Chocolate and spice… always a good idea! Thankfully Mayans and Aztecs were mixing chili peppers into their chocolate about 800 years ago, and the trend hasn’t stopped since.
I’ve seen similar flavors named ‘mexican chocolate’ and ‘chocolate chili.’ Here I made Jeni’s ‘Queen City Cayenne’ on New Year’s Eve. This ice cream has an initially smooth chocolatey taste, followed by a very spicy finish. Probably would be delicious in a morning cup of coffee…
Spicy Chocolate Ice Cream, from Jeni’s: (makes 1 quart)
For the chocolate paste:
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1.5 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
For the ice cream base:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons of cream cheese (let it soften for 15 minutes in a large bowl)
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
- 2/3 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste (I used 1/8 but could have used even more)
1) Make the chocolate paste: in a small pan mix the cocoa, 1/3 cup sugar, and water and continue to mix as you bring to a boil over low-medium heat. Boil for 30 seconds and then remove the pan from the heat. Add the bittersweet chocolate and stir until smooth. Set this aside.
2) Mix about 4 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl – I like to mash it up with a fork.
3) Put the cream cheese into a large bowl (glass or metal) and once it softens a little, whisk in the salt and the warm chocolate mixture.
4) Combine the remaining ingredients (milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup) in a large pot and bring to a boil while stirring gently. Allow the mixture to boil for 3-4 minutes, then lower the heat and add in the cornstarch mixture. Boil for about 1-2 more minutes, or until the cream base is thick (when you dip a spoon into it, the base should be thick on the back of the spoon so that you can draw a line in it with your finger).
5) Slowly pour a little of the hot cream into the bowl of chocolatey cream cheese and whisk gently. When the cream cheese is very smooth and not lumpy, continue adding the rest of the hot cream base while whisking. Add the cinnamon and cayenne and mix them in. Place this bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice water. Stir the mixture every 5 minutes to keep it smooth, and add more ice to the ice bath if necessary. Wait about 30 minutes until the mixture cools.
6) Freeze the ice cream using an ice cream machine, until its lighter and fluffy, about 20-25 minutes. Just before finishing, add the nuts and let them mix in. Then pour into an airtight container and cover with parchment paper to reduce air exposure. Place in your freezer and, after a few hours, enjoy.
theicecreamchronicles 