Nutterbuddy Ice Cream

Heat the cream and corn syrup: Cook the cream, corn syrup, and salt in a small pot over medium-high heat until the cream begins to simmer, stirring to dissolve the corn syrup. Remove the cream from the heat and set aside in a warm place. Place the butter near the stove.

Caramelize the sugar: Place the sugar and water in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, and stir gently. Place the pot over medium-high heat, and use a moist pastry brush dipped in clean water to wash down stray sugar crystals so they dissolve in the boiling sugar. Continue cooking, washing down any crystals, until the sugar reaches a medium amber. Dip a piece of white paper in the caramel to test the color.

Mix the cream into the caramel: When you have reached caramel color, immediately remove the pot from heat, and stir in the butter to stop the cooking. Add the warm cream bit by bit, being careful as it will sputter. Add the vanilla and stir. If there are any lumps of unmelted caramel, continue cooking the sauce at a low simmer until smooth and even.

Prepare the caramel sauce as an add-in: Strain the caramel sauce through a fine-mesh sieve, then transfer the warm caramel to a container and let it cool in the refrigerator. Once cool, cover tightly. This will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator. To add the caramel to ice cream, stir it vigorously until it is fluid enough to drizzle into freshly churned ice cream.

Melt the peanut butter, chocolate, and oil: Place the peanut butter, milk chocolate, and coconut oil in a large mixing bowl. Find a pot with a mouth a few inches smaller than the bowl, fill it with 2 inches of water, and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, then set the mixing bowl on top. Melt the peanut butter mixture, stirring occasionally, until evenly mixed.

Mix in the solids: Set the mixing bowl on a towel to wipe away any moisture from the bottom. Stir in the fuilletine, cacao nibs, and salt.

Chill the mixture: Line a sheet pan with parchment paper, and scatter the peanut butter mixture in an even layer. Place in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes, until it is semi-firm. Break up the mixture into individual bites by tossing it with your hands.

Freeze and store: Transfer the pan to the freezer for 1 hour, or up to 24 hours. When the crumbled Nutterbuddy Crunch is completely frozen, loosely pack it into an airtight container to keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.

Prepare an ice bath: Fill a large bowl two-thirds of the way with very icy ice water and place it in the refrigerator.

If using commercial stabilizer, mix with sugar before proceeding. Boil the dairy and sugars: Put the cream, milk, corn syrup, and sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, and place it over medium-high heat. Cook, whisking occasionally to discourage the milk from scorching, until the mixture comes to a full rolling boil, then remove the pot from heat.

Infuse the vanilla: Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and use the tip of a paring knife to scrape the seeds from the pod. Stir both the vanilla seeds and the pod into the hot dairy, and allow the vanilla bean to infuse for 30 minutes. (If using vanilla extract, wait to add it to the cooled ice cream base or the flavor will disappear during cooking.)

Remove the vanilla and reheat: Remove and discard the empty vanilla pod. Reheat the dairy over medium-high heat. If using cornstarch and milk as texture agent, whisk into vanilla flavored dairy just as the mixture is beginning to come to a boil. Cook 1 minute more, until the liquid comes to a full rolling boil, then remove from the heat.

Temper the yolks and cook the custard: In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks. Add ½ cup of the hot dairy mixture to the yolks while whisking so the hot milk doesn’t scramble the yolks. Pour the tempered yolks back into the pot of hot milk while whisking. Place the pot over medium-low heat and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot constantly with a rubber spatula to avoid curdling.

Chill: When you notice the custard thickening, or the temperature reaches 180°F on a kitchen thermometer, immediately pour the custard into a shallow metal or glass bowl. If using tapioca starch and milk as your texture agent, whisk into custard base. Nest the hot bowl into the ice bath, stirring occasionally until it cools down. If using guar or xanthan gum as your texture agent, add to custard base and whirl in a blender until smooth.

Strain: When the custard is cool to the touch (50°F or below), strain it through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any bits of egg yolk. (This step is optional, but will help ensure the smoothest ice cream possible.)

Cure: Transfer the cooled base to the refrigerator to cure for 4 hours, or preferably overnight. (This step is also optional, but the texture will be much improved with it.)

Churn: Place the base into the bowl of an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The ice cream is ready when it thickens into the texture of soft-serve ice cream and holds its shape, typically 20 to 30 minutes.

Chill the container: Place a storage container in the freezer; you’ll want it very cold before you fill it.

Layer the ice cream with the add-ins: Remove the container from the freezer, drizzle a couple spoonfuls of the ribbon over the bottom. Spread one-third of the just-churned ice cream in the container. Drizzle one-third of the ribbon over the ice cream. Repeat this layering two more times. Plunge a spatula through the layers four or five times to distribute the ribbon. (If mixing in multiple ribbons, simply add both or all of the ribbons at the same time, with the same method described above.)

Freeze: Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the ice cream, cover the container with a lid, and place it in your freezer for 4 to 12 hours, until completely firm.