Tessa's Recipe Rundown
Taste: If you are a chocoholic who loves chocolate + peanut butter you’re going to die over this ice cream.
Texture: Ultra smooth and creamy with chunks of chewy brownie and swirls of thick and rich peanut butter fudge swirl.
Ease: This is a super easy ice cream with no eggs or cooking. The peanut butter swirl is just a matter of cooking ingredients in a saucepan and if you already have the brownies made, this comes together surprisingly easily.
Appearance: Bliss in a scoop.
Pros: One of my all-time favorite ice cream flavors (and I literally wrote a book on the subject).
Cons: Not even a little bit diet-friendly.
Would I make this again? Absolutely YES.
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I am so not a vanilla ice cream kind of person. Chocolate ALL THE WAY. You know what else I must have in my ice cream? Texture.
I don’t like eating things that never actually require you to bite down, such as pudding or bananas. It makes me feel like a baby. Is that super weird? I like those things as long as there’s some kind of crunch or bite involved.
I happen to adore brownies in my ice cream, the chewy yet creamy texture and double chocolate flavor combination makes me so happy. Just ask Jared, whenever we go out for ice cream chocolate + brownie is my typical combination. So when I had a batch of brownies that I needed to use up, I thought ice cream would be the best way. Then I thought, why not add peanut butter and even more texture? I honestly don’t know how I have never made this ice cream before. It has everything I absolutely love in a dessert… it’s dessert perfection for me. Hopefully it will be for you to, you’ll have to make it to find out!
Typically I much prefer custard-style homemade ice cream that involves cooking an egg mixture for an ultra thick, luscious, and rich result. However, since this ice cream has so much flavor and texture added in, I felt a simple egg-free no-cook chocolate ice cream would work perfectly. The best part is that you can make the brownies ahead of time (I used my all-time favorite Ultimate Brownie recipe), the peanut butter fudge swirl ahead of time, and even the ice cream mixture ahead of time. If you really wanted to save time, you could use box mix or store-bought brownies.
I used my beloved Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker for this recipe. Whenever you’re making ice cream, you want to make sure that the ice cream freezer bowl is COMPLETELY frozen solid and that the ice cream mixture itself is very well chilled. If anything is too warm, you’ll end up with soup instead of ice cream. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you could use this machine-free method, though I feel a machine always provides the smoothest, creamiest texture.
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Ingredients
Peanut butter fudge swirl:
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup (3 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the ice cream:
- 1 cup cocoa powder, sifted
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 1/3 cups whole milk
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups brownie chunks
Instructions
To make the fudge swirl:
- Heat the cream, butter, and sugars in a small saucepan over low heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the sugar dissolves, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter and chocolate chips. Let stand for 4 to 5 minutes before stirring completely smooth. Stir in the salt and vanilla. Let the mixture cool to room temperature before using. Fudge swirl can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before using.
For the ice cream:
- In a medium bowl, whisk the cocoa, sugars, and salt. Add in the milk and using a hand mixer on low speed, beat to combine so everything is fully dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream, and vanilla. If mixture is very cold, move onto churning in the ice cream maker. If not, refrigerate, covered, until well chilled, 2 hours or overnight.
- Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. In the last five minutes of churning, add in the brownie chunks. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container in batches, spooning the fudge swirl in between layers of ice cream in a swirled pattern. Press plastic wrap against the surface of the ice cream and freeze until it is firm, about 3 hours, before serving. If the ice cream becomes too frozen to easily scoop, let it stand at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before scooping.
Phenomenal!
The ice cream itself is pretty easy to make and has a great chocolate flavor. I like the flavor the peanut butter fudge ripple adds to it, too. I would recommend adding brownies that don’t have chocolate chips added because they are hard when frozen. Will definitely make again!
Tessa, this ice cream looks HEAVENLY. Right up my alley! Definitely making this very soon! : )
yummy! made with perfection but i wish i would make it at home
I-WANT-THAT-RIGHT-NOW!!! why isnt technology so advanced that i get to taste this virtually.. im drooling over the ice cream right now..
This is ice cream perfection!!!
WOW, I need this ice cream in my life STAT!
This ice cream looks incredible! Love the chocolate and peanut butter combo!
Are you serious? Surely you can’t be. This is too good to be true!!!!!
Oh my goodness! This looks SO good and the addition of the peanut butter must just take it over the top! Now I need an ice cream maker…!