FUDGSICLE BARS WITH CARAMEL AND SPANISH PEANUTS

Fudgsicle Bars with Caramel and Spanish Peanuts image

This is a childhood favorite reinvented for grown-up tastes. You've got the texture of a Fudgsicle but with the flavor of rich dark chocolate, salty peanuts, and sweet caramel, all combined in a dessert pretty enough to make people think it came out of a professional kitchen. It's important that the Fudgsicle bars soften at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving, otherwise they'll be too hard to cut into. The flavor comes forward when the dessert warms a little. Don't forgo the ice-water bath. You need to cool the custard quickly to keep it from overcooking.

Provided by Emily Luchetti

Yield Makes 9 bars

Number Of Ingredients 10

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Ingredients

9- by 9-inch baking pan
Heat-proof rubber spatula
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Large pinch kosher salt
4 cups heavy cream
4 ounces dark chocolate (58 to 62 percent cacao), chopped or broken into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
1/2 cup Spanish peanuts
1 1/2 cups Caramel Sauce , or good-quality store-bought caramel sauce

Steps:

1. Line the baking pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides. Set aside. Fill a large bowl half full of ice and cover the ice with water. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl that will fit into the large bowl of ice water, whisk the yolks with the sugar and salt until well blended.
3. In a large saucepan, warm the cream over medium heat until it starts to bubble around the edges. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate and coffee until smooth. Slowly pour the chocolate cream into the bowl with the egg yolks. Return the chocolate cream to the saucepan (reserving the bowl) and cook over medium-low heat, stirring continually with the heat-proof rubber spatula, until the chocolate custard thickens slightly and coats and clings to the spatula when you lift it up out of the pot, about 5 minutes.
4. Pour the custard back into the reserved bowl. Put the bowl in the ice bath. Stirring occasionally, let the custard cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
5. Pour the custard into the foil-lined baking pan. Freeze until firm, 3 to 4 hours.
6. Put the peanuts in a colander and rub them with a clean kitchen towel to remove some of the skins. (If you don't have a colander, just rub them in the towel.) Don't worry about getting all the skins - you just want to remove the loose pieces. Chop the peanuts into 1/4-inch or smaller pieces.
7. To serve, holding the foil, lift the Fudgsicles out of the pan. Peel back the foil. Cut the firm fudge into 3-inch squares. Place a piece on each plate. Let sit for 5 minutes to soften. Top with some caramel sauce and peanuts.