Adventures with the Ice Cream Maker: Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

I have not bought any ice cream since getting my ice cream maker.  Homemade ice cream is just that good.  However, one of my favorite flavors of ice cream is Haagen Daaz Deep Chocolate Peanut Butter.  I thought this ice cream, from the wonderful and talented David Lebovitz, would be similar and boy was it goooood.  It was not exactly like the Haagen Daaz flavor, since the peanut butter was blended into the ice cream instead of in chunks, but it was still tasty. I am thinking about ways to boost the chocolate flavor a bit (the peanut butter is really strong), so if you have any ideas let me know.

Here is the recipe, from The Perfect Scoop:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• ½ cup smooth peanut butter

*The original recipe calls for 2 cups of half and half. Since I only had heavy cream, I used that and thinned it out with milk.

Recipe:

1. Whisk together the half and half, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan.  Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it comes to a full, rolling boil (it will start to foam up).  Remove from the heat and whisk in the peanut butter, stirring until thoroughly blended.
2. Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.