Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Torte: Peanut butter ice cream inside a cinnamon graham cracker crust with a thick layer of ganache and peanut butter cups on top. What could possibly be better??

When the summer heat really gets going like it has been this week, is there nothing better than ice cream? What about peanut butter ice cream with chocolate and peanut butter cups? Yeah…there’s nothing better than that!

This ice cream torte is a little creation Kyle and I put together back in May based loosely on a few different concepts we’ve seen floating around, including an incredibly overpriced ice cream cake from a certain ice cream restaurant based in the Northeast.

This torte is no more difficult to put together than any other cake but it definitely takes some time and patience, which I often have little of when it comes to waiting for homemade ice cream. What can I say??

What is an Ice Cream Torte?

An ice cream torte is just a fancy name for an ice cream cake. A torte dessert is similar to a tart but it’s typically made in a pan with straight edges, rather than in a fluted tart pan.

What Kind of Crust for An Ice Cream Cake?

There are a few ways you can go for the crust of an ice cream cake. I’ve made one cake without a crust at all. The fudgy, brownie-like cake was the base of my peanut butter cookies and cream ice cream cake and it was divine!

You could also make an Oreo cookie crust, like I did for my peanut butter pie. And as much as I would never turn down an Oreo, I find sometimes find an Oreo crust a little fussy to work with.

For this ice cream cake, we opted instead for a graham cracker crust with just a hint of cinnamon and the extra level of flavor the crust lends to the torte is just amazing. It’s like the graham crackers were meant for this torte! The graham cracker crust is the same crust I use for our all-time favorite New York cheesecake so I knew it would be a good one to use.

As they say, good things come to those who wait and since I waited all day one Saturday for this treat, I was handsomely rewarded after dinner that night. This torte is AMAZING! I’ve made this peanut butter ice cream before but the milk chocolate ganache with chopped peanut butter cups inside and the cinnamon graham cracker crust totally it over the top.

Inspired to Make More Peanut Butter Ice Cream?

If you’re inspired by all of this peanut butter talk to make more peanut butter ice cream, you may want to try my peanut butter Oreo ice cream, my favorite ice cream cake with peanut butter cookies and cream ice cream, and this amazing peanut butter cup hot fudge swirl ice cream. And although this tin roof ice cream isn’t specifically peanut butter ice cream, there are peanuts in it, so you may like that one too!

Any of them, just like this peanut butter ice cream you see here, would be outstanding in a homemade waffle cone or bowl!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Torte (Ice Cream Cake)

Name: Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Torte (Ice Cream Cake)
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 h
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: ¾ cup smooth peanut butter; ¾ cup plus 2 tbsp sugar; 2 ⅔ cup half and half; Pinch of salt; ⅛ tsp vanilla extract; 2 cups graham cracker crumbs; 3 tbsp sugar; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; Pinch of salt; 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted; ½ cup heavy cream; 4 oz milk chocolate, finely chopped; 6 oz peanut butter cups, chopped

Yield: 12 servings

Active Prep Time: 50 minutes

Bake Time: 10 minutes

Chilling Time: 14 hours

Total Time: 15 hours

Chocolate peanut butter ice cream torte is the ice cream cake to beat all other ice cream cakes. With layers of homemade peanut butter ice cream (you could definitely use store-bought!), rich ganache, and peanut butter cups all nestled in a cinnamon graham cracker crust, what's not to love??

Ingredients

For the Peanut Butter Ice Cream:

¾ cup smooth peanut butter
¾ cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
2 ⅔ cup half and half
Pinch of salt
⅛ tsp vanilla extract

For the Graham Cracker Crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

For the Chocolate Ganache:

½ cup heavy cream
4 oz milk chocolate, finely chopped

For the Topping:

6 oz peanut butter cups, chopped

Instructions

To make the ice cream: Purée the peanut butter, sugar, half and half, salt, and vanilla in a blender or food processor until smooth. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Chill the mixture for 1 hour in the freezer before adding to the springform pan.
To make the crust: While you wait for the mixture to chill in the refrigerator, butter a 9″ springform pan – choose one that has sides that are 2 3/4″ high. Stir the crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. Pour over the melted butter and stir until all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist. ( I do this with my fingers.) Turn the ingredients into the springform pan and use your fingers to pat an even layer of crumbs over the bottom of the pan and about halfway up the sides. Don’t worry if the sides are not perfectly even or if the crumbs reach slightly above or below the midway point on the sides. Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven. (At this point, the crust can be covered and frozen for up to 2 months.) Center a rack in the oven, preheat the oven to 350° F and place the springform on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Set the crust aside to cool completely.
To prepare the torte: After the ice cream mixture has chilled in the freezer for 1 hour and the crust has cooled completely, stir the ice cream to loosen it a little then pour it into the crust. Smooth the top of the ice cream out with an off-set spatula. Move the pan to the freezer and free the ice cream until it is completely frozen, about 6 hours.
Before removing the pan from the freezer, put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave the bowl over the water just until the chocolate softens and starts to melt, about 3 minutes; remove the bowl from the saucepan. Bring the 1/2 cup of cream to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and, working with a rubber spatula, very gently stir together until the ganache is completely blended and smooth. Pour the ganache over the torte, smoothing with an offset spatula. Scatter the chopped peanut butter cups over the top and freeze to set the topping, at least 30 minutes. When the ganache is firm, remove the sides of the springform pan. Keep the torte frozen until ready to serve. Allow the torte to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before slicing. To slice, heat a sharp knife with hot water, dry the knife and slice through the torte.

Notes

ice cream adapted from adapted from David Lebovitz, The Perfect Scoop | crust and ganache adapted from Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From My Home to Yours

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Torte