Vanilla Peanut Butter Chunk + Chocolate Crunch Ice Cream

Last night I posted a sneak peek photo of this recipe.  Holy cow did you guys + gals ever respond with excitement.  

Apparently you all like ice cream.  Apparently I need to post more ice cream recipes.

I can get down with that.

Ice cream is definitely up there on my list of favorite desserts.  As are super chewy cookies.

The husband is a huge fan of anything PB + Chocolate, which I probably mention every single time I make a recipe with peanut butter.  Oops.

Anyway.

I wanted to make a peanut butter chocolate ice cream recipe, but I also wanted to bring something new to the table.  Instead of peanut butter ice cream, how about vanilla bean ice cream WITH chewy peanut butter chunks??

I'm not sure how much I like the word chunk but there's no better way to describe it.

I made homemade peanut butter, froze it in a slab, cut it into pieces, and threw the pieces in the ice cream.

As you're rapidly spooning bites into your mouth you hit pockets of PEANUT BUTTER chewiness along the way.  Possibly better than cookie dough.

Don't think I forgot about the chocolate.

Just before the ice cream was finished spinning I streamed melted--but cooled--chocolate into the mixture.  This created ribbons of hardened chocolate throughout the ice cream.  So with each and every bite of ice cream you'll have a little chocolate crunch.

But if those two things weren't enough I obviously infused the base ice cream mixture with vanilla beans.  And for sweetness I chose coconut sugar [an unrefined sugar] which adds a hint of caramel-like flavor.  

Mix it all together and here is the end result!

And I almost forgot!  Coconut milk makes this dairy free + vegan and incredibly simple to make.

Look at those peanut butter chunks!!!

A trick for photographing ice cream:Freeze the ice cream after making it to harden up a bit more.  Then, make your ice cream scoops and freeze the scoops on parchment on a pan for another 30min or so.  This will help keep the scoops a bit more formed.

But eventually they start to melt.

Print this!

adapted from: Oh, Ladycakes

Vanilla Peanut Butter Chunk + Chocolate Crunch Ice Cream

gluten-free, vegan // yields 6 servings

For the ice cream mixture:

• 2 cans full-fat coconut milk, ~3 1/3 cups - 13.6oz cans
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

For the chocolate crunch:

• 3/4 cup vegan dark chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon unrefined coconut oil

For the peanut butter chunks:

• 1/3 cup homemade peanut butter
• 1/4 cup ground dry roasted peanuts
• 1/2 tablespoon pure maple syrup

*Freeze your ice cream maker bowl for a full 24hrs.

1. Whisk the coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla beans [~1/4+ teaspoon] in a large pot over medium heat, then add the scraped vanilla bean pod.
2. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, whisking frequently as it heats, then pour into a heat-safe bowl.
3. Refrigerate until fully chilled, or add ice into a larger bowl [about 1/2 full] and place the ice cream mixture bowl into it until fully chilled, whisking every so often to accelerate the chilling.  Avoid getting any of the ice/water into the mixture.  Add more ice/drain water as needed.  
4. Mix the peanut butter, ground peanuts, and maple syrup together.  Freeze for 5-10 minutes to help thicken.  Flatten in between two pieces of parchment until it's just under 1/4-inch thick.  Slide the parchment onto the pan and freeze for 1 hour.  Remove and cut into small pieces about 1/4x1/4-inch.  Place back in the freezer.  The PB chunks will not fully harden.
5. Melt the chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave for 30 second increments, stirring each time until fully melted and smooth.  Or, use a double boiler for this process.
6. Let cool on the counter.  It should still be pourable.  *Be sure to make this about 1/2 way through the ice cream mixture chilling so it has ample time to cool on the counter.
7. Pour the chilled ice cream mixture into your ice cream maker and turn on.  When your ice cream starts to freeze and collect on the mixer, but is still moving smoothly [about 20min for mine], stream the melted + cooled chocolate into the ice cream.  
8. Scoop about 1/4 of the ice cream into a glass container, then evenly distribute about 1/4 of the peanut butter chunks.  Repeat 4 times, packing down the ice cream as you go.  
9. Serve immediately [it will be like soft serve at this point] or freeze in an airtight container with a piece of plastic wrap touching the top surface of the ice cream [helps prevent freezer burn].  

notes/substitutions: If using store bought peanut butter, go for the natural, drippy kind and sub that in for homemade.  I'm not sure if the stabilized peanut butter will freeze as well, but it might.  Coconut sugar adds caramel notes to the base flavor of the ice cream.  Sucanat would be a great substitute, but pure cane sugar will also work.  Add 3/4 cup sugar if you like your ice cream on the sweeter side.

For the homemade peanut butter:

• 2 1/2 cups dry roasted, unsalted peanuts
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 - 1 tablespoons maple syrup, optional

1. Place peanuts + salt in your food processor [11 cup capacity works well with 2 1/2 cups peanuts] for about 30 seconds until well ground.
2. Measure out 1/4 cup of the ground peanuts for the PB chunk recipe above.
3. Continue to process until drippy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. ~10 minutes in total.
4. Remove 1/3 cup peanut butter for the PB chunks and then add 1/2 tablespoon of pure maple syrup to your processor.
5. Continue to process until smooth, then taste and adjust salt/maple syrup if needed.
6. Let cool, then store the peanut butter in a jar at room temp for a few weeks or in the fridge for a few months.

No worries on the melting, though.  Ice cream soup is the best part.

Ashley

strawberry rhubarb buttermilk upside-down cake

Oh, hi!

Hello!

Weird.  Looks like we actually have a recipe today.  Unlike what I made yesterday and a recipe I made last week that never made it to this space. 

When you make a recipe and have to taste test it 15 times to figure out if it’s just “okay” or “really good” that probably means it’s just “okay.”

When you make a recipe and “taste test” 15 bites because you just can’t stop, what you have is definitely “really good.”

You with me?

After 2 recent flops I was on pins + needles waiting for this cake to bake.  I thought it was going to be a disaster from the start.  Way to be optimistic, huh?

The idea sounded doable but I wasn’t really sure how much fruit to put in the pan, how liquefied it would end up, and then if the cake would actually bake on top of it.

SO MANY UNKNOWNS. 

I cooked the fruit + sugar mixture and it was way juicier than I was thinking it should be, but I kept on with the plan.

I poured the batter overtop and thought, that doesn’t look like enough.  Ahh!  But in the oven it went.

I turned the oven light on about 10 times to check the progress.  When I saw the filling bubble around the sides I thought this cake was done for.  I figured the batter + filling fully mixed together and there would just be a slight crusty layer of cake.

And then the cake was done.  The toothpick told me so!

And then came the next question.  Do I flip this sucker out of the pan for a true upside-down cake, or do I just slice + serve straight from the pan.

I decided to take my chances even though I knew there was no 2nd trial in the future if this didn’t work.  I was out of strawberries and didn’t have our car to run out for more.

The plate covered the pan, then a quick flip, and…nothing.  No cake!

But after about 10 seconds I heard a nice “thud!”

It came out!  In one piece!  But how did it taste??  Cakes are tricky because you kind of need to wait for the photo shoot to be complete before giving it a taste test.

Or, you can chow down on one side of the cake and hide it from the photos as seen below.  This is the side you can’t see 2 photos up!

And this is when I realized after the 15th “taste test” that this cake was “really good!” 

As in, I could not stop eating it.

Photo.  Bite.  Photo.  Bite.

Totally edible.

With a tangy fruit topping, a lightly sweetened cake, and a hint of vanilla, this is my dream summer dessert.  A little bit of all the things I love!

Note: This cake is not a light + fluffy cake.  It’s quite thick but moist and holds up well to the gooey fruit topping.

Print this!

Strawberry Rhubarb Buttermilk Upside-down Cake

gluten-free // yields 1, 10-inch cake

Rhubarb Mixture:

• 1 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb, 1/4-inch slices
• 1 1/2 cups quartered strawberries, hulled
• 1/4 cup muscovado sugar, lightly packed
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons arrowroot starch
• 1 vanilla bean pod, seeds scraped + reserved for cake

Cake:

• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons gluten-free oat flour
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons blanched almond flour
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons muscovado sugar, lightly packed
• 1/3 cup sweet rice flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted + slightly cooled
• beans from 1 vanilla bean pod, ~1/4 teaspoon

*Have all cake ingredients out + ready to go, so you can whip up the cake while the rhubarb mixture cools.

1. Heat butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. 
2. Once melted, swirl butter around the sides of the pan.
3. Add the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, honey, starch, and empty vanilla bean pod.
4. Stir together and let simmer/low-boil for 8-10 minutes until the fruit is very tender.  Stir a few times while cooking. The mixture will be very wet.  [refer to photo 2]
5. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10-12 minutes.
6. Preheat your oven to 350* F.
7. In a large bowl, stir to combine the oat flour, almond flour, sugar, sweet rice flour, baking powder, + salt.
8. In another bowl whisk the eggs and then vigorously whisk in the buttermilk, applesauce, melted butter, and vanilla beans. 
9. Pour the wet into the dry and whisk together until just combined. 
10. Pour evenly overtop of the rhubarb mixture and lightly spread to the edges if needed.
11. Bake for 25-30 minutes until set, cracked, and a toothpick comes out clean.  [refer to photo 3]Be careful not to poke all the way through to the gooey rhubarb mixture.
12. Let cool for 15-20 minutes and slide a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. 
13. Place a large plate upside-down over the pan then, holding the plate and pan together flip them so the plate is sitting on its bottom.  Give a light shake of the pan until you hear it fall onto the plate.  Mine took about 5-10 seconds to drop but it came out fully clean from the pan.
14. Let cool for at least 15 minutes for the topping to set/thicken + the cake to firm, then serve warm or fully cooled with whipped cream or a side of vanilla ice cream.

notes/substitutions:  Coconut oil can be subbed for butter and non-dairy buttermilk can be used instead of real buttermilk to make this dairy free.  Non-dairy buttermilk: Stir 1 teaspoon vinegar with 1/3 cup unsweetened soy/almond/rice milk and let sit for 5-10 minutes.  Brown sugar, sucanat, or coconut sugar can be substituted for muscovado.  If you don’t have vanilla beans, add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract to the rhubarb mixture and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract to the wet cake ingredients.  If you can’t tolerate oat flour, sub a high quality gluten-free all purpose blend for oat flour at a 1:1 ratio.

Recommendations for other pans: You could cook the fruit mixture in a skillet then transfer to a 10-inch, greased spring form pan and proceed with the recipe from there.  I can’t say for sure if a regular round cake pan will work.  You may want to line it with parchment to be safe.  If making in an 8-inch pan you’ll need to reduce the amount of fruit/sugar you use slightly and the cake bake time will increase.

Cake.  Win.

Ashley