Does anyone else think of the "Tiiiiiiin...Roof!  Rusted." line from "Love Shack" when you see this ice cream at the store?  Just me?  Oh well.

When it comes to ice cream at home, we usually have a stash of Ben & Jerry's or Haagen-Dazs pints in the freezer.  This past year, however, I've been trying to keep the food bill down, so I started buying Turkey Hill's Tin Roof Sundae ice cream for our occasional dessert treat.  It's not B&J's Chocolate Fudge Brownie, but it's actually quite good...with a nice ribbon of fudge and a hit of salty from the peanuts.

After the roaring success of my Coffee Ice Cream, I bought myself a copy of "The Perfect Scoop" by David Lebovitz to continue with my ice cream adventures.  I never would have thought to make homemade Tin Roof ice cream, but there it was!  I couldn't resist...

Honestly, I think this is one of my favorite things EVER to be featured on Suzy's Goodies.  Incredibly smooth and creamy with the perfect mix of rich fudge and salty peanuts.  JD said I out-did myself.  I must agree.  I'm also going to add the fudge ripple to almost anything that comes out of my ice cream maker...if I don't guzzle it straight first.

Tin Roof Sundae Ice Cream
adapted from The Perfect Scoop

Custard:
3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Fudge Ripple:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate-Covered Peanuts:
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup roasted, lightly salted peanuts

Make Custard:  Combine the milk, sugar, salt and 1/2 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring, until hot and steamy but not boiling.  Add the vanilla bean paste, stir and remove from heat.  Cover, and let steep for 30 minutes.

Place remaining cup of cream in medium bowl set in an ice water bath.  Beat egg yolks in another bowl.  Return the saucepan to medium heat and again cook, stirring, until hot and steamy.  Slowly pour hot milk mixture into egg yolks, whisking constantly so the eggs do not scramble.  Pour egg yolk/milk mixture back into the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until custard thickens and coats the back of a spatula (run your finger across the spatula and it should leave a clear path).  Pour custard through a fine-mesh strainer into the bowl of cream and stir until cool.  Stir in vanilla extract.  Chill, tightly covered, in fridge until very cold.

Make Fudge Ripple:  Combine sugar, corn syrup, water, and cocoa powder in small saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it starts to boil.  Keep at a low boil, whisking, for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.  Let cool, then cover and chill in fridge until very cold.

Make Chocolate-Covered Peanuts:  Line dinner plate with plastic wrap.  Place chocolate in dry microwave-safe bowl.  Heat chocolate in microwave, stirring every 15-30 seconds, until melted.  Add peanuts and stir until evenly coated.  Pour onto plastic-lined plate and spread out in an even layer.  Chill in fridge until cool, then break into bite-sized pieces.

Make the ice cream:  Churn custard in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.  When finished, fold in chocolate-covered peanuts.  Layer ice cream in storage container with spoonfuls of the fudge ripple (you probably won't use it all).  Don't stir or you won't get the "ribbon" effect.  Cover tightly and freeze until firm.  

Sometimes you just want something indulgent.  Chocolate, butter, toffee, butter, shortbread, butter...I think it's safe to call these bars indulgent.  Three layers of goodness to satisfy any craving.  Make these and you will find yourself with lots of new friends.  Or enemies, if you decide to eat them all yourself.

Chocolate Toffee Bars
adapted from Cookies and Cups

Crust:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 1/2 cups crushed shortbread cookies (I used LornaDoone cookies)
3/4 cup toffee bits (my store was out, so I used chopped up Heath bars)

Middle Layer:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon butter

Top Layer:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust, combine melted butter, shortbread cookie crumbs and 3/4 cup toffee bits in a 9" x 13" pan.  Press evenly into the bottom of the pan.  Bake crust for 10 minutes, then remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

While the crust is baking, make the top layer:  Beat butter and sugars until smooth.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.  Add flour, salt and baking soda and stir until just combined.  Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips and and 1 cup toffee bits.  Set aside.

Now make the middle layer:  Combine chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, sweetened condensed milk, and butter in a saucepan.  Heat over low heat until melted, stirring frequently.

Pour the middle layer over the crust and spread evenly.  Drop spoonfuls of the top layer evenly over the top.

Bake 25-30 minutes, or until top layer is set.  Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

While searching for a chocolate dessert recipe for the holidays, this one caught my eye.  I had never thought of making homemade pudding before...how good could pudding be?  Would it be worth the effort?

In a word, yes.  In several words, OH MY GOD yes.

JD and his mom are not fans of dark chocolate, so I was the only one partaking on Christmas Day.  I took one spoonful and nearly lost my mind.  JD and his mom started looking at me strangely, until finally JD asked if they should leave the room so I could be alone with the pudding.  Ha ha.  Maybe.

Seriously, this is so rich, so creamy, so smooth, it is pure sin in a bowl.

Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding
adapted from MyRecipes.com

4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped (I used Ghiradelli)

And for the whipped cream:
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with the sugar and salt and beat until well blended.

Heat milk and 1 cup heavy cream in medium saucepan over medium heat until hot.

Gradually pour the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.  Again, make sure you do this gradually, and keep whisking!  You don't want the yolks to scramble on you.

Pour mixture back into saucepan, and heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly.  I used a heat-proof silicone spatula.  Cook until thickened and coats the back of a spoon and reaches around 180 degrees.  The recipe says this should take 5 minutes, but for me tThis took me about 10 minutes.

Remove saucepan from heat and add chopped chocolate.  Let sit for 10 minutes to let the chocolate melt.

Whisk mixture until smooth.  Pour into bowl and put a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the pudding so you don't get pudding skin...ewwww.  Chill at least 3 hours.

When ready to serve, make the whipped cream:

Beat 1/2 cup heavy cream with 2 teaspoons sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form.  Serve with the pudding.

This turned out thicker than most pudding I am used to...don't know if that's how homemade pudding is, or if maybe I cooked it too long.  Didn't matter.  I'll make this again in a heartbeat.

Ready for something incredibly rich, decadent, and sinful? Yes, please. Want it to feature one of the universe's best combinations...chocolate and peanut butter? Gimme. Take a look at these...

I am making myself sick on them right now. You need to make these. Trust me. You will thank me later.

Crispy Peanut Butter Bars
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Crust:
1 3/4 cups crispy rice cereal
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Peanut Butter Layer:
5 ounces good quality semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup creamy peanut butter

Dark Chocolate Icing:
3 ounces good quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon light corn syrup
4 tablespoons butter

Spray an 8" square pan with non-stick spray.

Put the crispy rice cereal in a large bowl.

Put 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Carefully add 1/4 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons corn syrup. Be careful not to let the sugar or syrup get on the sides of the pan. Gently stir with a wooden spoon. Cook over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Continue to cook, without stirring, until it reaches 235 degrees. Remove from heat and stir in melted butter and baking soda.

Pour over the cereal and mix well until the cereal is evenly coated, then pour into the prepared pan. Use a buttered rubber spatula to press cereal evenly to the bottom of the pan. Set aside to cool at room temperature.

In medium bowl, combine the semi-sweet chocolate and peanut butter. Heat in microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until melted.

Stir to combine and pour over the cereal in the pan. Place in refrigerator for 1 hour.

In small bowl, combine the dark chocolate, corn syrup and butter. Heat in microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until melted. Stir to combine and pour over peanut butter layer in pan. Tilt pan to evenly cover the peanut butter layer. Place in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Cut into 16 squares. Store tightly covered in refrigerator.

Our good friend Barry is a wonderful cook and the official chef of most of our neighborhood parties.  He splurged and bought a Big Green Egg last year, and we reaped the benefits of that purchase all summer long.  I think houses in our neighborhood should get a 10-20% bump in price, just for the privilege of having Barry down the street.

This recipe is a neighborhood favorite.  Whenever Barry makes it, we all start singing "Barry's great!  He made us chocolate cake!" like that old Bill Cosby routine.  So when Bridget at Bake at 350 announced that Chocolate was the theme for February, this was the first recipe to come to mind, and Barry was kind enough to share.

Barry's Chocolate Cake

Cake:
1 box devil's food cake mix
1 3.9 oz package instant chocolate pudding
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup warm brewed coffee
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Ganache:
8 oz semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a Bundt cake pan.

Mix together the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, oil and coffee; beat for one minute. 

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. 

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour into prepared pan and bake 45-50 minutes.  Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

Prepare ganache:  Place chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl.  Heat the cream to a simmer, then pour over chocolate.  Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk until smooth.

Pour over cake.  Enjoy.

If you would like to move to my neighborhood and meet Barry, let me know.  You won't regret it.

Check out all the other Flavor of the Month chocolate recipes at Bake at 350!

These are soooooo good. I blame my good friend Amy for these. She made them over the holidays and I have been obsessing ever since. Eating them feels as indulgent as eating raw cookie dough, plus they are so cute!

Buckeyes

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
24 oz (2 regular packages) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Beat peanut butter and butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and beat well. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until combined. Dough will be stiff.

Refrigerate until firm, then roll into 3/4" balls (any larger and they will be WAY too much for one bite!). Place on parchment paper on cookie sheets. Insert toothpicks into the top of each ball. Freeze approx 2 hours.

Melt chocolate chips over double boiler or in microwave. Dip each ball into chocolate, covering 3/4 of the ball. Return to wax paper on cookie sheets and chill until chocolate is firm. Store in refrigerator in covered container.

Try not to make yourself sick eating these. Or at least, hide the discarded toothpicks so no one knows how many you have eaten.