Deep Chocolate and Peanut Butter Ice Cream

I met my husband at an ice cream store.

To be more exact, I met my husband during college, when we both worked at a local ice cream store. While I am more than happy to keep the husband I found while working there, I am sad to admit I lost any craving for ice cream. When you drag your tired body home to your teeny college apartment late every night, covered up to the elbows in dried ice cream and smelling slightly of sour milk, you kinda lose your taste for the stuff.

Even though it has been several years since my time spent scooping ice cream for a living, I still can only eat it a few times a year (my addiction to Sylas and Maddy's notwithstanding). My dear husband, though? He could eat it all the live long day. And his absolute favorite is "anything with chocolate and peanut butter".

I decided this summer, after experiencing the first of probably many long hot, sweltering summers in my kitchen, that ice cream is something that might be worth making at home (love ya, kitchen, but man between the stove and skylight it gets mad-hot). The first recipe I gave a shot, in honor of that dear man of mine, is this rich chocolate and peanut butter concoction.

I mixed things up a bit with David Lebovitz' original recipe, and really like how it turned out. Deeply rich chocolate and peanut butter, studded with bits of nuts from the peanut butter. Mmmm. While I'm not a huge fan, if all homemade ice cream is this creamy and rich, I might just come back around to the stuff.

Deep Chocolate and Peanut Butter Ice Cream

(adapted from The Perfect Scoop, 2007)

Ingredients:

2 c. heavy cream

3 Tbsp. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

5 oz. bittersweet chocolate

1/3 c. creamy peanut butter

1 c. whole milk

3/4 c. sugar

Pinch of salt

5 large egg yolks

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 c. chunky peanut butter (for end of freezing)

Warm 1 c. of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate and peanut butter, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 c. of cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

Warm the milk, sugar, and salt int he same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to instructions. During the final few minutes of churning in the ice cream maker, add the remaining chunky peanut butter.