Peanut Butter-Chocolate Swirl Ice Cream

When browsing the library the other day, I found a book called The Ultimate Peanut Butter Book. My brothers love peanut butter (so do I, but I don't put it in my cereal. They do.) I paged through it and honed in on the recipe for peanut butter ice cream. Yes, peanut butter ice cream. I decided to swirl in Aunt Mona's Hot Fudge Sauce for a chocolate kick.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Swirl Ice Cream:




Ingredients:

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
1-1/2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
Aunt Mona's Fudge Sauce (Not pictured. Sorry.)

Instructions:


Beat both sugars, eggs, and yolks with electric mixer at medium speed until thick and yellow.

Set aside. Heat milk over medium heat in a medium saucepan on a medium burner until small bubbles pop up around edges.

Beat half the hot milk into egg mixture on medium speed, then beat that mixture into the remaining milk in the saucepan.

Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring, until a thin layer of the custard coats the back of a spoon and holds its shape when you run a finger through it.

Remove from heat and whisk in peanut butter.

Strain through a fine sieve to catch any bits of scrambled egg.

Stir in heavy cream, vanilla, and salt.

Cover and place mixture in fridge to chill for at least four hours or overnight.

If you want the chocolate to be fully incorporated, stir in fudge sauce and freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

Otherwise, scoop half the finished ice cream into a container, scoop the rest on top, and pour more sauce over it.

This ice cream tastes like Ming's Peanut Butter Frosting, but in ice cream form and with the added benefit of chocolate. The peanut butter part is very sweet and balances perfectly with the chocolate. It's very creamy compared to other ice creams made in our ice cream maker, although it does harden up when kept in the freezer for an extended period of time. (But then, all ice creams do.)

For once, the emphasis wasn't on the "ice".

If you want a more defined peanut butter taste, reduce the sugar a little. Be sure to whisk the peanut butter in very well, because I wound up with a thick peanut butter/cream mixture on the bottom of the strainer. I scraped it in, and it turned out fine. The fudge doesn't freeze solid, as I feared it would. It has pretty much the same texture as the ice cream itself. All in all, this was a delicious use of peanut butter. (So much better than putting it in cereal. Really, brothers?)