Ice cream is one of the universally loved sweet treats. Be it chocolate, vanilla, strawberry or a combination, it is commonly enjoyed with or without any additions or toppings. A lot of ice cream recipes usually include a cooked custard base - rich, luxurious yolk custard, which makes the finished product creamy and smooth. The fat from the yolks helps the ice cream not freeze into an icy block, instead making it velvety and delightfully soft. This little gem of a frozen treat, however, does not require any yolks or cooking.
Peanut butter, with its unique and robust flavour, is a fantastic ingredient for homemade ice creams. They are usually soft, especially if served after only a few hours of freezing, and peanut butter acts almost like a thickener, giving the ice cream the much needed stability and denser texture. On its own, it is almost overpowering in flavour, but when mixed with whipped cream, it becomes lighter, mellower, and sweeter.
Rich flavour of the peanut butter, sweetness of the condensed milk, depth of dark chocolate, and silkiness of the whipped cream, mix perfectly with vanilla and the tiniest bit of salt, just to balance everything, and bring out the flavours. It is perfect to be enjoyed in small bites, with a miniature dessert spoon, following every bite with strong coffee, or cold milk. And if you really love peanut butter, you can melt a spoonful and drizzle it over each serving.
Ingredients
200 grams sweetened condensed milk, cold
200 ml double cream
100 grams creamy peanut butter
100 grams dark chocolate (at least 60%)
50 grams icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
⅛ teaspoon salt
Preparation
Melt the dark chocolate over low heat, or in the microwave, and set it aside so it can cool down slightly. Place the peanut butter into a large bowl, add in the cold sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and the salt, and blend well with a mixer. Add in the icing sugar, and blend well again. By then, the chocolate will be cooler and ready to be added. Slowly drizzle it into the peanut butter, in a thin stream, and mix on low, as to achieve the stracciatella effect, and set it aside.
Whip the double cream in a separate large bowl until stiff peaks form, and add it into the batter in a two additions. Do not use a mixer at this point, because it will deflate the batter, but gently fold the cream through, using a spatula. If a few streaks of the cream remain, it is fine, it does not need to be completely incorporated. Pour the batter into a freezer-safe container, cover tightly with a lid, and place it in the freezer for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Serve with some additional chocolate flakes, or more melted chocolate. Yields 600 ml of ice cream.