Lab Station 01 Modernist Recipe Book
All recipes
Specimen photograph for Peanut Butter and Maple Ripple Ice Cream

Peanut Butter and Maple Ripple Ice Cream

Yield
~750 ml finished ice cream

October 13, 2026 · Version 1 · Dessert

Dense, smooth peanut butter custard ice cream with distinct dark maple ribbons. Use commercial smooth peanut butter for a predictable emulsion and pure dark or robust maple syrup for the ripple.

Preparation

Scaling basis: Whole milk · 300 g

PHASE A — HEAT THE DAIRY

Ingredient Uses

  • Whole milk

    Heat the custard base.

    Quantity
    300 g
    Scaling
    100.00%
  • Heavy cream

    Use approximately 35% fat cream.

    Quantity
    200 g
    Scaling
    66.67%
  • Caster sugar

    Dissolve in the dairy.

    Quantity
    35 g
    Scaling
    11.67%
  • Glucose syrup

    Dissolve in the dairy.

    Quantity
    35 g
    Scaling
    11.67%
  • Skim milk powder

    Whisk thoroughly to disperse.

    Quantity
    20 g
    Scaling
    6.67%
  • Salt

    Use fine sea salt.

    Quantity
    1.5 g
    Scaling
    0.50%

Method

  1. Combine the milk, cream, dairy sugar, glucose syrup, milk powder and base salt in a saucepan.
  2. Whisk thoroughly to disperse the powder, then heat gently to 70–75 C, stirring periodically.

PHASE B — COOK THE CUSTARD

Ingredient Uses

  • Egg yolk

    Whisk with the remaining sugar.

    Quantity
    70 g
    Scaling
    23.33%
  • Caster sugar

    Whisk with the yolks.

    Quantity
    35 g
    Scaling
    11.67%

Method

  1. Whisk the yolks with the yolk sugar until smooth.
  2. Slowly pour approximately one-third of the hot dairy into the yolks while whisking continuously, then return the tempered mixture to the saucepan.
  3. Cook over low to medium-low heat, stirring continuously with a silicone spatula, until the custard reaches 82–84 C and lightly coats the spatula. Do not boil; remove immediately from the heat.

PHASE C — EMULSIFY AND MATURE

Ingredient Uses

Method

  1. Add the peanut butter and optional vanilla to the hot custard.
  2. Blend for 30–60 s with an immersion blender or high-speed blender until smooth, glossy and emulsified. Avoid excessive aeration.
  3. Transfer to a clean container and chill rapidly over an ice bath until below 10 C.
  4. Cover and refrigerate for 8–24 h to mature the base.

PHASE D — REDUCE THE MAPLE RIPPLE

May overlap: PHASE C — EMULSIFY AND MATURE during refrigeration.

Ingredient Uses

  • Maple syrup

    Use pure dark or robust syrup.

    Quantity
    70 g
    Scaling
    23.33%
  • Salt

    Use 0.5–1 g fine sea salt to taste; start at 0.5 g.

    Quantity
    As needed
    Scaling
    —

Method

  1. Combine the syrup and ripple salt in a small saucepan; bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat.
  2. Reduce slowly until the syrup has lost approximately 20–25% of its starting mass: 70 g syrup should become approximately 52–56 g syrup, excluding the salt. Do not reduce to caramel consistency.
  3. Cool completely, taste and adjust the salt within the declared limit. Refrigerate until required. The ripple should remain fluid when chilled but be noticeably thicker than ordinary maple syrup.

PHASE E — FREEZE AND PROCESS

Ingredient Uses

  • Whole milk

    Add approximately 10–15 g only if the processed base is crumbly or powdery.

    Quantity
    As needed
    Scaling
    —

Method

  1. Transfer the matured custard into the freezing container and freeze completely according to the frozen-dessert system being used. For a frozen-block system, freeze level for at least 18–24 h.
  2. Process with the standard Ice Cream programme and inspect the texture.
  3. If crumbly or powdery, add the declared respin milk and respin until dense, smooth and glossy.
  4. If additional smoothing is required, process once with the Mix-In programme without inclusions. Keep the maple ripple out of all machine processing.

PHASE F — LAYER, HARDEN AND SERVE

Method

  1. Transfer one-third of the peanut butter ice cream into the final storage container and drizzle over a thin layer of chilled maple ripple.
  2. Repeat with another third and another thin ripple layer, then finish with the remaining ice cream and ripple.
  3. Make only one or two gentle folds with a narrow spatula or knife. Retain distinct maple ribbons rather than fully incorporating the syrup.
  4. Cover tightly and freeze for 2–4 h before serving.
  5. Temper for 5–10 min at room temperature before scooping. Aim for roasted peanut flavour first, with intermittent concentrated maple pockets and a smooth custard texture.

FAILURE MODES

Symptom Likely cause Corrective action
Curdled custard Excessive heat or inadequate stirring. Stop at 82–84 C, stir continuously and remove promptly; do not boil.
Oily or uneven base Peanut butter was insufficiently emulsified. Blend the hot base until smooth and glossy without excessive aeration.
Crumbly or powdery processed base The frozen base needs further processing. Add approximately 10–15 g whole milk as needed and respin.
Ripple too thick to layer Syrup was reduced beyond the target mass. Reduce a fresh batch only to the declared endpoint and check its chilled fluidity.
Maple flavour uniform throughout Too much folding or machine mixing dispersed the ripple. Layer by hand after processing and limit folding to one or two passes.