I'm Elyse. Some of my most vivid and cherished memories are around a table with friends and family, and I want that for you, too.
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I can’t be the only one who likes a chilly dessert on a chilly day. Right? Don’t get me wrong, hot chocolate or a cookie fresh from the oven can be perfect, but if we’re being honest—after a busy day, my dessert options mostly look like a few spoonfuls of ice cream straight from the freezer. Enter this peppermint chocolate chunk ice cream.
This homemade ice cream has a silky and rich custard base, which is offset by the cooling, refreshing peppermint. We achieve that punch of peppermint flavor in two ways: peppermint extract and candy canes. The candy canes are pulling double duty here, for both flavor and color. By mixing the crushed candy in while the custard is still warm, they melt into the base, giving us that beautiful pink color we associate with peppermint ice cream.
Finally, in my traditional ‘more is more’ fashion, we are adding chopped dark chocolate. This not only adds a different texture, but the hint of bitterness is a great contrast to the decided sweet and icy cream. I don’t normally ask you to fuss over the type of chocolate you use, but for this, use a decent quality dark chocolate bar—definitely not chips. The chips get impossibly hard in the freezer, and we are not here to break teeth.
This ice cream is great eaten straight out of the freezer but also makes an insane sundae. Simply add some hot fudge and maybe some marshmallows and you are set. No matter how you spin it, I hope you enjoy!
Are you looking for other chilly treats? Take a look at these:
This peppermint ice cream is sweet, minty, and studded with tons of dark chocolate chunks.
Ingredients
Scale
1C whole milk
3/4C granulated sugar
pinch of salt
5 egg yolks
2C heavy cream
2t peppermint extract
1/4C candy canes, smashed
1/2C dark chocolate, chopped
Instructions
Combine the milk, sugar, and salt in a saucepan until heated through.
Add the egg yolks to a medium-sized bowl. Now, temper the egg yolks by adding some of the heated milk to the bowl, about 1/3 of the mixture, and whisk continuously.
Pour the milky yolks back into the saucepan and continue stirring until thickened, coating the back of the spoon. Run a finger down the spoon and if the trail holds, you’re ready! You’ve got custard bay-be!
Add the heavy cream and custard to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the peppermint extract and smashed candy canes and continue whisking until the mixture turns pink from the candy canes.
Saran wrap the bowl, pressing the plastic directly onto the cream. Refrigerate overnight.
Pour the mixture into the ice cream machine and use as directed. Near the end of the mixing process, add the chopped chocolate.
Spoon the ice cream into a loaf pan or other large container, saran wrap it, and pop in the freezer for at least 4 hours, but I tend to let it set up overnight.