Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

In the new apartment, I have a TON more counterspace, and a full-sized fridge and freezer! I wouldn't call the fridge in my last place "mini," but once you put three packages of meat, and a few boxes of frozen veggies in there, it was full.

Well, this new freezer lets us stock up on meats and frozen veggies, and still leaves room for freezing the bowl for my ice cream maker (I have a Cuisinart ICE-20 1.5-quart ice cream maker — there's a newer model out now, but this works fine for me). 

I was wondering what recipe I should try, and decided to look for a good chocolate recipe. I found one at JoyofBaking.com, and decided to add my own twist to it by adding chopped peanut butter cups. 

The result? Delicious. But a warning: it's very rich. I'm normally one to eat an entire pint of Haagen-Dazs in one sitting, but a regular ½-cup serving of this ice cream was plenty for me. 

Equipment needed:

• Medium saucepan
• Whisk
• Mixing bowl
• Hand mixer (optional)
• Pot of simmering water
• Wooden spoon
• Ice cream maker

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Recipe
From JoyofBaking.com

Ingredients

• 2 cups half-and-half
• ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 ounces chopped semisweet chocolate
• 4 large egg yolks
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 16 miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, roughly chopped

Directions

1. Pour the half-and-half into a medium saucepan. Whisk in the cocoa powder, and heat to scalding.
2. Remove from heat, and add chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth.
3. In a stainless steel bowl, whip together the yolks and the sugar, beating at least two minutes until pale yellow and fluffy. Use a whisk or hand mixer.
4. Pour about a quarter of the half-and-half mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Gradually add the rest of the half-and-half mixture — this prevents the yolks from curdling. If this does happen, strain the mixture before proceeding.
5. Place the mixing bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens, and coats the back of the spoon (temperature should be 170 degrees F).
6. Remove the custard from heat, continuing to stir for another two minutes or so. Stir in the vanilla extract. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
7. Remove the ice cream maker bowl from the freezer, pour in the chilled custard, and process according to the directions that came with your ice cream maker. If the manual provides no guidelines for mix-ins, add the chopped peanut butter cups in the last five minutes.
8. Ice cream will be "soft-serve" consistency. If you want it harder, place ice cream in a plastic container and freeze for about an hour or two.