tin roof ice cream

as a kid, i almost always had black raspberry ice cream when we went out for cones in the summer. i loved the smoothness of it - i despised chunks as a kid and all those weird kid flavors, like bubble gum and cotton candy - and it was exotic enough at the time that the only place to get it (or so i thought) was when we went out for ice cream. in other words, it wasn't a usual treat.

as i've gotten older, while i still love a good black raspberry every once in a while, my ice cream cravings are dominated by "stuff." chocolate fudge swirls. peanut butter chunks. chocolate covered peanuts. the more stuff mixed into ice cream, the better.

which is why i love this ice cream: a rich, vanilla base, with swirls of chocolate and chunks of chocolate covered peanuts. it's one of my new favorites.

and since i made a whole batch of chocolate swirl and only used half in the ice cream (crazy, i know), it's essentially homemade chocolate syrup - only it tastes way better than the bottled stuff. i used it to top mint chocolate frozen yogurt and to make chocolate milk. it worked perfectly and can be stored in the refrigerator for a week or two.

tin roof ice cream
adapted from the perfect scoop
makes 1 quart

for the ice cream base:
3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean
4 egg yolks, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the fudge ripple & peanuts:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup water
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate covered peanuts, coarsely chopped

1. make the ice cream base. heat the milk in a sauce pan just until it simmers. split the vanilla bean and scrap the seeds into the milk. remove from heat, cover, and steep 30 minutes to 1 hour.
2. pour the heavy cream into a bowl (preferably a bowl with a pour spout). set a fine mesh strainer over the bowl and set aside.
3. remove the vanilla bean from the milk and reheat the milk just until it simmers.
4. in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. while whisking the eggs, slowly add a few tablespoons of the hot milk mixture. continue to add the hot milk to the eggs, whisking continuously, until at least half of the milk has been added. pour the egg milk mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk.
5. cook the mixture over low heat and stir continuously with a rubber spatula until it coats the back of the spatula. (when you feel the mixture start to thicken, it's done. my first attempt at this resulted in scrambled eggs, so be sure to watch them carefully. it took about 5 minutes for the mixture to thicken.) remove from heat and pour through the strainer into the heavy cream. add the vanilla extract, stir, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
6. while the base is chilling, make the fudge ripple. whisk the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cocoa in a medium saucepan. heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it boils. boil for one minute, remove from heat, and stir in vanilla. chill in the refrigerator before using.
7. when the ice cream base is chilled, process according to the directions of your ice cream maker. add the chopped chocolate covered peanuts in the last 30 seconds of churning, so they get mixed in.
8. once the ice cream is churned, add about 1/4 to the bottom of your container and roughly smooth out the top. drizzle with about 1/3 of the fudge ripple. continue layering the ice cream and fudge ripple, ending with ice cream.
9. cover and freeze until firm.