Getting older is a gift.
And today, Clay is getting older. (Well, technically, we're all getting older today, but it's actually Clay's birthday.)
We celebrated last night by having four friends over for dinner. There was wine and salads and grilling and much laughter.
But there was also ice cream. And not just any ice cream. Homemade ice cream. With chocolate and peanut butter. From Jeni's.
What to say about this Buckeye State Ice Cream?
It's smooth and sweet. The peanut butter flavor is deeply rich and creamy, and perked up by occasional bits of salt. The chocolate is right at home. It's all immensely satisfying and indulgent.
It's....perfect.
Like birthdays, this ice cream is a gift.
More ice cream recipes you might like:
- Jeni's Salty Caramel
- Roasted Pineapple and Sage
- Beet Sorbet with Blackberry Ripple
- Tons of great and crazy ice cream flavor ideas from Bitten Word readers!
The Buckeye State Ice Cream
From Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home
Recipe by Jeni Britton Bauer
Purchase a copy of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home
Makes about 1 quart
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted natural peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (less if using saltier peanut butter)
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 tablespoons honey
4 ounces chocolate (55% to 70% cocoa), chopped
Prep
Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Whisk the cream cheese, peanut butter, and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.
Cook
Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar, corn syrup, and honey in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
Chill
Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture until smooth. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.
Freeze
Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister and begin to spin the ice cream.
Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a double broiler. Remove from the heat and let cool until tepid but still fluid. When the ice cream is thick and creamy and almost finished, drizzle the melted chocolate slowly through the opening in the top of the ice cream machine and allow it to solidify and break up in the ice cream for about 2 minutes.
Pack the ice cream into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.
