Peanut butter chocolate swirl ice cream
I may be late to the no churn party but now I’m here I’m not going anywhere; flicking the lights on and off, walk of shame, into it.
I do have an ice cream maker but rarely use it. Not that its complicated its just the forward planning that goes into it – making and chilling the ice cream mixture in advance as well as the bowl. The psychological can often be the biggest barrier sometimes. No churn ice cream in comparison feels far easier and friendlier somehow. As long as you have the right ingredients you can whip it up any time you fancy, which is the point of comfort food after all.
I’ve tried out a few recipes recently and after some trial and error I think I’m learning some of the do’s and don’ts to ensure you get a velvety smooth texture, a good set and super flavours to match. Here’s one of my favourites so far.
Peanut butter chocolate ice cream
This is such a treat. Rich peanut butter ice cream layered with intensely dark chocolate shavings and a smidge of Irish cream liqueur, to help everything along nicely. This will make enough to fill a one litre tub and should last 2-3 months in the freezer.
Ingredients
300ml double cream
½ tin condensed milk (just under 200g of the 397g tin)
90g finely chopped dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids or higher if you prefer)
30g chopped salted peanuts (for topping)
2 tbsp chunky peanut butter
4 tbsp smooth peanut butter
Pinch salt
2 tbsp of your favourite Irish cream liqueur
½ tsp cinnamon
Method for peanut butter chocolate ice cream
Chop the chocolate and peanuts separately and leave to one side.
Pour all of the ingredients into a mixer and whip until it is soft but thick and does not move when you lift up the whisk attachment. This will take between 3-5minutes.
Place a layer of chocolate shavings in the bottom of the airtight container.
Layer in the ice cream mixture, alternating with 2 layers of chocolate as you go. Once all of the ice cream mixture has been added, add a final layer of chocolate and the peanuts.
Put the lid on the container and freeze for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight before digging in.
Tips
Adding alcohol is a great way to make sure you get a soft set texture, as it freezes at a much lower temperature than the rest of the ingredients. It can be left out; it just won’t be as soft so you might need to wait a bit before scooping.
Jams, curds, spreads and sauces are excellent ingredients to use in no churn ice cream. They help give maximum flavour without adding too much extra liquid. Initially I tried pureeing fruit and adding that but found that it just water logged the cream and when frozen, although very tasty, had quite a few ice crystals, which you don’t want.
Concentrated milk and caramel are fab ingredients to use as a base for ice cream in addition to your flavourings.
Chocolate is not a social creature. By that I mean, I tried a few times to make chocolate ice cream and after quite a few curdled attempts, I learnt that it just doesn’t like to be whipped into the cream like other ingredients. To get round this, like in the peanut butter ice cream, I decided to incorporate chopped chocolate instead which works very well. Cocoa powder, hazelnut spread, and other chocolate sauces work well too. Where there is greed there is always a solution.
Love peanut butter? Try my PB&J thumbprint cookies or my Vegan chocolate peanut butter scones. Looking for other indulgent chocolate recipes try my Double Chocolate Baked Doughnuts
Looking for some ice cream inspiration? Olive Magazine has some simple ice cream toppings recommendations that I think you’ll love.