Silky smooth, rich, and creamy peanut butter ice cream with a delicious soft fudge ripple throughout. This is the stuff that dreams are made of, especially is you’re a fan of the peanut butter cup!
In a medium mixing bowl, beat the sugar into the eggs until thickened and pale yellow. Set aside.
In a heavy medium saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer. Slowly beat the hot milk into the egg and sugar mixture. Pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan, and place over low heat.
Cook, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens, and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Be careful not to let the mixture boil, or the eggs will scramble.
Remove from heat, and mix in the peanut butter until well incorporated. Pour the hot custard through a strainer into a large clean bowl. Allow the peanut butter custard to cool slightly, and stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate until cold or overnight.
Make fudge ripple:
Whisk the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cocoa powder together in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to bubble at the edges.
Continue to stir until the sauce just comes to a low boil. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla, and let cool. Chill in the refrigerator before using.
Making the ice cream:
Stir the chilled custard, then freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s directions. When finished, the ice cream will be soft but ready to eat.
The Fudge Ripple should be thoroughly chilled, as it will create icy spots if mixed into the ice cream while it’s warm.
In a freezer-safe storage container or a loaf pan, spoon in churned peanut butter ice cream, drizzle fudge sauce over the ice cream. Continue to alternate drizzles of spoonfuls of the fudge sauce between layers of peanut butter ice cream. Avoid stirring the Fudge Ripple into the ice cream, as it will make the ice cream muddy looking. Place the lid on the container or cover tightly with plastic wrap. Freeze at least 2 hours, or overnight so that ice cream will set up and firm up a bit more.
Garnish with chopped peanut butter cups if desired when serving.