desserts

American

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An overhead photo of a scoop of black cow ice cream in a decorative bowl.

An overhead photo of a scoop of black cow ice cream in a decorative bowl with a spoon. Does anyone remember the Black Cow shake from Arby’s? Well that was actually a vanilla shake with root beer syrup. In some regions a root beer float and a black cow are one in the same, while in other areas you have to use chocolate ice cream in the float, not vanilla. Some areas use cola instead of root beer and dubbed that the black cow.

An overhead photo of a scoop of black cow ice cream in a decorative bowl with another scoop in an ice cream scooper to the side. A little more fun trivia for you. Back in 1893, the term “black cow” started in Cripple Creek, Colorado. This quote from Wikipedia:

Wisner, owner of the Cripple Creek Cow Mountain Gold Mining Company, had been producing a line of soda waters for the citizens of the then-booming Cripple Creek gold mining district. He had been trying to create a special drink for the children of Cripple Creek and came up with an idea while staring out at his properties on Cow Mountain on a moonlit night.

The full moon’s glow on the snow capped Cow Mountain reminded him of a dollop of vanilla ice cream floating on top of his blackened Cow Mountain. As he told the story later, he was inspired by this view to hurry back to his bar and add a big scoop of vanilla ice cream to the one soda water he produced that the children of Cripple Creek seemed to like best – Myers Avenue Red root beer – and served it the very next day. The drink was an instant hit. Originally named “Black Cow Mountain”, the local children shortened this to “black cow”.[11] Wisner was known to say many times in his later years that if he had a nickel for every time someone ordered a black cow, he’d have been a rich man.

An overhead photo of a scoop of black cow ice cream with a spoon in a decorative bowl. So whatever it is, now you have a recipe for both Black Cow Ice Cream and Root Beer Ice Cream.

You’re welcome.:)

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