Brownie Fudge Ripple Ice Cream

This time last summer we were living in China. If you would have told me then that a year later we would be living in Chicago, I might have laughed at you. Then again, you could almost say that about everywhere we have been/have lived for the past 4 summers. To say that life has been unpredictable is a bit of an understatement.

So here I sit. 37 weeks pregnant, living in Chicago, and rejoicing that I have once again been reunited with my ice cream maker  (just like I did when I made this and this).

This ice cream came about because of 2 almost unbelievable words. Leftover. Brownies. What kind of a person has leftover brownies?! As crazy as it sounds, I did indeed have a few brownies left over in a pan that were just a day or so away from becoming stale. Not wanting to be wasteful, I decided I must use them to make ice cream. The fudge ripple just seemed like a natural addition to round out the entire ice cream experience.

For the ice cream base I went with a Philadelphia style vanilla. Philadelphia style ice cream does not have a custard (egg) base. The milk and cream are simply heated together with the sugar and then chilled until churning. It’s slightly easier than custard style ice cream. Some people think you lose some of the rich, creaminess that the custard provides while others swear they can taste the egg in custard ice cream and therefor prefer Philadelphia style. Me, I can go either way. I like custard. I like Philadelphia style. Custard is probably a touch richer, but Philadelphia style is still creamy and delicious. Can you really go wrong with homemade ice cream? I don’t think so.

Brownie Fudge Ripple Ice Cream

Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk (no less than 2%)
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean split in half (I omitted this time because mine had not yet arrived in the mail!)
1 recipe Fudge Ripple (recipe below)
1 cup brownies chopped into bite size chunks, I used leftovers from this recipe

Directions
In a medium saucepan, stir together 1 cup of heavy cream and sugar. Scrape vanilla bean seeds into the mixture and then add the pod. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add the rest of the heavy cream, milk, and vanilla extract. Place the mixture in the coldest part of your fridge and chill thoroughly, I would recommend at least 4 hours.

After chilling, remove the vanilla bean pod and churn in your ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions.

After churning, spread 2-3 tablespoons of fudge ripple sauce over the bottom of your desired storage container*. Add several dollops of ice cream and smooth over the fudge ripple, careful not to stir the fudge into the ice cream. Sprinkle with brownies and press into the ice cream. Drizzle with several tablespoons of fudge ripple. Add more ice cream and repeat process until you have used all of the ice cream and brownie chunks and most of the fudge ripple. Press plastic wrap into the top of the ice cream, put on the lid and allow to freeze for several hours before serving.

*I use a glass Pyrex container. I also like to put it in the freezer for about an hour before I start layer the ice cream/fudge. I can’t say for sure if it makes it easier, but in my mind it seems like it would.

Source:the Perfect Scoop

Fudge Ripple

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
6 Tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
In a medium sauce pan, whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cocoa powder. Continue whisking and heat over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the edges start to bubble. Continue whisking as the mixture comes to a low boil and then cook for an additional minute. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Allow to cool to room temperature and then chill in the refrigerator until ready to use. Make sure it is very cold when you are ready to use it!