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Tin Roof Ice Cream

Source of Recipe

From "The Perfect Scoop" by David Lebovitz


Recipe Introduction

"Do you know how tin roof ice cream got its name? Neither do I. Nor does anyone else, it seems. I've tried my best to find out but have always come up empty-handed. I do know that it's one of my favorite ice cream combinations, and I've learned to be content with that. Tin roof sundaes are traditionally made of vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and a scattering of red-skinned Spanish peanuts. I couldn't resist using chocolate-covered peanuts instead and folding them into the ice cream, where they become embedded between layers of gooey fudge ripple."

List of Ingredients

◦ � cup whole milk
◦ � cup sugar
◦ Pinch of kosher or sea salt
◦ 1 � cups heavy cream
◦ � vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
◦ 4 large egg yolks
◦ � teaspoon pure vanilla extract
◦ � cup Chocolate-Covered Peanuts (recipe follows)
◦ Fudge Ripple (recipe follows)


Recipe

Warm the milk, sugar, salt, and � cup of the cream in a medium saucepan. With a sharp paring knife, scrape the flavorful seeds from the vanilla bean and add them, along with the pod, to the hot milk mixture. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Rewarm the vanilla-infused mixture. Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks into the saucepan. Stir the mixture constantly with a heatproof spatula over medium heat, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.

Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream to cool. Remove the vanilla bean, wipe it clean of any egg bits, and add it back to the custard. Add the vanilla extract and stir over an ice bath until cool. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.

When you're ready to churn the ice cream, remove the vanilla bean (it can be rinsed and reused). Freeze the ice cream in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. While the ice cream is freezing, chop the peanuts into bite-size pieces. Fold the peanut pieces into the just-churned ice cream and layer it with Fudge Ripple.

Makes about 1 � quarts





❧ Chocolate-Covered Peanuts:

"These easy-to-make peanuts will make you feel like a chocolatier assembling a world-class candy bar. If you're anything like me, you can't keep chocolate bars around the house without breaking off a hunk every time you pass by, so by all means double (or triple!) the recipe if you want, just to make sure there's enough for folding into the ice cream later on."

◦ 4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
◦ 1 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts

Stretch a piece of plastic wrap over a dinner plate. Put the chocolate in a clean, dry bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water and melt the chocolate, stirring until smooth.

Once the chocolate is melted, remove it from the heat and stir in the peanuts, coating them with the chocolate. Spread the mixture on the prepared plate and chill.

Mixing them in: Use a chef's knife to chop the chocolate-covered block of peanuts into bite-size pieces, then mix them into 1 quart of ice cream as you remove it from the machine.

Makes 1 � cups





❧ Fudge Ripple:

"This has the authentic taste and glossy sheen of old-fashioned fudge ripple. You can swirl it through any ice cream you like."

◦ � cup sugar
◦ ⅓ cup light corn syrup
◦ � cup water
◦ 6 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
◦ � teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture comes to a low boil. Continue to cook for 1 minute, whisking frequently.

Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let cool completely. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.

Mixing it in: The Fudge Ripple should be thoroughly chilled, as it's easiest to use when very cold. Just before you remove the ice cream from the machine, spoon some of the Fudge Ripple onto the bottom of the storage container. As you remove the ice cream from the machine, layer generous spoonfuls of the sauce between the layers of ice cream. Avoid stirring the layers, as it will make the ice cream muddy-looking.

Makes 1 cup





❧ Variation:
To make Mocha Ripple, substitute strongly brewed espresso for the water in the recipe, or stir in 1 tablespoon of best-quality instant or espresso coffee granules along with the vanilla.