Sometimes you can just taste a recipe as soon as you read the title. That is true of this peanut butter ice cream with chunks of Reese's peanut butter cups. To quote my friend Chef David Lawrence who devised this creation... "Ri-dic-u-lous!" I can't think of a better way to describe this dense, peanut buttery goodness.
Reese's Peanut Butter Ice Cream - Recipe
Makes a scant 2 quarts
- 1½ cups whole milk
- 7 large eggs yolks
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1½ cups heavy cream, lightly whipped
- 1 cup mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, chopped
Heat the milk in a pan, and while it’s getting warm, beat together the sugar and egg yolks in the bowl of a freestanding mixer with a paddle attachment until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and falls back on itself in a ribbon, about 3 minutes. When the milk is just below the boil, slowly drizzle it into the egg mixture in a thin and continuous stream while whisking briskly so the egg is gradually warmed up. Return everything to the saucepan and cook while stirring with a wooden spoon. Make sure that you are constantly scraping the spoon across the bottom of the pan so the custard does not scorch. The custard is done when it has thickened slightly and can evenly coat the back of the spoon and when you run your finger along the back of the spoon and it holds the “line.” Don’t let the mixture come to a boil, or it may curdle.
Strain the custard into a metal bowl through a fine sieve to remove any bits of egg and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla. Nestle the bowl of custard into a large bowl of ice water to cool more quickly. I do this because I’m incredibly impatient, but you could just put the whole thing in the fridge to cool completely. Lightly whip the cream until it holds a very soft peak and fold into the cooled custard. Continue stirring occasionally until mixture is cold, about 20 minutes.
Transfer the custard to an ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. When the ice cream is almost finished churning add in the chopped peanut butter cups. Put the finished ice cream in a storage container and freeze until firm.
Photo Credit: Chef David Lawrence
