Chocolate Ice Cream with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

So, today is National Ice Cream Day. I don't know who needs an actual excuse to eat ice cream, but if you do there you go. I just gave you an excuse. Now, if you want an excuse to eat ice cream every day then here you go; July is National Ice Cream Month!!! I made David Lebowitz's Chocolate Ice Cream and added chopped Reese's peanut butter cups. The result turned out deelicious. The chocolate ice cream came out super smooth and very chocolaty. I'm seriously loving David Lebowitz The Perfect Scoop cookbook. It has such great recipes, and so far all the ones that I've tried have turned out wonderfully. So, here's to National Ice Cream Day and National Ice Cream Month. Now, go eat some ice cream! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 c. heavy cream
3 tbsp. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
5 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used 3/4c. semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1 c. whole milk
3/4 c. sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups chopped Reese's peanut butter cups (optional)

First, take a medium sauce-pan and warm the cream along with the cocoa powder, whisking thoroughly to blend the cocoa. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at low for about 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate. Stir until smooth. Then, stir in the remaining cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, and place a mesh strainer on top of the bowl. Set aside.

Clean out your saucepan, and then warm the milk, sugar, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Then, scrape the egg mixture back into the saucepan. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat, scraping the bottom as you stir. The mixture should thicken and eventually coat your spatula or wooden spoon. It literally took me 30 minutes of standing there stirring. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth. Then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the fridge. Once chilled, freeze it in your ice cream maker. My mixture came out pretty thick, so I had to whisk it vigorously to thin it out before adding it to my ice cream maker. Once the ice cream has formed; add in the chopped Reese's peanut butter cups. Pour into your air-tight container and freeze. Enjoy!